New Delhi: Pope Francis is among the top contenders for Nobel Peace Prize for the second consecutive year.
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee will announce its decision today, October 9, at 11am Central European Time (3:30 pm Indian Standard Time).
Although the Pope was among the top contenders last year, the committee gave the award to two South Asians –Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”
The Nobel committee says it has received 273 nominations for the Peace Prize, but it does not release any names.
The front runners include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for her willingness to accept hundreds of thousands of Syrian and other refugees into Germany; US Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who hammered out a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, and a Vatican-based Eritrean priest, Father Mussie Zerai, who set up a hotline for refugees from his country making the perilous journey to Europe.
Pope Francis’ supporters cite his role in bringing together Cuban and American negotiators leading to a warming in relations between the two Cold War rivals.
Another actor favoring the Pope is his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, which pointed out how uncontrolled climate change can contribute to conditions leading to conflict. Also boosting his chances are his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September and his appeals on other social matters, such as the redistribution of wealth, immigration, religious persecution and corruption.
When Pope Francis was in the United States September end, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) circulated a letter to colleagues to nominate the pontiff for the award.
“Pope Francis has been a powerful advocate for peace, urging an end to conflict and support for constitutive ties among nations,” the letter states. “[His] commitment to nonviolence, which the Pope has put into practice every day through his words and actions, is at the core of the principles behind the Nobel Peace Prize.”
The Jerusalem Post has pointed out that Pope Francis has repeatedly called for peace in the Middle East.
Pope Francis, however, shies away from awards and honors. He has said in the past that he is not interested in the honor.
During a 2014 interview in the Argentinian magazine Viva, Francis refused to even speculate about what he might do in case he’s awarded the prize, which comes with a $1 million cash award.
“I’ve never accepted honorary titles,” he said. “I don’t really think about those things, and even less about what I might do with that money. The thing is, regardless of any award, I believe we should all be committed to global peace. We should all give peace a chance.”
Pope Francis has, however, said who he believes should win it: the women of Paraguay. He said so in 2014 to Carlos and Rodolfo Luna, two Argentine friends visiting him at the Vatican.
During his trip to Latin America in July, which included a stop in Paraguay, he repeated the praise.
“Here I would like especially to mention you, the women, wives, and mothers of Paraguay,” he said, “who at great cost and sacrifice were able to lift up a country defeated, devastated, and laid low by war.”
If the Pope does win, it’s unlikely that he would travel to Oslo to accept the award, Crux reported, citing anonymous Vatican officials.
The last time a Catholic won the Nobel Peace Prize was in 2004, when it went to Kenyan environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai. Maathai, an alumnus of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, was the first African woman to receive the prize.
Other Catholics who have won include Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Solidarity founder and former Polish President Lech Walesa, East Timorese Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and that country’s president, José Ramos-Horta; Irish politician John Hume and peace activist Mairead Maguire; former South Korea president Kim Daejung, and Belgian Dominican Father Georges Pire.