Cardinal Peter Turkson, one of the favorites to be new pope. [View all]

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Vatican tries to create distance from row over Muslim Demographics video

The Vatican has distanced itself from a row over Muslim immigrants in Europe triggered by the showing at a synod of a video that claims "Europe as we know it will cease to exist."

Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Vatican's council for justice and peace – and seen as a possible future pope – played the disputed video in a discussion period on Saturday during a synod attended by 262 bishops from across the world.

Entitled Muslim Demographics, and viewed more than 13m times on YouTube since its release in 2009, the seven-minute long video claims Muslim immigration and higher birth rates means France will become "an Islamic republic" within 39 years.

But many of the statistics used have been shown to be false or unproven, including a claim that French Muslim families have 8.1 children on average, and that 25% of Belgians are Muslims – the true figure is 6%. A German government official is falsely quoted as saying Germany will be a Muslim state by 2050.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/16/vatican-distance-muslim-demographics-video

According to PolicyMic, in 2009, Cardinal Turkson reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s social teaching on contraception, in regards to statements made by Pope Benedict XVI that condoms were not a solution to Africa’s AIDS crisis.

Cardinal Turkson did not rule out condoms in all circumstances and suggested they could be useful in the situation of a married, faithful couple where one partner is infected.

Commenting to the US Catholic publication in August 2010, on the attitudes of African church leaders towards homosexuality, Cardinal Turkson appealed for a more nuanced interpretation by western observers. He said: “Just as I hesitate to speak globally about Africa, as if it were one and the same, we also need to be careful about generalising about Western values. In Africa just as in the rest of the world, culture is changing, lifestyles are changing.

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However, it’s also claimed that Cardinal Turkson has defended Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/11/analysis-could-the-next-pope-be-black-and-gay-friendly/