Papal candidates - Short List?

[Dale_M]

Say what? My memory is there was plenty of speculation about him due to his close collaboration with JP2. Of course in the same breath his age was usually mentioned as being against him. But I certainly never got the impression that he was an out-of-left-field choice as Wojtyla was.

I agree that Cardinal Wojtyla was an out-of-left field choice. But as I recall, age was one of the factors which may have worked in favor of Cardinal Ratzinger. Reportedly there was interest in picking a “caretaker pope” who wouldn’t put a strong personal stamp on the Church as Pope John Paul II did.

Working against Ratzinger was his close ties to JPII and the belief that he would continue in the much the same path. Again, there was some sense that Pope John Paul had had too much personal influence on the Church simply by holding the office for so long.

Of course, no one in the press really knows and the cardinals haven’t written about it. So any explanation is really just speculation.

 

[Saints_Alive]

I would love to see Raymond Cardinal Burke elected. Cardinal Burke has been such a bastion of Catholicism in recent years and has been such a model for young men like myself to follow.

I do think, however, that people are overlooking one man - Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco, one year junior of **Cardinal Scola. Bagnasco **is the archbishop of Genoa and, like Burke, has been very involved with the Extraordinary Form. Likewise, His Eminence is very orthodox in social teachings. This added to the fact that he is Italian and he isn’t old as far as Cardinals go (seventy). I think he has a fighting chance.

Thanks for mentioning him. Sounds like a good choice.

 

[BroomWagon]

I think those who are so insistent on the next Pope having a long reign, 20 years are being lead down the garden path. The reigns of Popes vary.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes_by_length_of_reign#Lengths_of_papal_reign

Maybe we’ll just get an Italian Pope again.

 

[Vouthon]

I would personally hope to see either a non-Italian European elected or a non-European. However it is of course impossible to predict accurately.

None of the Italian candidates strike me as being what the church needs at this point. Cardinal Angelo Scola, often tipped as the primary Italian candidate, while a good theological mind does not have much charisma from where I’m sitting.

I think that we need a Blessed Pope John XXIII or Blessed Pope John Paul II-esque figure whom Catholics worldwide can take to their hearts and who will give the church a more positive image universally.

My hope is that we get a young (and by that I mean at least in his sixties), vigorous, healthy, charismatic Pope who is media savy and can lead us efficiently for a considerable period of time.

 

[GaryTaylor]

I would personally hope to see either a non-Italian European elected or a non-European. However it is of course impossible to predict accurately.

None of the Italian candidates strike me as being what the church needs at this point. Cardinal Angelo Scola, often tipped as the primary Italian candidate, while a good theological mind does not have much charisma from where I’m sitting.

I think that we need a Blessed Pope John XXIII or Blessed Pope John Paul II-esque figure whom Catholics worldwide can take to their hearts and who will give the church a more positive image universally.

My hope is that we get a young (and by that I mean at least in his sixties), vigorous, healthy, charismatic Pope who is media savy and can lead us efficiently for a considerable period of time.

I see Cardinal Oulettes name coming up often.

 

[_Abyssinia]

Philippines Catholics hope, pray for Asia’s first pope

With attention turning from Europe to the “new” world, worshippers in the Philippines prayed quietly and took to social media on Tuesday in the hope their cardinal might be chosen as the next leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

Many Catholics in the Philippines, the largest Christian community in Asia, were shocked by Pope Benedict’s resignation, including their charismatic leader, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.

“Pope Benedict XVI’s renunciation of the ministry as Bishop of Rome on February 11, 2013 came as a surprise,” Tagle said in a statement.

“The announcement also brought sadness to us. We felt like children clinging to a father who bids them farewell,” he said, praising Benedict’s “humility, honesty, courage and sincerity”.

Stunning as it was, Benedict’s resignation has thrown the papal spotlight outside the Church’s European heartland, now home to only 25 percent of the Catholic population.
The post once reserved for Italians is now open for all, although about half the cardinals who will vote for the next pope after Benedict’s reign ends on February 28 are from Europe.

Latin America represents the largest single bloc in the Church with 42 percent of Catholics, putting Latin Americans and African cardinals among the front-runners to succeed 85-year-old Pope Benedict.

Tagle’s close alignment to Pope Benedict, an uncompromising conservative on social and theological issues, could work in his favor, with the Philippines a bulwark of Catholicism in a mainly Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist region.

He offered a glimpse of that conservatism in comments published after his elevation to cardinal in November: "The Church must discover the power of silence.

“Confronted with the sorrows, doubts and uncertainties of people, she cannot pretend to give easy solutions,” he said.

LONG-SHOT POPE

Many Filipinos felt the Church could do worse than choose Tagle, at 55 relatively young, as its next leader.

“The Filipino cardinal, Luis Antonio Tagle, will be a long-shot but he could be considered because he is also known as a Vatican insider and a former adviser of the Pope,” said Joselito Zulueta, a teacher, journalist and analyst of church affairs in the Philippines.

Tagle’s personal appeal has been compared to that of the late Pope John Paul and he worked with Pope Benedict at the International Theological Commission.

Father Francis Lucas of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said a Filipino pope would be like “a dream”.

“He is humble, he’s meek, he’s simple, he’s spiritual, he’s media savvy, he’s very bright.”

But Tagle’s youth, and the fact that he only became a cardinal late in 2012, may work against him. “What we should do is not pray for Cardinal Tagle but pray for the right pope, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, to be elected by the cardinal members of the conclave,” Lucas said.

The Twitter hashtag “#Tagleforpope” appeared within hours of Benedict’s statement, with one comment among scores posted on Tuesday saying of Tagle: “Archbishop of Manila in 2011, Cardinal in 2012, Pope in 2013?”

“Cardinal Tagle is qualified, young and can bring more energy to the Catholic Church,” said Maria Paz Balagot, a sales executive in Manila’s financial district.

While hope grew in the Philippines, Australia’s Cardinal George Pell, a conservative supporter of Benedict’s among the conclave of cardinals, cautioned against seeing Benedict’s resignation as the start of a new era for the Church.

“Every pope presents a change,” Pell said in an internal video interview conducted by the Church in Australia. “I’m pretty confident that there’ll be a basic continuity.”

 

[MichaelTDoyle]

Should anyone be surprised that the US (and many other countries) are having such difficulties with Evangelization and Catechesis when Bishops are not promoted based on their abilities in these fields? The best way for the Vatican to help us is to get out of our politics and let us chose our own Bishops based not only fidelity to Orthodoxy (not just the conservative side of Orthodoxy that conservative cafeteria Catholics like to chose, but all sides of orthodoxy), but also based on pastoral abilities and ability to reach out to every Catholic of every persuasion and beyond.

If you treat people like children and they will act like children. Give us responsibility and some flexibility (within Orthodoxy of course) and we will thrive. Micromanage everything and we will fail. Trust but verify!

No thank you. We, the people, just elected for the second time the most pro-abortion US President in history. Let the Cardinals pray on it and do the best they can to cooperate with God.

 

[MichaelTDoyle]

It is fun to speculate, but the fact of the matter is that the Holy Spirit will decide who the next Pope is going to be. The next Pope might not even be a Cardinal. I am reminded of Pope Celestine V (who also resigned of his own free will), who was not even a Cardinal but rather a hermit and yet was chosen by the Holy Spirit to lead the Church.

Just asking.

Is that dogma? What does it mean?
We have had bad Popes in our history. Does that mean the Holy Spirit sent us a bad Pope as a chastisement?

I know we have Christ’s promise to protect the Church from teaching error and be an instrument to help us to our salvation “The gates of hell shall not prevail”, but I know of no guarantee that God will send us such good leaders as we have had.

I think we should pray for a good leader as the Bible shows time and again that prayer is efficacious with the heart of God.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

That’s your opinion, which you are stating as predictable fact. It is not fact, despite your preference for prophecy.

My perception is 180 degrees from that. As with the situation in Germany, I am not so naive as to think that overnight miracles would occur, but I am clear, given all of my intimate acquaintaince with the American Church post-Vatican 2, that U.S. Catholicism will remain fragmented and problematic if Rome continues to ignore the U.S. – from wherever the new Pope himself originates. It is an act of resignation (i.e., despair, not retirement) to abandon the U.S. to the devil and his secular friends, in the assumption that the U.S. is a Lost Cause.

The Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. is in desperate and, I repeat, emergency status when it comes to both Evangelization and Catechesis (two sides of a coin). Rome ignores us at peril to the whole Church Universal. Any eventual resurgence of American Catholicism will not occur with detachment on Rome’s part.

It is a mistaken idea that Catholics in the USA are the most important people in the church. We are decidedly not the most important and the church looks at us just as she should - as one among many.

 

[mcmemmo]

If an American could be elected, I am praying for the dark horse in this race:

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston.

He is a healer. The Church needs this more than anything right now in order to get past the terrible clergy sex abuse crisis. If he is elected Pope, it will sent a strong message to the world that the Catholic Church is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to protect children. It will restore people’s faith in the moral authority of its leaders.

He is humble. The only Capuchin in the College of Cardinals and regularly wears his friar’s habit.

He is pastoral. He speaks in a way that draws people to the Church and makes them feel loved even if they have sinned.

He is only 68.

Archbishop O’Malley healed Boston. He could heal Ireland and all of Europe. The Catholic Church must re-evangelize Europe. It cannot afford to loose its cultural base.

The Roman Catholic Church is culturally European and Europe is culturally Catholic. Many Americans do not appreciate this, especially those who have converted as adults and do not have ties to the old country. To understand the Roman Catholic Tradition you have to understand what was happening in Europe over the past 1500 years. Most Americans do not even know what happened in the US over the last 200 years and are totally unaware of the fact that this nation was founded on Calvinist - not Roman Catholic, principles.

 

[LisaA]

I see what you’re saying and I agree for the most part. There is something to be said however, for the idea that having a non European Pope (assuming he’s equally orthodox and qualified) who non Europeans can better identify with. I’d be ecstatic if there was an American (US) Pope, but that won’t happen for practical reasons (even though it isn’t like there aren’t any qualified candidates). To put it bluntly since the US is the last super power, there would be accusations (especially from Muslims) that the Catholic Church is in league with the US and that wouldn’t help anyone.

Forgive me but I don’t give a rat’s patooty what “Muslims” think about our Holy Father. Nor is their IMO frequently misguided opinion about matters of faith relevant to the decision.

Further if the Holy Spirit directs the Cardinals to elect an American, a European, an African, or an Asian, then I have faith this is the Pope we need for such a time as this. IOW I don’t believe the Cardinals will engage in identity politics or try to pander to some constituancy or another…the Church is growing fastest in Africa…we MUST have an African Pope…that sort of thing. I think we tend to look at things through the lens of our own political processes.

Reading through other posts, I don’t think anyone suggests the US or US Catholics are supposed to be toadied to or considered the “most important” but I also think that the US has a very strong presence on the world stage and dismissing American candidates for Pope on the basis of “we CANT have an American” are completely invalid…again IMO. I suspect there were similar comments about not having a Polish Pope, in fact I remember them quite well although I wasn’t a Catholic at the time.

It’s interesting to learn more about those whom various media believe are likely to be elected. It’s also encouraging to hear about so many holy and orthodox Bishops and Cardinals around the world.

Lisa

 

[Digitonomy]

Is that dogma? What does it mean?
We have had bad Popes in our history. Does that mean the Holy Spirit sent us a bad Pope as a chastisement?..I know of no guarantee that God will send us such good leaders as we have had.

John Allen wrote a good article back in 2005 that talked about the politics involved in the conclave.

Papal negative campaigning and the role of the Holy Spirit

 

[BroomWagon]

I saw an article mentioning USA as world’s only superpower and the selection of the Pope as well.

Let’s not forget, Latin America is home to over 500 million Catholics. Seems this Cardinal from Honduras may have been mentioned the last time, he seems familiar. We must not forget, Latin America has suffered in the last several decades as well, perhaps the future Pontiff will come from there

But it’s like they said, there will be weeks and weeks to discuss this.

 

[Gricken]

Good to see I’m not the only one who is kinda antsy to see the next papal election. I can’t wait!

 

[qui_est_ce]

T

Personally, I would like to see Fr. Robert Barron of Chicago chosen, but I think he is too young to be considered. And too American. But what a great evangelist! Choosing a pope who can energize the Church would be very welcome.

Never thought of him, but what a great choice. Young, dynamic, charismatic, and very knowledgeable.

 

[Digitonomy]

Here is John Allen’s short list from his column last May:

A poll average from Rome on the next pope

Front-runners

1. Angelo Scola - Italy
2. Marc Ouellat - Canada
3. Leonardo Sandri - Argentina

Possibilities

1. Péter Erdő - Hungary
2. Angelo Bagnasco - Italy
3. Odilo Pedro Scherer - Brazil

Long shots

1. Gianfranco Ravasi - Italy
2. Peter Turkson - Ghana
3. Robert Sarah - Guinea
4. Timothy Dolan - United States
5. Luis Antonio Tagle - Philippines

 

[BroomWagon]

I would personally hope to see either a non-Italian European elected or a non-European. However it is of course impossible to predict accurately.

None of the Italian candidates strike me as being what the church needs at this point. Cardinal Angelo Scola, often tipped as the primary Italian candidate, while a good theological mind does not have much charisma from where I’m sitting.

I think that we need a Blessed Pope John XXIII or Blessed Pope John Paul II-esque figure whom Catholics worldwide can take to their hearts and who will give the church a more positive image universally.

My hope is that we get a young (and by that I mean at least in his sixties), vigorous, healthy, charismatic Pope who is media savy and can lead us efficiently for a considerable period of time.

Not me, I am for the man who best embodies the qualities of Christ sitting in the Chair of Peter period, no matter where they are from.

 

[Elizabeth502]

It is a mistaken idea that Catholics in the USA are the most important people in the church. We are decidedly not the most important and the church looks at us just as she should - as one among many.

Actually it is you who have the “mistaken idea,” Nowhere in my postings did I say this:

Catholics in the USA are the most important people in the church.

You distorted and thoroughly mischaracterized my statements. I said none of that.

Reread them if you are confused (which you are).

In secular matters, the USA leads. Earthly matters are not divorced from the heavenly. I will repeat, and I prophesy this:

If and when Rome ignores or marginalizes the USA in the New Evangelization, they will do so at peril to the Church Universal.
The statement has nothing to do with “being the most important people in the church.”

 

[Dawnia]

And if I remember correctly, Ratzinger wasn’t even being discussed when he got elected as B16. He was not on anyone’s “short list” or even in the ballpark as far as discussions were going.

He was on my short list…actually the only one on my short list. I was rather amazed that he got it.

 

[mburn16]

“It is a mistaken idea that Catholics in the USA are the most important people in the church.”

Most important…no. But the church definitely needs to re-establish a foothold in the west, and the US is the most likely place to do this. And, yes, there are political considerations.