Who do you think will be the next pope?

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UGCC said:
The college has been so stacked with Pope Francis ’ men, however, I should Imagine we’ll see someone who’s a carbon copy.
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Keeping in mind that the Cardinals who elected Pope Francis had been appointed by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict.

And the Cardinals who elected St. John Paul II had been appointed by St. John XXIII and St. Paul VI.

And the Cardinals who elected St. Paul VI had been appointed by St. John XXIII and Blessed Pius XII.

A “carbon copy” is not always guaranteed.
 
That is true. However, I do think that Francis has been such a divisive figure that the Church seems to be split between pro and anti Francis factions. This brings a whole new dimension. The whole Vigano thing hasn’t helped that.

I’ve never known the Church to be so split between those who want a current pontiff gone, and those who are complete ultra-montanists. And I’ve lived through 6 papacies.
 
Gosh! Are you military; an airline pi!ot; an avid traveller; or wanted by the FBI?
 
Cardinal Tagle is 63. He could easily serve as pope for 25+ years. I think there’s a consensus that a papacy that long isn’t good for the Church, and that lengthy papacies become ossified toward the end. His time might come, but perhaps not in the next conclave.
 
UGCC said:
That is true. However, I do think that Francis has been such a divisive figure that the Church seems to be split between pro and anti Francis factions. This brings a whole new dimension. The whole Vigano thing hasn’t helped that.

I’ve never known the Church to be so split between those who want a current pontiff gone, and those who are complete ultra-montanists. And I’ve lived through 6 papacies.
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Was it really any different in the 1980s when “liberal” Catholic bishops/priests/laity were upset with St. John Paul?

I think the level of discontent then isn’t much different than today. The shoe is simply on the other foot, with the ultra-montanists and Papal critics having effectively switched sides.

The difference between then and now is social media. Back then, there were few platforms for people opposed to the Pope’s policies to voice their displeasure (magazines and newspapers mostly, and those were costly to produce in the number needed to have any impact). Today any keyboard warrior like me can post something and people around the world can see it.
 
I agree with the fact that the shoe is on the other foot. I also agree about the great difference the internet has made in general - it truly is a different world.

But, yes, it is very different situation to that of the eighties.

There were always the liberal opponents of JPII; but there were many traditional opponents too. And it was this breadth of both support and opposition which make it so different. John Paul did things that played on both sides of the fence. Francis is much narrower. He’s had his own little version of John Paul’s Assisi with the whole Amazon idol thing; but you’re not going to catch him doing, and producing, the kinds of things/ texts that upset liberals during the JPII era.

I spend very little time on the internet. I don’t do social media. What I do do, and have done for decades, is spend a great deal of time in Rome, and with clergy (both Latin and Greek), who both minister in pastoral roles and teach. There is absolutely no doubt that, in my lifetime, certainly, the Church has never been so seriously divided.
I’m not sure if people realise how great the possibility of schism is at this point in time.
I will be very surprised if something doesn’t ‘break’ in the next year or so.
There is certainly something which I’m told is coming next autumn which could actually prove to be the catalyst.

Let’s hope not.

But, I digress - the next pope will be a Francis clone, and the current pontiff will be canonized before the decade is out. That’s my bet, and I think you’d do well to lay down a few farthings on it.

Good talking with you.

God bless.
 
I think the difference between Pope John Paul II/Benedict XVI and Pope Francis is that they appointed a much more diverse group of Cardinals, with respect to the theological spectrum. While JPII and BXVI were regarded as “conservative” in their theology, they appointed Cardinals who were decidedly not so.
Cardinal Kasper and Cardinal Marx are prime examples of this, and there are others too that I can think of.

This has happened much less often under Pope Francis, who has mostly appointed only like-minded individuals to the Cardinalate. While you could point to several Cardinals appointed under his predecessors who were differently-minded, the only Cardinal that Pope Francis has appointed that I can think of off the top of my head that is much different from him in his theology is Cardinal Muller, and the only reason he was made a Cardinal was because he was a holdover from BXVI as Prefect of the CDF that always has a Cardinal in charge. Cardinals like Cardinal Burke and Cardinal Sarah would not have gotten their red hats if they were only bishops when Pope Francis was elected.

Maybe the wildcard under Pope Francis are the virtual unknowns that he has appointed throughout the world from places that don’t usually have Cardinals. This is a significant group that can generally be written off as Papabili, but have enough votes that they could sway an election.
 
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UGCC said:
What I do do, and have done for decades, is spend a great deal of time in Rome, and with clergy (both Latin and Greek), who both minister in pastoral roles and teach.
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I’ll defer to your judgment - I know few people in Rome and converse with the few I do know very, very rarely.
UGCC said:
I’m not sure if people realise how great the possibility of schism is at this point in time.
I will be very surprised if something doesn’t ‘break’ in the next year or so.
There is certainly something which I’m told is coming next autumn which could actually prove to be the catalyst.
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Regarding the “break” - what will happen? Will the “conservatives” leave (assuming Francis is still Pope)?
 
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What if this guy stepped onto the loggia?

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I believe the Holy Spirit does have a hand in choosing our Popes. The free will of the cardinals isn’t suspended. They still can choose whomever they want. But I’ll bet, in that conclave, the Holy Spirit has a great deal of influence, and I’ll bet, most of the time, most of the cardinals are paying attention. A lot of praying goes on in there.
 
tuffsmurf said:
Doesn’t Cardinal Turkson have an accent? IDK, I often can’t tell who has an accent when speaking english or not unless it is very heavy. But yeah, pope Francis doesn’t really speak english, but he speaks a couple of other languages.
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There’s an accent, but it’s not a particularly heavy one.
 
Totally agree.

. . . .

He is also a very accomplished one (politician). No doubt, this was born of necessity in the Argentine context.

Francis does not share power - he delegates to those who carry out his will to the letter.

He’s a force to be reckoned with. . . .

. . . . God will sort it out.
 
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