Posted on 02/11/2013 12:28:49 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Just hours after Pope Benedict XVI‘s surprising Feb. 28 resignation, bookmakers have already started placing odds on his successor.
Quickest off the mark was the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, which has already gone through three favorites for the position, starting off with Nigerian Francis Arinze, before shifting to Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson and then to Canadian Marc Ouellet — who at the time of this writing is the most favored option, with odds of 11 to 4. A rival bookie, Ladbrokes, currently has Turkson as the slight favorite at 3 to 1, followed by Arinze (7 to 2) and then Ouellet (4 to 1)
The 80-year-old Arinze is an Igbo Nigerian who spent 25 years in the Vatican and was once the world’s youngest bishop. The 64-year-old Turkson was appointed by the current Pope four years ago to become president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace — although he did spark controversy last year over a YouTube clip he screened at an international meeting of bishops on the rise of Islam in Europe. Ouellet is the Vatican’s main staff director, but unless he’s a master at political dissembling, the 68-year-old doesn’t seem to be actively pursuing the job. He has been quoted as saying that being Pontiff “would be a nightmare,” and told Quebec City’s Le Soleil newspaper that a pope’s duties “are perhaps not very enviable,” with the responsibilities “crushing.”
Media Relations Manager for Paddy Power, Feilim Mac An Iomaire, told TIME that the bookmaker had been prepared for Monday’s bombshell. “We’ve actually had betting on the next Pope for eight years, since Benedict was named,” he explains. “But now, the money has been absolutely flying in. We’re comfortably into five figures and that does have a massive effect on the odds.”
(Excerpt) Read more at world.time.com ...
RE: My guess (note the date of the post):
Who is that black man pictured in that post of yours?
Too bad, we just lost the greatest Cardinal of them all, Stan “the Man” Musial.
If they allowed women I’d vote for Claudia Cardinale!
This is going to be a loooong few weeks.
RE: If they allowed women I’d vote for Claudia Cardinale!
I was very tempted to post a picture, but refrained because I wanted this thread to be more respectful to Benedict.
Pope Finis I
Both Drudge and WND have articles about Cardinal Turkson being a candidate for the next pope.
It will not be Barack Obama.
As the Messiah, he will be the one the new Pope reports to.
My money is on (in this order):
Scola
Ravasi
Oullet
Chuck Norris.
Historically, all the guessers have been wrong. What is discussed in the closed meetings no one knows but one thing is for certain...no one knows.
RE: Scola
I concur with Scola. The Cardinals will follow tradition and select an Italian.
He was appointed Archbishop of Milan by Benedict on 28 June 2011.
He had previously served as Patriarch of Venice since 2002. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003.
He has the combination of proximity to the Vatican, Pastoral experience, Theological knowledge and reasonable age ( 71 years old ).
Which candidate is a muslim convert?
“Guido Sarducci”
Don’t you justa wish!
That said, I hope the next Pontiff is a non European. The Church is most vibrant in Africa and Asia. I'd like to see one of the bright lights leading the Church in those places ascend to the Throne of Peter...but the Holy Spirit isn't looking for guidance from me either.
How about Dolan?
Too bad Cardinal Sin from the Philippines died in ‘05.
RE: Both Drudge and WND have articles about Cardinal Turkson being a candidate for the next pope.
A Ghanian Pope? Why not?
He is only 64 years old and is the current president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
The only problem with him is this — I don’t know how the other traditional cardinals will view his stance on the use of condoms.
Turkson reaffirmed the Catholic social teaching on contraception, in regard to statements made by Pope Benedict that condoms were not a solution to Africa’s AIDS crisis and were taken out of context by the media.
However, and this is where some concern might arise -— Turkson did not rule out condoms in all circumstances suggesting they could be useful in the situation of a married, faithful couple where one partner is infected; although he warns that, as the quality of condoms in Africa is poor, their use could engender false confidence.
He said abstinence, fidelity, and refraining from sex if infected were the key to fighting the epidemic. He also believes that the money being spent on condoms would be better spent providing anti-retroviral drugs to those already infected.
RE: How about Dolan?
Read Post #4 above.
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