Top Contenders To Be The Next Pope

http://hosted.ap.org/ ^ | March 11, 2013 | Associated Press

[Biggirl]

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Cardinals from around the world gather this week in a conclave to elect a new pope following the stunning resignation of Benedict XVI. In the secretive world of the Vatican, there is no way to know who is in the running, and history has yielded plenty of surprises. Yet several names have come up repeatedly as strong contenders. Here is a look at who they are:

[Biggirl]

Prayers for all the cardinals and my the Church get a GOOD and HOLY new Pope. Amen.

[ClearCase_guy]

I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it. — Barack Obama

[MDspinboyredux]

So there really could be a Pope Secola?

Seriously??

[Young Werther]

Wouldn.t Pope be a downgrade for the Great and Mighty and Holee One!

I gotta tree in my yard which I would donate for his carry on. Anybody gotta a thorn bush?

Let's see if we can whip this up!

[oldsicilian]

PLease, not so early! Without coffee, I nearly missed this one.

[momtothree]

“So there really could be a Pope Secola?”

I see what you did there! LOL!!

[dangus]

You think Pope Secola (sic: it’s Scola) is funny, for many years, the great white hope of the liberals was that John Paul II would be succeeded by Cardinal Martini; which fit Malachy’s prediction (”the Glory of the Olives”) hilariously.

[reg45]

“Pope Secola hits the spot!”

[DManA]

You guys post 20 stories telling us how futile it is to speculate on who they’re going to pick. Then you post 20 stories speculating on who they’re going to pick.

If I didn’t know better I’d suspect there’s a Roman Catholic spam campaign going on.

[icwhatudo]

Hoping for Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco.

He received death threats and was mailed bullets for taking a stand against homosexuals.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Biggirl. Angelo Scola, perhaps the front-runner:

[snip]There are perhaps two reasons that reduce his chances of being pope. The first is his age: 71. The second is that those cardinals most heavily tipped by the press are not usually chosen as popes. [/snip] -- The men who could be pope: Cardinal Angelo Scola

For those into it, Malachy has "Petrus Romanus" or "Peter the Roman"; Peter Erdo got his doctorate in Rome, Italy; Peter Turkson may have passed through Rome, NY during his religious studies in the US; but it probably means an Italian Pope, y'know, if you're into it. Benedict was older at accession, which fits the modern pattern of an older successor to a long-reigning Pope, sort of a time to take a breather.

[ken5050]

Good morning all.....

O'Malley is getting a lot of attention, especially from the Italian media..check out this story from Hot Air..and especially do click through the links in the second part of the story, which is about O'Malley. Hot Air's Ed Morrissey is blogging live, from Rome, and should be a good source of news as events unfold.

Is anyone doing a live thread tomorrow, when the conclave begins? If so, kindly ping me..

[who_would_fardels_bear]

There's a picture of Burke, but no bio.

Odd and interesting.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

““Pope Secola hits the spot!””

But only 16 oz worth...Bloomberg sez...what a nasty POS he is...

[TheOldLady]

Of interest to you?

[humblegunner]

Still haven't heard back from those guys.

[TheOldLady]

Aw, they just don’t know what’s good for them.

[Salvation]

My choice
CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE