Posted on 04/02/2005 7:44:12 PM PST by MHT
Editor's note: This article originally ran in 2003, when Pope John Paul II was experiencing a serious enough illness to make people begin to speculate about who might be his successor. This article has been slightly modified and updated.
So, who will the next pope be—a black, a Hispanic, an American, or a Jew?
PAPAL CHASE
Will the Next Pope be Black, Hispanic, American, a Jew?
No, it's not a joke. All four are real possibilities.
The biggest differences between the papal selection process now and the last time are demographic ones. Of the five countries with the biggest Catholic populations, only one (Italy) is European. Forty-six percent of the world's Catholics are in Latin America; there are more Catholics in the Philippines than in Italy. In 1955 there were 16 million Catholics in all of Africa; today there are 120 million.
Article continues http://slate.msn.com/id/2089815/
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.msn.com ...
How so?
I can't answer your questions because don't know what this quote means as I didn't write it.
I did a search on Martini and found this:
Cardinal Martini repeats call for decentralized Church government
Jerusalem, Apr. 07, 2004 (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the retired Archbishop of Milan who for years was Europe's most prominent liberal prelate, has broken a long silence with a new call for greater collegiality in the governance of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Martini, who now lives primarily in Jerusalem, offered his thoughts in a long interview published by the Italian daily Il Tempo . He said that there is "still a long road" to the implementation of the vision proclaimed by Vatican II for a collegial government.
The Jesuit cardinal mentioned the Synod of Bishops as an important element in a less centralized form of Church governance. The Synod, he said, should be "a sort of permanent council of regents for the Church, beside the Pope." But he said with regret that the Synod has not yet become a permanent institution. He suggested that modern means of communication should make it feasible to assemble up to 4,500 bishops.
Cardinal Martini called for occasional meetings of the Synod of Bishops to discuss the central problems facing the Catholic Church. Although he said that the synod should discuss major policy issues as well as pastoral concerns, and argued that "synods and councils are the same thing," he cautioned Il Tempo that he was not proposing a "Vatican III" council. That would be a mistake, he said, because "it would mean calling into question all that was done by Vatican II."
The cardinal also called for a stronger role for national bishops' conferences in the administration of the Church. He suggested that the episcopal conferences might even be given a voice in papal elections, so that the conclave would be more representative of the world's Catholic population. On another controversial issue, Cardinal Martini said that the possibility of ordaining women to the diaconate "deserves greater recognition than is currently possible under canonical legislation." Cardinal Martini was regard for some years as the leading "progressive" candidate to succeed Pope John Paul II (bio - news). During a meeting of the Synod of Bishops for Europe in 1999, he caused a stir by suggesting that the Church should reconsider the understanding of papal primacy, and suggesting the development of new forms for exercising collegial leadership. It was that address which led some reporters to suggest that the Italian prelate was calling for "Vatican III," although Cardinal Martini had immediately sought to clarify that he had no such intention.
Although he is no longer considered a likely successor to the current Pope, Cardinal Martini remains a highly influential prelate, whose opinions are closely watched by other Church leaders, and he could be an important figure in the next papal conclave. He obliquely acknowledged that influence in his interview with Il Tempo , saying, "there are, in the Church, some wise people who have ways of making their voices heard other than a simple vote."
The re-appearance of an Italian pope would fulfill the "olive" reference because Italy is an olive producing country. The "olive branch" as a symbol of peace might be too vague but a super-pacifist would also fulfill such prophecy. However, if there are one or two more popes yet to become pope, the Benedictine might not be this one and we might not live to see it for a long time. Given the longevity of people nowadays and the long reign of this pope, the next two popes may have papacies that last over 50 years each. In spite of being middle-aged myself, this might be the last election our generation lives to see, especially if the new one is middle-aged himself.
Much like the last presidential election, this conclave might be one of the two most important ones of our lifetime.
To: UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide
Wow--picking a Catholic from an Islamic country would be the modern equivalent of JPII's selection as a democracy-lover from a communist country. It would also give the church a clear direction in confrontation between the Judeo-Christian tradition versus post-terrorist Islam.
And the reference to olives cannot be denied.
106 posted on 04/03/2005 1:14:08 AM EST by MHT
For nearly 20 years Arinze was the Vatican's point man for relations with Islam, which may play in his favor, as cardinals may take that into consideration. In addition, he has traveled a great deal around the world and is thus well known. Last year at a Vatican function Arinze delivered a harsh broadside against pro-choice politicians (my kind of man!).
Going against him is the fact that he may not be sufficiently "connected" with inside-the-Curia politics.
With all these variations or possibilities, it makes me wonder if a bit of Nostradamus hindsight will take place after the fact.
Me figures their thoughts are "OK, we gave you furuhners a shot at it for a while, now we're takin' it back, thank you very much ..."
My money is on a an aged Italian (pope, not wine).
More important than the spread of democracy, it might ensure the spread of Christianity throughout the region, a process that will most likely involve quite a few martyrs but also will lead to quite a few very holy men and women.
And we could use holy men and women in this time where love for the divine in the hearts of men grows colder each and every day.
I wouldn't doubt it for a second.
The fact is, even if the pope doesn't fit any of the possibilities I have outlined above, people will find a way to make the prophecy fit. For all we know, he might take the name "Pope Benedict XVI", which will be tied to the Order of St. Benedict (without him necessarily being a member), the Olivetans.
That's the beauty of prophecies... when they don't fit, people make them fit.
"Errare humanum est, in errore perservare stultum." is from Seneca. Translated it means "It is human to make a mistake, it is stupid to persist in it."
"The Catholic Church is supposed to be destroyed (by Muslims perhaps).
This is more like what I was thinking."
Such an event would also have to include the end of the world.
The world can't exist without the Catholic Church?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.