Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria?
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 ...
Glad I was able to get you to register!
From the little that I know, "in errore perservare stultum" means "to persevere in error is stupidity."
Well, as a Catholic, I think we need a Ratzinger type to clean up the priest abuse problem like the Church has been having in the US. But I could be wrong.
Funniest damn posts I've read here in several weeks. Thanks!
Thanks! Great line!
It would be interesting. I sense most Catholics would have no problem with his skin tone. The previous Pope is a hard act to follow though...
Hey, that sounds like the man I picked. Cardinal Carlo MArtini. He was born in Turin on February 15, 1927. That makes him Italian. Born in 1927, making him 78 years old.
That it is... I found it on some list of latin phrases and have been using it ever since... it's good advice.
And now that you've registered, don't be a stranger on the forum! :)
I wonder, if like everything else, this process just boils down to popularity or politics.
The St. Malachy Prophecies speculate that the next Pope will be the "Pope of the Olive."
Your speculation is right on target!!!
The chances of an American pope are slim and nill imho.
Beyond this sort of apocalyptic prophecy, I think that the name that JP's successor picks will say much about his intentions. Will his name be JPIII, as a continuation of a successful papacy or will he try to recapture some of the mystic glory of the early days of the church with a form of Peter or Peter/Paul? Or can we add another Roman numeral behind everyone's old favorite, Leo?
Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria?
Sorry...Not an American...Can't happen.
I think he could still be in the running, however. Sins and bad management don't disqualify a person, rather God challenges us to overcome human flaws. There'd be great controversy in his selection, but it may be just the lesson we need for the world at this time.
"...but it may be just the lesson we need for the world at this time."???
And that lesson would be what?
Another old Italian? I think that that would undermine the sense of momentum that JPII worked so hard at building during his lifetime. Actually, visions of another aging Paul VI are kind of a downer. And, given medical technology, this pope may live past 100 years of age!
Salvation (?)
... perhaps I meant redemption.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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