Posted on 02/11/2013 12:06:45 PM PST by Alex Murphy
The entire College of Cardinals has been appointed by Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI, therefore its extraordinarily unlikely that the next pope will not reflect their collective interpretation of the council, which means in worldly terms, a conservative pope, said R.R. Reno, editor of First Things magazine and professor of theology at Creighton University, in Omaha, Neb. So the question is whether the College of Cardinals wants another professor pope or do they want someone to kind of deal with the Vatican bureaucracy, or a diplomat?
Im not a handicapper and I couldnt begin to speculate, he said. But the common wisdom is these things swing like a pendulum.
William Hill, Britain's largest bookmaker, offered odds of 3/1 against for Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, who is 80 and was once the world's youngest bishop. Odds were set at 7/2 for Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Ghanian Cardinal Peter Turkson.
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power had the same trio as frontrunners, but made Ouellet the favorite. Britain's Ladbrokes had Turkson the leading contender.
Other possible successors include Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna and Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras.
Whomever is selected, Reno said, will have the initial task of providing a strong, clear identity and purpose internationally, particularly in Europe and throughout Latin America.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is a long shot at best, Reno said.
Its not clear that the rest of the church would accept American hegemony, he said, despite the fact that Dolan backs the popes conservative vision.
[SNIP]
When pressed for whom he thought was the leading candidate worldwide, Bretzke selected the 71-year-old Scola, who was appointed Archbishop of Milan by Pope Benedict XVI in June 2011 after serving as Patriarch of Venice
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Now that's funny! I don't care who you are!
You claim that the Catholic Church is at odds with the Bible.
Yet your own knowledge of the Bible is extremely shaky (for example, your failure to recall that both Samuel and David, among other leaders of God's people, retired before death).
Therefore your view that you can stand in judgment over the Church in matters of Scripture, when your own knowledge of the Scriptures is fairly exiguous, shows that you are dwelling in a proverbial glass house.
And all of their reasons, examined in the light of day, were laughably ill-founded.
But, much to the profit of the promoters of the Westminster Confession, they were highly self-serving.
“History is the Catholic Churches biggest critic for their claims of divine guidance or authorship. Well... that and nearly the entire Bible.”
There are those who lack the Grace to see Truth. This is true.
Actually I wish you had a lot more than one vote. Don't forget you don't have to be a Cardinal to be elected. Celestine V was a monk when elected.
My guess is he is getting senile, maybe Alzheimer’s. If he had a terminal illness he would just let it run its course and have a new successor. If he was just frail, then he would cut back on touring.
I fear he’s losing his mental faculties, and doesn’t want to linger on for years not even knowing who he is, leaving the Church paralyzed.
Just a guess as to why he would do such an unusual thing.
I think St. Malachy called this one “early” for Peter the Roman (ie Turkson).
Putting aside the fact that there is zero evidence Malachy even wrote the supposed prophecies of Malachy, there has already been a Pope whose birth name was Peter and who was actually born and raised in Rome.
"Steady movement into the Republican Party"? What about the movement away from freedom and liberty and constitutionality that we've seen over the course of multiple elections, even in the Republican Party? If someone claims that Catholics have become more Republican over the last forty years, then we can either give them credit for the sorry mess the Republican Party is in, or we castigate them for being attracted to it.
And on the subject of laughing matters, if there's something ridiculous to laugh at, it'll continue to get laughs - so long as I'm on watch.
That’s the most mixed metaphors in one sentence that I’ve seen in awhile. Good job!
Huh? What Bible do you read? Unfortunately, your definition of the church cannot be true, unless Christ is a liar. Look at the Church in context of Scripture.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Mat 5:14-15
So here Christ says His Church will be visible.
Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Eph 4:3-5
The Church is to be one, not many. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mat 6:18
Here Christ says his Church will not be destroyed.
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. John 16:12-13
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 1Tim 3:15
Here Christ says, and Paul reaffirms, that the Church will always teach the TRUTH.
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."Mat 28:18-20
Again, here Jesus assures us that He is always with us, to the very end.
So Christ says His Church will not be destroyed or fall away from him, that the Holy Spirit will guide the Church to always teach the Truth, and He will always be with us. The Church is much more than a collection of nice people who read a Bible and believe anything they want.
It would not surprise me that it could be because after seeing how Blessed John Paul II suffered bigtime from both age and ill health while doing his duties as Pope, Pope B16 felt he could not subject the Church once again to another aging and suffering Pope.
Plus having written 3 best selling books about Jesus must having its toll also on him.
Nobody was betting on Karol Wojtyla back in 1978.
Nobnody would have bet a dime on Josef Ratzinger in 2005. (I was astounded: "What??" - too good to be true.)
So, since nobody's mentioning him, and as an American his chances are close to zero, let me say I want Card. Raymond Burke. Wonderful Canon Law expert, head of the Signatura, holy, prayerful, devoted to the defense of doctrine and the purity of religious life, Wants to precent manifest defiant unrepentant sinners (like pro-abort Catholic politicians.) from desecrating the Eucharist by unworthy reception. Go for it, Big Ray.
Veni Sancte Spiritu.
Ah! The clashing of symbols!”
As a born & bred conservative Evangelical Protestant, trained in Evangelical colleges, I find your snide, arrogant anti-Catholic rant to be offensive and displaying an ignorance of both church history and the Catholic Church.
So yeah, Samuel appointing his sons as prophets in his old age, and David Solopassing on the kingship to Solomon, count as examples of men chosen by God who passed on their leadership to other, younger men at some point before they actually died.
“The Gospels came from the Catholic Church, not the Church from the Gospels” ~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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.