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There are only two African (sub-Saharan, that is) candidates. The one most discussed is Peter Cardinal Turkington of Ghana, who seems pretty conservative (although he’s very involved in some sort of “economic justice” initiative, which doesn’t sound very good to me). He’s president of the “Peace and Justice Commission,” so he has Vatican experience.

But I don’t think Africa is ready to have a Pope, or at any rate, not this time. I don’t think he’d be a good choice, aside from his anti-capitalist leanings, because I don’t think he’d be able to bring in people of his own with experience and the background to deal with the Vatican bureacracy. This will be a problem with most Africans, who come from complete missionary territory.

It’s kind of a foregone conclusion that no American will be accepted, since Europeans (who make up the bulk of the electorate) are fervently anti-American, but I’d like to see either Cardinal Burke or Cdl Ouellet (Canadian). Both have considerable international experience, are multilingual, scholarly but very strong - Burke recently came out and said that pro-abortion pols should be DENIED Communion.

From Latin America, I think there’s one possibility, Cdl Sandri of Argentina. He has a lot of international experience, has spent much of his career at the Vatican, has very good relations with the Jews (important to BXVI), also knows the Mid East, and I think is quite a forceful person.

Whoever takes over is going to have to be very strong. BXVI had the ideas, but not the strength to carry them out, and I think this is why he is resigning. They (the Vatican appartchiks and the old VII crowd) opposed him at ever step and many of the things he ordered never took place, such as the broader distribution of the Old Mass. The bishops simply refused to comply, as in my diocese, and BXVI didn’t have the ability or the will to force them to do so. I hope his successor takes up his ideas...but is more forceful and can actually implement them.