New Pope emerges next week

Barely 10 days after Pope Benedict XV1 stepped down as leader of the Catholic Church, cardinals yesterday voted to begin the process of picking his successor on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. According to the Vatican, the cardinals who have gathered in Rome, voted to go into the Conclave, to elect a new pope next Tuesday afternoon.
Only cardinals younger than 80 are eligible to go into the Conclave and vote. The procedure is that the 115 cardinals, who will serve as electors, will enter the Conclave after a morning Mass, the Vatican also stated. Any of the cardinals, who gets the highest votes, would emerge as the new Pope. Also yesterday, the cardinals voted to accept the letters of explanation of Cardinals Keith O’Brien of Scotland and Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja of Indonesia, who are eligible to vote for the next pope but will not attend the Conclave.
Darmaatmadja cited health reasons, and O’Brien cited personal reasons. In preparation for the outcome of the Conclave, Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the chimney used to send up the smoke, to signal that a new Pope has been chosen by the cardinals, could be raised over the Sistine Chapel. The voting takes place inside the chapel, beneath the ornate ceiling painted by Michelangelo. “The building was closed to tourists Tuesday and will remain so for the foreseeable future,” the Vatican said.
Work is well underway to transform it for the conclave. Already, the cardinals have sworn an oath of secrecy. While any of the cardinals could be picked as Pope, bookmakers have outlined some favourites. They include: Cardinal Peter Turkson, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Cardinal Angelo Scola, Cardinal Jorge Marion Bergoglio, Joao Braz de Aviz, Cardinal Timothy Dolan,Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn and Cardinal Luis Tagle A Ghanaian, he got his red hat from Pope John Paul II in 2003.
He is president of the Vatican’s pontifical council for justice and peace. Born on October 11, 1948 in Nsuta-Wassaw, a mining hub in Ghana’s western region, to a Methodist mother and a Catholic father, he was educated in New York and Rome before being ordained to the priesthood in 1975. In 1992, he was appointed archbishop of Cape Coast, the former colonial capital of Ghana and a key diocese. The multilingual Canadian cardinal, is the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, which oversees the handing out of mitres.
He is one of the most powerful men in the Vatican. The 68-year-old former archbishop of Quebec, who was appointed to the third most important job in the Vatican three years ago, has the power to make or break careers. His position makes him a natural candidate for the papacy, although he was careful to downplay any talk of promotion when he was chosen to lead the congregation in July 2010. Born in Quebec in 1944, Ouellet studied at Laval University, the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and the Université de Montréal before being ordained in May 1968.
He has spent many years living and teaching in Colombia, which would make him an attractive figure to Latin American Catholics should one of their members again be passed over as pontiff. He was ordained as bishop by John Paul II and is seen as a close ally of Benedict XVI. He was born on November 7, 1941 in Lombardy. Ordained in 1970, he holds doctorates in Philosophy and Theology and was professor of theological anthropology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
He was appointed bishop of Grosseto in 1991, patriarch of Venice in 2002, proclaimed cardinal in 2003, and appointed archbishop of Milan in 2011. He is currently Archbishop of Buenos Aries, Argentina. Reports indicate he was the runner-up in the last papal election, ultimately losing to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who would go on to become Pope Benedict XVI. People, who know the cardinal, say the 76-year-old is a simple man who would defend catholic identity and current traditions. The 65-year-old cardinal from Brazil, is also a possible Pope.
He is said to have brought fresh air to the Vatican department for religious congregations when he took over in 2011. He supports the preference for the poor in Latin America’s liberation theology, but not the excesses of its advocates. Possible drawbacks include his low profile. He is 62 from United States of America. He became the voice of U.S. Catholicism after being named archbishop of New York in 2009.
His humour and dynamism have impressed the Vatican, where both are often missing. But cardinals are wary of a “superpower Pope” and his backslapping style may be too American for some. From Italy, Ravasi is 70 and has been Vatican culture minister since 2007. He represents the Church to the worlds of art, science, and culture and even to atheists. This profile could hurt him if cardinals decide they need an experienced pastor rather than another professor as pope. From Argentina, he is a “transatlantic” figure born in Buenos Aires to Italian parents.
He held the third-highest Vatican post, as its chief of staff in 2000-2007. But he has no pastoral experience and his job overseeing eastern churches is not a power position in Rome. The 63-year-old cardinal from Brazil ranks as Latin America’s strongest candidate. Archbishop of Sao Paolo, the largest diocese in the largest Catholic country, he is conservative in his country but would rank as a moderate elsewhere. The rapid growth of Protestant churches in Brazil could count against him. He is a former student of Pope Benedict with a pastoral touch the pontiff lacks.
At 57, the Vienna archbishop has ranked as papal material since editing the Church catechism in the 1990s. But some cautious reform stands and strong dissent by some Austrian priests could hurt him. At 55, Tagle from Philippines, has a charisma often compared to that of the late Pope John Paul. He is also close to Pope Benedict after working with him at the International Theological Commission. While he has many fans, he only became a cardinal in 2012 and conclaves are wary of young candidates.
SUN