Who will be the next pope?
2003-10-16 15:18
Vatican City - Pope John Paul II's declining health has sparked off a wave of speculation over his possible successor.
Cardinals gathered in Rome on Thursday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his election will get a chance to sound out possible successors to John Paul II ahead of a rare consistory to be convened early next week.
"The subject has not been discussed yet, because John Paul II's health is not worrying to that extent," Chilean Cardinal Jorge Medina said last week.
But he issued a timely reminder of some of the prerequisites the next leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics will be expected to possess.
A strong man
"It must be a man of faith, a strong man who is able to defend the faith. He must have lived an exemplary life. He must be able to be a role model," Medina said.
The pope himself will preside over the consistory on Tuesday, two days after beatifying Mother Teresa of Calcutta in St Peter's Square, expected to be attended by 250 000 faithful.
The consistory two days later will put him in touch with the "princes of the Church".
The following day, he will formally present the symbolic rings to 31 new cardinals he named last month. Twenty-six of the new cardinals are under the age of 80, enabling them to join elite group of 135 cardinals who will elect the next pope after the death of John Paul II.
The current incumbent's successor must win two thirds of the vote in the conclave, which is to hold a secret ballot in the Sistine Chapel.
Some Vatican watchers believe the cardinals could go back to the trend of electing an Italian pope, others feel that the election of a Polish pope in 1978 broke the mould and now is the time for a Latin American pontiff.
It may also come down to a choice between a conservative and a liberal. Many cardinals are divided over key issues such as contraception, allowing women priests, and allowing priests to marry.
Pipped for Pope
Among the Italian favourites are Cardinal Archbishop of Milan Dionigi Tettamanzi, 69, Angelo Scola of Venice, 61, Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, 69, Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, 76, and the head of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, Giovanni Battista Re, 69.
Beyond Italy, those most cited by commentators include Colombian cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the 74-year-old head of the Congregation for the Clergy, and Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, 61, archbishop of Tegucigalpa.
Argentine archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 66, and Brazil's archbishop of Sao Paolo, Claudio Hummes, 69, are others whose names are mentioned in some circles.
Africa also has a strong candidate: Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze, 71, who is the Vatican head of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
Among the outsiders, a young prelate is regularly cited as a contender: Vienna Archbishop Christoph Schonborn, who is only 58.
- AFP