Next in line

Speculation ranges widely as the College of Cardinals gathers in Rome to choose a new pope | Edward E. Plowman

On the eve of the Vatican conclave that will conclude with the selection of a new pope to replace the late John Paul II, it was anybody’s guess who that might be. There are 117 cardinals under age 80 who are eligible to vote; one of them will get the job. They are forbidden to speculate publicly about their choice. They can’t campaign for the post, either, but that won’t stop them from quiet maneuvering among themselves to try to get their “God-favored man” chosen.

Speculation ranges widely among Roman Catholic scholars, clergy, lay leaders, and others. Will it be, should it be, someone from Africa or Latin America, where the church has grown spectacularly in recent years, and where issues like poverty, hunger, and disease could command greater attention? Should the Italians get their wish to have the papacy returned to one of their own, someone who will devote more time to internal matters of the Vatican bureaucracy? It won’t be one of the 11 Americans (no one outside of America wants a superpower pope), but should it be a European who will open the door to greater collegiality in church control and to moderation in matters of faith and culture in the Western church? American conservatives shudder at the thought.