Pope John Paul I of Holy Memory
After Pope Benedict's momentous and historic announcement today - that he is resigning his office due to age and infirmity - speculation is already running high as to his possible successor. It is truly amazing how much drama is created by papal elections, they possess a mystique that is mysterious and inexplicable. So here we go again.
I was in Rome many years ago for the funeral of Paul VI (I well remember the green body turning to decay rather quickly because he had been hurriedly prepared and rumors of conspiracies, poisonings, abounded) And I was present in St. Peter's Square both for the election of the saintly but long forgotten Pope John Paul I and for his installation mass. What a moment of hope that was for all Catholics worldwide and how quickly it was shattered. And I feel I will be present in St. Peter's for this next election as well, since we're a mere hour and a half from Rome by plane here in Prague.
For those interested in speculating, here is an interesting lineup from Business Insider.
Cardinal Schonborn my personal favorite is #9 on the list with a chance of 25/1. Why so low? His recent decision to reinstate an openly gay partnered man to the parish council, publicly humiliating one of this pastors.
3 comments:
Thanks Jayden. Cardinal Schonborn would be awesome and I'm glad you mention him here. So far he has been sidelined by most of the media but we live in hope !! No doubt the debate will intensify as time goes on. Blessings
Jayden, you better be blogging if you're going to be hanging around Rome during the conclave.
This should be really fascinating to watch in the next month or so. Cardinal Turkson is already sucking up media exposure and I'm sure Dolan and some others won't be far behind.
This will be a very different conclave now that it comes with advance warning. It's hard to campaign when you don't know when the election is, which in the past has happened only after a pope dies.
If the politicking gets unseemly it may be the last time we have advance notice for a conclave. LOL
I'll try my best Colleen, depends on the timing of the conclave and finances! I dont have John Allen's unlimited budget :) 30 years ago for JPI I stayed for free over two weeks wi the SVD fathers. But I'm determined to get down to Rome for at least a few days, hopefully to,witness the white smoke!, yes, this one's going to be really interesting.
Sadly, Philomena, Cardinal Schonborn seems to be slipping further down the ladder and out of sight. But let's not underestimate the Holy Spirit.
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