# Who are the front runners for the next Pope? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 18, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498 "2010-04-18T01:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/21 "2010-04-19T16:31:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Marinara sauce, maybe with some Italian sausage or meatballs. None of your Latin American sauces with chorizos and shit, that is an Abomination before the IFSM! FSM, Forgive him, for he don’t know what he’s saying… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/22 "2010-04-19T20:12:13Z")
I don’t think there’s ever any official “short list” at all. In principle, all of the cardinals assembled in the college could all be divinely inspired to pick Joseph Schmo of Hoboken, New Jersey, whom nobody had ever heard of before. Now, in practice, it’s possible to make pretty good guesses as to a short list (if nothing else, it’s almost always a cardinal), but since any old person or group can make such guesses, such a “short list” could come out at any time. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/23 "2010-04-19T21:15:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t think there’s ever any official “short list” at all. In principle, all of the cardinals assembled in the college could all be divinely inspired to pick Joseph Schmo of Hoboken, New Jersey, whom nobody had ever heard of before. See [Gregory X, a/k/a Teobaldo Visconti,](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06798a.htm) who was not even a priest when he was elected (but he was at least an archdeacon). Highly unusual situation – the College had been deadlocked for three years and Teobaldo was a compromise candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/24 "2010-04-19T23:10:41Z")
They could really use their own Gorbachev to bring in some much-needed and long-overdue reform. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/25 "2010-04-19T23:14:06Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > They could really use their own Gorbachev to bring in some much-needed and long-overdue reform. Gorbachev is a bad name to drop to an authoritarian institution that wants to survive. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/26 "2010-04-19T23:36:23Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Not that I think that Benedict XVI will abdicate over the molestation contraversy but he is so very old and this certainly cannot be good for his health. So if for whatever reason Pope Benedict is no longer Pope before the end of the year, who are the most likely candidates to take over the RCC? Can I request someone who isn’t so god damned creepy? JP2 looked like an old man, Ratzinger looks like he just finished throwing hoverpulpits at Yoda and is about to go eat some roasted orphan. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/27 "2010-04-20T03:42:36Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Can I request someone who isn’t so god damned creepy? JP2 looked like an old man, Not when he was elected, he didn’t, as this image, when [he was just elected](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cDfM7z6mNCA/ScrNz2fWMZI/AAAAAAAABYs/3bBdZhYXd00/s400/John+Paul+II+election.jpg), and [this one](http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pope-john-paul-ii-0201.jpg) show. Those of us who were around at the time (I know, I’m entering codger-ville 😛 ) remember him as a very dynamic guy - the pope, skiing? By the end of his life, he _was_ an old man - he was 85 when he died. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/28 "2010-04-20T03:52:21Z")
Does anyone else keep reading the thread title as “Who are the front runners for the next Dope?” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/29 "2010-04-20T03:53:24Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Not when he was elected, he didn’t, as this image, when [he was just elected](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cDfM7z6mNCA/ScrNz2fWMZI/AAAAAAAABYs/3bBdZhYXd00/s400/John+Paul+II+election.jpg), and [this one](http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pope-john-paul-ii-0201.jpg) show. Those of us who were around at the time (I know, I’m entering codger-ville 😛 ) remember him as a very dynamic guy - the pope, skiing? > > By the end of his life, he _was_ an old man - he was 85 when he died. There’s the problem. It should be canon law that when you hit 70, you go to the Pope Farm upstate. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/30 "2010-04-20T04:11:05Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > His top ten are Cardinals Scherer, Antonelli, Oellet, Napier, Scola, Barbarin, Maradiaga, Schoenborn, Vallini, and Policarpo. There’s also Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc-- I’d cast white smoke for Doc. He’s had some secular education and understands basic laws of responsibility, being a Doc and all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/31 "2010-04-20T13:01:37Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Does anyone else keep reading the thread title as “Who are the front runners for the next Dope?” too many candidates for a list. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/32 "2010-04-20T15:06:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Gorbachev is a bad name to drop to an authoritarian institution that wants to survive. Somehow the idea of the utter dissolution of the Catholic Church doesn’t fill me with even a tiny hint of dread. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/33 "2010-04-20T15:09:57Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Can I request someone who isn’t so god damned creepy? JP2 looked like an old man, Ratzinger looks like he just finished throwing hoverpulpits at Yoda and is about to go eat some roasted orphan. That’s actually usually the big question that comes up when it comes time to select a new Pope, whether they’ll choose some octagenarian that will be dead before he has time to do anything, or a younger guy who would have time to make reforms, but who they’ll basically be stuck with for a couple of decades if he ends up being a mess. Obviously during the last election they went the former route. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/34 "2010-04-20T16:05:42Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > There’s also Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc-- I’d cast white smoke for Doc. He’s had some secular education and understands basic laws of responsibility, being a Doc and all. > 😃 Ok, so admittedly, that was just a list. Here are the ten of them in detail. Odilio Scherer is Archbishop of Sao Paolo. He’s generally considered a theological moderate. He’s been in the news lately both for his opposition to a Brazilian law that allows fetuses with anencephaly to be aborted, and made a public statement supporting the pope and saying that the Catholic church doesn’t cover abuse. Ennio Antonelli is the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family. He’s considered a theological moderate concerned with social justice and poverty issues. He’s spoken out in defense of the traditional family, saying that it’s under attack by divorce, unmarried parents, and gay marriage, but has also said that a voter should be more concerned with a candidate’s issues than whether he or she is divorced. Marc Oellet is Archbishop of Quebec. He’s generally considered a theological conservative. He’s argued that society, especially Quebec society, has grown too secular, and that the Catholic church in Quebec is persecuted because its opponents can’t deal with the fact that the Church tells the truth about God and values. He made a public apology saying that the Church in Quebec in the past has contributed to sexism, racism, homophobia, and indifference to the needs of First Nations. Wilfrid Napier is a Franciscan and Archbishop of Durban. He’s spoken out against the South African government’s AIDS policy, saying that the distribution of condoms is ineffective and that the government should instead promote abstinence, and he’s been critical of the Church’s failure to deal with Africa and African issues. Angelo Scola is Patriarch of Venice. He’s written extensively on a number of topics, and has said that it’s necessary for the Church to take an active role in public affairs and that Catholic teachings “are interwoven with human affairs in every age, demonstrating the beauty and fecundity of the faith for everyday life.” Phillippe Barbarin is Archbishop of Lyon. I don’t really know what his positions are, but he’s spoken out for more protection and tolerance of immigrants, further ecumenicism, and denying Communion to Catholic politicians who support policies contrary to Catholic teachings. Oscar Maradiaga is Archbishop of Tegucigalpa. He’s known for his outspoken advocacy of human rights and international debt forgiveness. He’s made statements that denying Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion isn’t an issue, because those politicians, for their support of abortion, are automatically excommunicated. He was an early supporter of Zelaya, but then changed his position, claiming that Zelaya, instead of helping the poor, only helped himself, and that he had been contaminated by the ideas of Hugo Chavez. Christoph Schoenborn is Archbishop of Vienna. He’s widely seen as a theological moderate. He’s called for closer ties to the Orthodox churches, and said that while the use of condoms are never ideal and always an evil, it’s a lesser evil to use them if you think that you might have an STD rather than spreading it. He’s also condemned the SSPX, basically calling them a bunch of reactionary anti-semites. Agustino Vallini is Vicar General of Rome. I’m having trouble finding his positions, but I know he condemned a Roman High School for having a vending machine that sold condoms. Jose Policarpo is Patriarch of Lisbon. He supports further ecumenicism, but he stays out of the public eye. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/35 "2010-04-20T16:15:18Z")
The only two that would give ME hope (with the understanding that just about everything I believe (or don’t believe) would give the average 90-year-old retired priest a heart attack) are Schoenborn and Policarpo, and I’m fairly sure they both would STILL be too conservative for me on most issues. And, frankly, I’m only including the latter because of the ecumenism, which this current pope has apparently downgraded severely from the JPII era. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/36 "2010-04-20T21:09:32Z")
Maybe we’ll get a lady this time! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/37 "2010-04-20T23:13:15Z")
Eh, the last one didn’t work out so well. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/38 "2010-04-20T23:35:29Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > Maybe we’ll get a lady this time! A woman who would dress like **that** is no lady! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/39 "2010-04-21T01:23:35Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > And, frankly, I’m only including the latter because of the ecumenism, which this current pope has apparently downgraded severely from the JPII era. John Paul II has only himself to blame for that. His personal view of ecumenism was not reflected in his actions. He spent his entire pontificate turning the church into a bastion of cardinals, bishops, and priests who, if they did not kowtow to his direction of conservative Catholocism, were punished. He wasted no time after his election; for example, Fr. Drinan was ordered to remove himself from the U.S. House in 1980 - all priests were ordered to remove themselves from electoral politics - and it only got worse. The goal of JPII was to entirely reverse the movement of the church that took place during the reigns of John XXIII and Paul VI, and he succeeded completely. In my opinion, it wil take the church a century to recover from the disaster that was JPII. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498/40 "2010-04-21T01:49:15Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > John Paul II has only himself to blame for that. Oh, believe me, I have more than enough criticism reserved for Mr. Wojtyla himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-front-runners-for-the-next-pope/536498.md?page=3)