# Who is papable right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 19, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475 "2025-02-19T01:01:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/81 "2025-04-22T00:38:45Z")
As long as they don’t take all that prime real estate with them. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/82 "2025-04-22T15:12:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > …America does not matter to the Catholic Church. At all. Google AI tells me: “In 2023, dioceses and individuals in the United States contributed 13.6 million euros (approximately $14.6 million) to the Vatican’s [Peter’s Pence](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1082US1082&cs=0&sca_esv=a24eb7beebb63ee4&sxsrf=AHTn8zrt17Yxj44fzQhUPITk8E8Rr4mLQA%3A1745334647634&q=Peter%27s+Pence&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjt2f6c9uuMAxU7vokEHTzhKXgQxccNegQIAhAB&mstk=AUtExfAkbxXVmT8YXFdREhgpET3O243-D4viAj4wAlwVrVcrRbAdhDK3lP-oguAfx0P2run0sZqdGN0kUJ58mwFoNOvAJ4ja6h31ToHL-8hOwnX_9y5TDLWXYNn_NaJMGmVnGo6nt5jd1hd81DE-efhy98554O58e-kiKoyatvB1iY8CXL8&csui=3) fund, making them the largest overall donors. This represents about 28.1% of the total donations received by the Vatican that year.” So maybe the Roman Catholic Church cares just a _tiny_ bit about America. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/83 "2025-04-22T16:15:06Z")
One name I see popping up is Angelo Scola. > **[Angelo Scola](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelo_Scola)** > > Angelo Scola (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Italian pronunciation: \[ˈandʒelo ˈskɔːla\]; born 7 November 1941) is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church, philosopher and theologian. He was Archbishop of Milan from 2011 to 2017. He served as Patriarch of Venice from 2002 to 2011. He has been a cardinal since 2003 and a bishop si... What I don’t understand about his being a likely candidate is that he’s 83. Presumably he won’t even be at the conclave, but his name is on all the lists I’ve seen so far of likely candidates. He’s not at the top of the list, but he is solidly in the middle. Do any of you all have any guesses as to why he’s still being mentioned? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/84 "2025-04-22T16:16:38Z")
It has been 46.5 years since we have had an Italian Pope. Is there any movement from the Cardinals to go back to “The Pope must be Italiano.”? Also it is the Jubilee in Rome. Once that white smoke is seen, you won’t be able to get within 10 miles of the City to hear the Habemus Papam. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/85 "2025-04-22T16:23:09Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Do any of you all have any guesses as to why he’s still being mentioned? He seems like a Francis light. Under him the Church would take a small step back and not push the boundaries. In cases like this, I wonder is there is a Cardinal that has almost enough people behind him to become Pope but still needs a couple of years. They throw support to someone like Scola who will likely be dead in a couple of years and spend that time politicking. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/86 "2025-04-22T16:43:05Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > As long as they don’t take all that prime real estate with them. As someone who’s followed the financial problems of traditional mainstream religions, I can say that a lot of that “prime” real estate is close to unsellable. A lot of it is located in poor residential neighborhoods (urban and rural) where the neighbors will fight redevelopment, old buildings full of asbestos and in bad repair that are too expensive either to save or tear down. For every St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue, there are literally hundreds of properties that no one wants. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/87 "2025-04-22T16:45:36Z")
Why assume the favorite is the most likely? 2 out of the last 3 popes were surprises. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/88 "2025-04-22T16:58:46Z")
Here’s another list: > **[Pope Francis successor: who’s in contention to be the next pontiff? | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/world/pope-francis-successor-frontrunners-intl-dg/index.html)** > > An old saying about papal elections goes as follows: “He who enters the conclave as pope, leaves it as a cardinal.” In other words, any candidate seen as the frontrunner before the voting begins should be treated with caution, and no cardinal should... ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/89 "2025-04-22T17:05:27Z")
Deleted - mistake ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/90 "2025-04-22T17:40:03Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Why assume the favorite is the most likely? 2 out of the last 3 popes were surprises. The assumption seems to be that since Pope Francis appointed most of the cardinals that will be at the conclave, it’s likely they share his policies and political views. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t mind seeing Cardinal Tagle as the next pope, and he seems to be the odds on favorite right now. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/91 "2025-04-22T18:13:24Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > The assumption seems to be that since Pope Francis appointed most of the cardinals that will be at the conclave, it’s likely they share his policies and political views. That makes sense if you look at Benedict, where there was only one voting Cardinal besides him who wasn’t appointed by JPII. But how do you explain Francis, when the majority of Cardinals had been appointed by Benedict? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/92 "2025-04-22T18:19:01Z")
Google AI says 80% of the current College of Cardinals were appointed by Pope Francis. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/93 "2025-04-22T18:25:18Z")
Better that hallucinating AI: the complete list of all cardinals still alive, sorted by eligible and ineligible to participate in a papal conclave: > **[List of current cardinals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_cardinals)** > > Cardinals are senior members of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome. They are typically ordained bishops and generally hold important roles within the church, such as leading prominent archdioceses or heading dicasteries within the Roman Curia. Cardinals are chosen by the pope and formally created in a consistory, and one of their foremost duties is the election of a new pope... Ineligible to participate in a papal conclave means the cardinal in question is over 80 years old. That is about half of them, and of course most of the ones appointed by JP2 and many of Benedict’s flock. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/94 "2025-04-22T18:34:40Z")
Question: Can the Pope be elected from churches in communion with the RCC, like the Coptic, Ethiopian, Marionite, Greek Byzantine, &c.? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/95 "2025-04-22T18:37:22Z")
If the RCC wants to go backwards and become MRGA, then there would be no better choice than Robert Sarah. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/96 "2025-04-22T18:47:41Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > But how do you explain Francis, when the majority of Cardinals had been appointed by Benedict? Maybe the George HW Bush appointing David Souter to the SCOTUS effect? In other words maybe Benedict’s appointments didn’t all share his views. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > If the RCC wants to go backwards and become MRGA, then there would be no better choice than Robert Sara. MRGA? I Googled it and that wasn’t any help. Even in the context of the Roman Catholic Church, traditional Google seems to think that I’m merely misspelling megachurch, and the AI thinks that I’m trying to get information on St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Dallas / Arlington. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/97 "2025-04-22T18:49:04Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > MRGA? Make Rome Great Again ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/98 "2025-04-22T18:51:56Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Make Rome Great Again Got it. Although if that’s what they want, wouldn’t Peter Erdo (sorry, I don’t know how to make the diacritics to spell his name properly) of Hungary be the way to go? Just as conservative, and they wouldn’t have to worry about offending the racist wing of the Church who don’t want a Black pope. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/99 "2025-04-22T18:59:14Z")
Because Sarah has had a variety of offices in the Holy See so I assume he’s more politically connected among the cardinal-electors. And while Sarah and Erdő are conservatives, Sarah’s positions are very public meaning you know who you are voting for rather than a relative unknown. ---
**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 22, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475/100 "2025-04-22T19:02:18Z")
So you’re saying there’s not a lot of cardinals with low Erdő numbers? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475.md?page=6)