Pope front-runner; Why Italian, 71, may get top job (favorite of John Paul 11, thinks like him)

DAILY NEWS ^ | April 9, 2005 | HELEN KENNEDY, STAFF WRITER

[Liz]

Like John Paul, (Cardinal Tettamanzi) is very conservative about church doctrine - taking strong positions against homosexuality, stem cell research and abortion - but liberal when it comes to issues of social justice. .....most importantly, he was a favorite of John Paul, is believed to have ghostwritten some of his encyclicals and would represent a smooth continuation of the late Pope's policies....

Good start.

[Cicero]

I'm a bit suspicious that the New York Times was pushing this guy yesterday, and now the Daily News is pushing him today. They say he is conservative. I wonder.

[Constitution Day]

(favorite of John Paul 11, thinks like him)

Wait, wait!
What about John Pauls 3 - 10?!

;^)

[Castro]

Like all but one of the voting cardinals, Tettamanzi is not a member of the secretive archtraditionalist group, but he has allied himself with them.

Any idea who the one Opus Dei Cardinal is?

[Finalapproach29er]

Bookmakers in London have him as the favorite.

Posted a few days ago. Yes, I know it's in poor taste.

[Liz]

The buzz is the guy is lobbying for the job---which may work against him.

[July20]

but liberal when it comes to issues of social justice.

Sounds like a fiscal socialist.

[MadIvan]

Sorry. I do not trust the Italian Church to maintain conservative values. The next Pope should come from Africa, the most conservative bastion.

Regards, Ivan

[Liz]

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima, Peru is supposedly the world’s lone Opus Dei cardinal.

[Petronski]

I'll continue to pray it's Arinze (or maybe Ratzinger or Schoenborn).

I don't like the idea of rewarding a campaigner.

[Petronski]

Forgot to ping you to my previous post.

[Hacksaw]

I'd favor that dude from Nigeria. From what I read, he is orthodox and a non compromiser.

[MadIvan]

Arinze and Ratzinger are the only ones I trust so far.

I am suspicious of creeping liberalism in the Church. We need the Church to maintain a hardline stance, perhaps an even harder stance than it does at the moment, not surrender to political correctness.

Regards, Ivan

[ChicagoHebrew]

John Paul III: The Search for Spock

[Sonny M]

I'm a bit suspicious that the New York Times was pushing this guy yesterday, and now the Daily News is pushing him today. They say he is conservative. I wonder.

He is socially conservative, but on economics (he has written, and talks about it, he also supported the anti-globalization protests in Italy during the G-8 conferance) he is liberal, if not outright socialist, and is not a believer in the free markets.

In some essence, you could argue that he is a throwback populist, on religion, culture, and doctrine, he is as conservative as one can get, on economics and politics, he is in the left wing brigade.

[Petronski]

A harder line on obedience to Roman Catholic dogma, agreed.


None of this lukewarm AmChurch 'democracy' garbage. I've had it up to my neck with it.

[NeoCaveman]

What about John Pauls 3 - 10?!

They were all before World War 11

:^D

[Petronski]

Heh!

[pa mom]

Yikes! Now I can't gamble either? :)

[Verginius Rufus]

They're right that a 71-year-old cardinal is unlikely to have a 26-year reign if elected pope.

There's a good chance that whoever is elected will be someone who isn't being talked about now...after the election of Karol Wojtyla in 1978, the NY Times had to admit he had not been mentioned even as a dark horse.

Of the 117 cardinals, subtract the 11 Americans and the known liberals among the European cardinals...the new pope will almost certainly be from among the remaining cardinals (although they could in theory pick someone who hadn't yet been named cardinal, that's unlikely).