Pope Francis appointed 109 of the 135 cardinals who will elect the next pope.

[lapucelle]

To be elected pope, a cardinal must receive two-thirds of the vote, in this case about 90 votes.

In addition to being an outstanding spiritual leader, Pope Francis was an excellent steward of the papacy and a shrewd tactician when it came to Church politics.

Francis knew what he was doing: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the conservative bishop who sent the letter instructing priests to deny Nancy Pelosi communion, was never named cardinal. He will not be voting.



May Francis rest in peace

[Scrivener7]

1. That's hopeful. Maybe it'll be someone who continues what he started.

[Mike 03]

2. Outstanding news. I'm really happy that we have some DUers here

who can explain this situation and what is likely to happen next.

Losing an embodiment of humanity and decency and compassion at this particular moment is worse than if the context was difference. Speaking for myself, I just see evil ascending and every good person we lose is painful to endure. So I hope the next Pope is similar to him in core values, kindness and reaching out to everyone (even non-Christians).

I'm surprised by how sad I am.

[Mz Pip]

3. Watch Conclave

The process is pretty accurately described.

After the funeral the Cardinals are sequestered, no outside contact allowed, until a new Pope is elected.

[snowybirdie]

4. The movie was great

And depicted the process accurately. I also read the book which was amazing! Tells the story well with a surprise ending I loved!

[Mz Pip]

6. The movie was pretty close to the book

Cardinal Lawrence had a different name in the book, but that was about it.

[sdfernando]

35. It was a fabulous film!

I just recommended it to my group of co-workers at our daily meeting today.

[MurrayDelph]

50. They were supposed to run in on our cruise ship last night.

They announced the death of Pope Frankie and the change of program in the same announcement.

[Mz Pip]

52. We must be on the same cruise!

We’re in Portsmouth UK this morning. On a viking ship.

[MurrayDelph]

56. Viking, yes. Portsmouth, no.

We are currently sailing the Okhotsk Sea, on our way from Japan to Alaska.

[chia]

10. Your kind and thoughtful words are appreciated.

I remember so clearly the death of Pope John Paul II, the sudden news this morning brings back those same feelings of shared loss.

[Buckeyeblue]

5. They need a pope who will bring people back to church

So I look for someone who will continue to modernize the church's views.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Wake me up when they name a woman pope, or maybe even a black man. . . nt

[paleotn]

11. You and I will be long gone.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

13. That's possible for a black pope, But not a woman

A woman pope would be great,
But ONLY if that woman supports abortion rights,
And only if she supports the Rights of every person,
Gay straight trans etc.

Having a conservative woman as pope would be a step backwards

Not that it matters much to me,
I don’t care for organized religion,

‘Religion is the only thing that keeps the poor
from killing the rich.’

[Polybius]

21. No Pope is ever going to supports abortion rights

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

22. Thus the problem the world has with backward male church

Thus the church will always be backwards.

Abortion Rights are women’s rights.
Abortion Rights are a family’s rights.

[Polybius]

24. I don't care if they "personally" oppose abortion

Sen. Raphael Warnock's personally opposes it (he's a minister), but he is pro-choice when it comes to the laws of the nation.

[hedda_foil]

29. Cardinals (all male) choose the next Pope from among themselves.

Women can't be priests in the Catholic Church, much less be elevated to Cardinal. So, a female Pope is impossible now. (Not forever, though pretty close.)

[Skittles]

45. why would women support such utter nonsense

ugh

[Skittles]

44. I truly believe religion is the cause of most of the misery in the world

seriously

[rpannier]

14. The Clergy out of Africa tend to be as conservative as American bishops

I'm hoping for one out of Asia. They tend to be far less conservative -' and it is the region with most people, and where the Church is growing

[LisaM]

19. I'm hoping for one out of Ireland.

Ireland has suffered a lot on behalf of the Catholic Church, and is currently a far more liberal country than the US. And it took a lot to get there.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

23. ☘️☘️☘️

Women rights in Ireland 👍🏼
Women in Ireland have far more rights than in backward
Republicans USA

Ireland essentially told the corrupt Catholic Church to go to hell

[lapucelle]

25. There's only one cardinal from Ireland, and he's too old to vote.

A non-member of the College of Cardinals can be elected, but it's exceedingly unlikely.

Cardinal Seán Baptist Brady

In 1975, then Father Brady was involved in an internal Church inquiry into allegations of child abuse against priest Brendan Smyth. Brady, then a teacher, had the role of notary or note-taker during the enquiry. The process required all participants to maintain confidentiality. The children involved, including the victim, were made to sign vows of silence regarding the allegations. Crucially, the information, including a list Brady received of other potential victims, was not reported to civil authorities. Smyth continued to abuse children for many years after the enquiry. This incident came to light in 2010, leading to calls for Brady’s resignation.

Brady maintained that he fulfilled his duty as a notary and lacked the authority to stop Smyth. He expressed regret for being part of a culture of “deference and silence” but also stated that a BBC program on the scandal had “exaggerated and misrepresented” his role.

He has spoken out against same-sex unions and abortion in Ireland.

Cardinal Seán Brady retired from his position as Archbishop of Armagh on 8 September 2014, when Pope Francis accepted his resignation.

https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/sean-baptist-brady/

[LisaM]

31. Yeah, I didn't check out the candidates.

I would just love to see an Irish Pope.

The African priests that I have seen perform Mass tend to be ultra conservative and I really want to move away from that.

[Hekate]

30. See post 27 for photos of 2 top contenders: a Filipino and a Ghanian

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. Interesting. Thanks. It is true that Africa is a pool of potential growth for the catholic church. . . . nt

[Hekate]

38. Asia is as well, apparently

In any case, it would continue the break with looking only to Europe. One obit said Pope Francis was the first in 1,300 years who wasn’t born in Europe.

I have read that African clergy tend to be very conservative. However, and hang on to this: Pope Francis chose most of the Cardinals.

[Skittles]

43. THANK YOU

sexist, racist nonsense

[crud]

48. I logged on DU now, just to find out if anyone mentioned a black pope!

You win!

[Crowman2009]

8. Hopefully no one from Opus Dei will ever have a chance to be elected pope.

[SharonAnn]

36. OMG, that would take us back to the Inquisition. Only it would be a world-wide Inquisition.

I have relatives who are Opus Dei, both numeraries and super-numeraries.. I'm way too familiar with them.

When i first learned about them I found out thaat your "directors" had to approve anything you read. I said "Not for me!" and never looked back.

[WyLoochka]

42. I'm hoping for another Jesuit

Francis was the first and only Jesuit.

Not a roman catholic but it seems to me Jesuits may be more on the enlightened side theologically - meaning more rooted in the gospels than any of the other books.

[keep_left]

47. They are. The Jesuits were one of the first orders...

...perhaps the first order, which was created somewhat independent of the Papacy. They are well-known as a teaching order, particularly when it comes to higher education (e.g. Georgetown, Boston College). Because of their general openness to inquiry and heterodox thinking, the Jesuits are loathed by the "radtrad" far-right of the Church (e.g. the EWTN network).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuits_in_the_United_States

[k_buddy762]

9. any idea who is on the short list?

the pope was circling the drain for months, surely they have a handful of folks lined up to take his place. wonder who is in the running.

[StevieM]

34. There are a couple of early favorites.

Of course, there is an old saying: "he who enters the conclave as a pope exits as a cardinal"

Here is a good article that was just written about the two front runners.

https://www.newsweek.com/who-next-pope-favorites-bets-tagle-parolin-2062160

[modrepub]

12. Young or Old

Will the cardinals select a younger Pope who would have the energy and time to mold the Catholic Church into something else or will they select an older person who will unlikely have the time or energy to change course? That’s what I’ll be curious to see. And the longer the conclave lasts the more likely an older Pope will be selected.

[rpannier]

15. I think the longer it lasts the more likely it's between a cardinal

out of Africa or Asia.
Both regions have been in the discussion for a few years, especially in light of Francis becoming Pope.
If that's the case, hope for Asia as the African cardinals tend to be really conservative.

[lapucelle]

17. Maybe it will be this guy...

... one can hope.

https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/jean-claude-hollerich/

[BComplex]

16. This is so sad. Francis was one of the two best Popes of my lifetime.

He was truly a good person.

I only hope that the Catholic Church doesn't decide to put another Opus Dei creep in there! The Pope before him was Opus Dei, like Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and the Leonard Leo that put Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch in there.

People here were saying that the Pope ghosted JDVance on his visit yesterday, but the truth is, the Pope was busy dying.

RIP Pope Francis

[Raven123]

18. Interesting that he appointed Cardinals from many countries

Better representation of the world’s Catholic population

[Skittles]

46. do you mean the male population?

just wondering

[mainer]

20. I recommend watching the movie CONCLAVE

starring Ralph Fiennes. Wonderful film, beautifully shot and acted, about the inside machinations that go into choosing a new pope.
Plus the movie has a really shocking twist at the end!

[calimary]

51. Boy does it EVER!!!

It was very deliberate and slow-paced, almost seemed plodding at times. But SHIT! It smacked you straight in the face at the end! I’ve never seen a “surprise” ending so utterly jaw-dropping.

[mountain grammy]

26. That is very comforting..

[Hekate]

32. Very interesting. Thanks, Mosby

[Johnny2X2X]

28. This is an important pick

We need a strong leader and defender of the vulnerable. This moment in history could be a do over for the Catholic Church in the face of rising fascism and brutality. The entire power of the church can help prevent the atrocities we saw in the last century from occurring again.

[Pototan]

37. Luis Antonio Tagle

He's my favorite.

He's the most progressive of the contenders and he's Filipino.

[lapucelle]

53. There's a College of Cardinals website where you can get a detailed look

at where the candidates stand on issues facing the Church.

Here's a deeper look at Cardinal Tagle, who has been called the Asian Francis.

https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/luis-antonio-gokim-tagle/

----------------------------------------

Here's my favorite, but definitely a dark horse. Like Francis and Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Hollerich is also a Jesuit.

https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/jean-claude-hollerich/

[Gore1FL]

39. In the end whomever is elected will sit on a throne and sell a spiffy afterlife for money.

It took centuries to get someone like Francis who had moments of moral clarity. I'm not hopeful we will get another even that level of mediocre.

[lapucelle]

40. There are lots of folks on TV today who fancy themselves arbiters of moral clarity pontificating away,

and Marjorie Taylor Greene is making an ass of herself on twitter implying that the Pope was evil.

I'll simply quote Francis: Who am I to judge?

[Gore1FL]

41. I judge MTG to be evil in her actions, too. nt

[mdbl]

49. The cardinals are all for sale

I don't care who appointed them.

[Buckeyeblue]

54. Really, the pope just oversees the church's wealth

I think the influence is negligible. All of the catholics I know do and believe what they want. The church is more of a social network than a moral guide.

Besides, after the way the church has hidden the many sex crimes of priests, I don't think the church has any moral standing.

[lapucelle]

55. Some of the bigoted pontification on social media has been pretty funny today.

"I know nothing about this, but I have an opinion that folks should take seriously" is never a good starting point. And when the kool kidz on twitter inadvertently wind up on the the same page as Marjorie Taylor Greene, the irony is absolutely delicious.