Conclave Meets: Portraits of Cardinal Papal Contenders
The 115 voting cardinals of the Catholic church began today their secret conclave to choose the successor to Pope Benedict XVI. There is a saying in Rome that “he who enters the conclave a pope exits as a cardinal” and it is notoriously tricky to try to handicap the papal vote.
Under a 15th century fresco by Michelangelo depicting God breathing life into Adam, the so-called princes of the church may hold a single vote today with as many as four ballots on succeeding days.
This conclave has been presented as a struggle between cardinals looking to overhaul the Vatican bureaucracy known as the Curia, and those trying to maintain its influence, according to Vatican analysts. Electing a non-European, while a novelty, would not necessarily presage a change of course for the millennia-old institution shaken by the abdication of German- born Benedict.
Pope Benedict XVI was chosen on the second day of the last conclave in 2005, while John Paul II was selected on the third day of the 1978 conclave.
Here are brief biographies of some of the men who may be in the running, based on betting websites and consulting Vatican watchers.
Angelo Scola (Italy):
Born: Nov. 7, 1941
The Archbishop of Milan is the front-runner among the Italians, who until the 1970s had a virtual lock on the papacy. With Benedict he shared philosophical and theological interests and his writings on a range of topics from bio-ethics to sexuality have been published in different languages.
Odilo Scherer (Brazil):
Born: Sept. 21, 1949
A Brazilian of German descent, Scherer is Archbishop of Sao Paolo and as such oversees 6 million Catholics in the country’s biggest archdiocese. In the birthplace of liberation theology, he struck a moderate tone by seeing worth in focusing on social injustice and poverty while reserving criticism for the movement’s “Marxism.”
Marc Ouellet (Canada):
Born: June 8, 1944
The cardinal from Quebec is an accomplished theologian whose writings were admired by Benedict, whose concerns about the modernization of the church he shared. “It would seem that, in the name of secularism, the Bible must be relativized, to be dissolved in a religious pluralism and disappear as a normative cultural reference,” Ouellet said in 2011 in his powerful role as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Ouellet became a priest in 1968 in the very church that his father built in La Motte, Quebec. He later taught at a seminary in Bogota, Colombia and served as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, making him well known among Spanish-speaking clergy.
Timothy Dolan (United States):
Born: Feb. 6, 1950
Dolan, the archbishop of New York, would be the first American pope and is considered one of the potential reformers of the Curia. Dolan, who is known for his sense of humor and recently quipped he was more likely to play baseball for the New York Yankees than be chosen pope, is also considered more modern in his communication than many of his peers. He pens his own blog -- The Gospel in the Digital Age. Since arriving in Rome for the conclave, Dolan’s has made himself heard on satellite radio and Twitter, where he has more than 80,000 followers. He has confronted the issue of sexual abuse by clergy and went as far as publishing names of priests accused of abuse, though he’s also faced questions over payments made by his former Milwaukee diocese to clerics accused of abuse as a way to encourage them to abandon the priesthood. Dolan runs the second-biggest U.S. diocese and heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dolan may be handicapped by his limited fluency in Italian and a lack of international experience, though he did lead the Pontifical North American College in Rome for seven years.
Father Sean O’Malley (United States):
Born: June 29, 1944
O’Malley, a Capuchin friar who wears the order’s chocolate- colored robes, has a reputation for spirituality and humility. As archbishop of Boston he has extensive experience confronting allegations of abuse by priests. He is a Curia outsider, having never served in the Vatican bureaucracy, though he does have experience in the Virgin Islands and Latin America and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian. In the Virgin Islands, he worked with the homeless and set up a shelter for people suffering from AIDS.
Francis Arinze (Nigeria):
Born: Nov. 1, 1932.
Arinze would be the first black pope and the first African pope for more than 1,500 years -- the last was Gelasius I, who reigned at the end of the fifth century and was from North Africa of Berber origin. A social and theological conservative, Arinze’s views on celibacy, women priests, homosexuality and contraception are considered close to those of Benedict XVI.
Christoph Schonborn (Austria):
Born: Jan 22, 1945.
The cardinal has guided Vienna through scandals including allegations of priests using pornography and engaging in pedophilia. Considered a brilliant conservative theologian, he speaks French, English, Italian, Spanish and Latin, and has traveled widely on behalf of the Vatican, including trips to Moscow and Istanbul. He studied under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Benedict XVI, after becoming a priest at the age of 25. He is in favor of dialog between Catholicism and Islam, and was the highest-ranked church official to visit Iran after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Peter Turkson (Ghana):
Born: Oct. 11, 1948
Turkson, who studied theology in New York, is younger than Arinze and was called “one of Africa’s most energetic church leaders” by The Tablet, an influential British Catholic magazine, and in 2009 said that “if God would wish to see a black man also as pope, thanks be to God.” He has engaged with contemporary issues, including the global economic crisis by calling for more oversight of financial institutions and he has denounced the “idolatry of the market.”
Leonardo Sandri (Argentina):
Born: Nov. 18, 1943
The man who announced the death of John Paul II to the world in 2005, is a native of Buenos Aires who was born to a family of Italian immigrants. He rose to the heights of the church hierarchy to occupy the third most-important position in the Vatican between 2000 and 2007 as de facto chief of staff to the secretary of state. He now has a lower profile as head of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. He has served in Madagascar, Venezuela, Mexico and the U.S. and as the Vatican’s representative to the Organization of American States.
To contact the reporter on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in United Nations at fjackson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Fraher at jfraher@bloomberg.net
Conclave Meets: Portraits of the Cardinals Who Would Be Pope
Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Priests walk on St Peter's square early on March 12, 2013 at the Vatican.
Priests walk on St Peter's square early on March 12, 2013 at the Vatican. Photographer: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Chester Gillis, a professor at Georgetown University, talks about the selection process for the next pope and the Roman Catholic Church's finances. Gillis speaks with Tom Keene, Sara Eisen and Michael McKee on Bloomberg Television's "Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)
Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze would be the first black pope and the first African pope for more than 1,500 years.
Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze would be the first black pope and the first African pope for more than 1,500 years. Photographer: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn
Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn is in favor of dialog between Catholicism and Islam, and was the highest-ranked church official to visit Iran after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn is in favor of dialog between Catholicism and Islam, and was the highest-ranked church official to visit Iran after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Photographer: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Cardinal Peter Turkson
Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images
Cardinal Peter Turkson has engaged with contemporary issues, including the global economic crisis by calling for more oversight of financial institutions and he has denounced the “idolatry of the market.”
Cardinal Peter Turkson has engaged with contemporary issues, including the global economic crisis by calling for more oversight of financial institutions and he has denounced the “idolatry of the market.” Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images
Cardinal Marc Ouellet
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Cardinal Marc Ouellet became a priest in 1968 in the very church that his father built in La Motte, Quebec.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet became a priest in 1968 in the very church that his father built in La Motte, Quebec. Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri
Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri has served in Madagascar, Venezuela, Mexico and the U.S. and as the Vatican’s representative to the Organization of American States.
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri has served in Madagascar, Venezuela, Mexico and the U.S. and as the Vatican’s representative to the Organization of American States. Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images
Archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola
Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
Archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola is the front-runner among the Italians.
Archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola is the front-runner among the Italians. Photographer: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
Cardinal Odilo Scherer
Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Cardinal Odilo Scherer is Archbishop of Sao Paolo and as such oversees 6 million Catholics in the country’s biggest archdiocese.
Cardinal Odilo Scherer is Archbishop of Sao Paolo and as such oversees 6 million Catholics in the country’s biggest archdiocese. Photographer: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
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