Faith
Cardinals Jostle to Succeed Pope
As Francis grows more frail, a race gathers steam between liberals and conservatives.
A BY EDWARD PENTIN
s pope francis goes in and out of the hospital and his revolutionary pon- tificate could be
nearing its end, the chatter in Rome is about who will succeed him. At 87, Francis is one of the
oldest popes in history. Although his health is currently stable, he
struggles with mobility and sciatica, depends on one-and-a-half lungs since suffering tuberculosis as a child, and had a large part of his intestine removed during major sur- gery in 2021. Francis’
mental acu- ity has also shown signs of deterio-
rating, as blunders and questionable decisions appear to be accelerating. In December, he issued a docu-
ment on same-sex blessings that caused widespread consternation across Africa and among the Catho- lic faithful, leading to clarifications and backtracking that only added to the confusion. Especially concerning to practic-
ing Catholics who value tradition has been his suppression of the old form of the Mass — one of the few areas of growth in the church — and insulting remarks against those who attend it. Francis has already put his stamp
on the next conclave, which will name his successor, by choosing 92 out of the 127 cardinal electors. That doesn’t make a Pope Francis II inevitable, but it does increase the chances of a conti- nuity candidate.
Most Talked-About Contenders FRANCIS
Cardinal Péter Erdő, 71,
is a leading conservative candidate. The Hungar- ian archbishop of Eszter- gom-Budapest is a highly
accomplished church lawyer, noted for his lofty intellect and influence. His legal skills will be important if the cardinals wish to reverse Fran- cis’ policies.
Cardinal Willem Eijk, 71. Another top conserva- tive, the archbishop of Utrecht has doctorates in medicine and theolo-
gy. He would return the Vatican to being more solidly pro-life. As a bishop, he stood up to the homosex- ual lobby at some personal cost but was doggedly pro-vaccination dur- ing COVID-19.
Cardinal Anders Arbo-
relius, 74, of Stockholm, Sweden, is a rising star among orthodox-leaning candidates. A mild-man-
48 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2024
nered, respected theologian, he is unafraid to defend the faith and would return calm to the papacy.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 64, an emerging candidate from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is
head of the African bishops’ con- ferences. He exhibited a latent but strong resistance to Francis’ declara- tion on same-sex blessings.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 59. If the cardi nals were to revert to an Italian (popes were from Italy for 455 years until
John Paul II), then this Francis- can from Lombardy, who has spent the past 34 years in the Holy Land and is currently the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, would be a prominent candidate. Last year, he offered to take the place of Israeli child hostages held by Hamas. But his relative youth will likely work against him.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin,
69, perhaps a stronger Ital- ian candidate, is number two to the pope, a seasoned diplomat and well known,
but his handling of the Vatican finan- cial scandal and a controversial 2018 deal with China on appointing bishops has, his critics say, led to unacceptable concessions to the Beijing communists.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi,
68, an Italian on the political left, is arch- bishop of Bologna. His star has declined follow-
ing fruitless efforts as Francis’ peace envoy to Ukraine and Russia.
Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, 58, a liberal Portuguese poet and head of the Vatican’s depart- ment for culture and edu-
cation, would be the candidate to con- tinue Francis’ radical papacy, espe- cially regarding acceptance of homo- sexuality in the church.
POPE FRANCIS/GRZEGORZ GALAZKA/ARCHIVIO GRZEGORZ GALAZKA/MONDADORI PORTFOLIO VIA GETTY IMAGES
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