"For those who will be looking to support continuity with Pope Francis in the next papal election, African cardinal Peter Turkson is certainly at the top of many lists, but there are other plausible candidates, including one who may surprise you.
Not that there was any real mystery about it, but Wednesday certainly confirmed that Cardinal Peter
Turkson of Ghana is very much part of Pope Francis’ inner circle, one of those senior churchmen upon whom he most relies to carry out his agenda.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis created a new Vatican department for human development, combining several previous agencies including one for justice and peace headed by Turkson, who at just 67 remains one of the younger figures at the senior levels of Francis’ papacy.
Right now, there is absolutely zero indication of any health crisis around Pope Francis, any flagging energy, or any imminent end to his reign. However, merely as a thought exercise, Roman dinner tables sometimes find themselves occupied by curiosity over who might be best positioned to carry forward the Pope Francis project when Francis himself is either unable, or unwilling, to continue.
The central voting issue in the next conclave, which is the event when a pope is elected, will almost certainly break down along the lines of continuity or discontinuity with Pope Francis - in part because conclaves to some extent always function as a referendum on the papacy that’s just ended, and in part because Francis has set a bold course for the Church that has excited many in Catholicism and alarmed others who may feel it represents too much of a break.
What we might call the “discontinuity” party will certainly have its candidates, among whom someone such as Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, currently the Vatican’s top official for liturgy and a staunch conservative on matters of doctrine, may well figure prominently.
The question is who the candidate of the continuity party may be, and there’s a good chance that at least in the early rounds, one of the figures listed above and associated with the Francis approach will seem the obvious choice.
Certainly, there’s a solid argument to be made for Turkson. He’s a polyglot, speaking multiple languages fluently, he’s charismatic and projects well on TV, and obviously there would a definite buzz around the idea of a “black pope.”
Moreover, he’s got deep credentials both as a local bishop and now as a Vatican official, and would be taken seriously as the kind of leader whose experience would position him to lead." CRUX
Not that there was any real mystery about it, but Wednesday certainly confirmed that Cardinal Peter
On Wednesday, Pope Francis created a new Vatican department for human development, combining several previous agencies including one for justice and peace headed by Turkson, who at just 67 remains one of the younger figures at the senior levels of Francis’ papacy.
Right now, there is absolutely zero indication of any health crisis around Pope Francis, any flagging energy, or any imminent end to his reign. However, merely as a thought exercise, Roman dinner tables sometimes find themselves occupied by curiosity over who might be best positioned to carry forward the Pope Francis project when Francis himself is either unable, or unwilling, to continue.
The central voting issue in the next conclave, which is the event when a pope is elected, will almost certainly break down along the lines of continuity or discontinuity with Pope Francis - in part because conclaves to some extent always function as a referendum on the papacy that’s just ended, and in part because Francis has set a bold course for the Church that has excited many in Catholicism and alarmed others who may feel it represents too much of a break.
What we might call the “discontinuity” party will certainly have its candidates, among whom someone such as Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, currently the Vatican’s top official for liturgy and a staunch conservative on matters of doctrine, may well figure prominently.
The question is who the candidate of the continuity party may be, and there’s a good chance that at least in the early rounds, one of the figures listed above and associated with the Francis approach will seem the obvious choice.
Certainly, there’s a solid argument to be made for Turkson. He’s a polyglot, speaking multiple languages fluently, he’s charismatic and projects well on TV, and obviously there would a definite buzz around the idea of a “black pope.”
Moreover, he’s got deep credentials both as a local bishop and now as a Vatican official, and would be taken seriously as the kind of leader whose experience would position him to lead." CRUX
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
Daniel 8:9
