Vatican City 2013 papal election

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The Italians do actually seem to have some of the better (and less ideologically objectionable? --but that's obviously neither here nor there) papabili this time around.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2281411/Cardinal-Peter-Turkson-blames-gay-priests-abuse-scandals-facing-Catholic-church.html

Comments like this are why there will never be an African Pope.

Because Africa is a cultural and ideological monolith.

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Cardinal Keith O'Brien (Scotland) has resigned over a sex scandal.  No UK vote in the conclave now.

He stopped being an archbishop, but I'm not sure it's possible to stop being a cardinal.

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Cardinal Keith O'Brien (Scotland) has resigned over a sex scandal.  No UK vote in the conclave now.

He stopped being an archbishop, but I'm not sure it's possible to stop being a cardinal.

He is still a Cardinal. But he said, he is not going to go to Rome for the conclave.

All right. That makes sense.

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His main rival, for now, is Cardinal Scola, who's been the "weak favorite" for now - he represents the mainstream conservatives in the Italian Church, and is connected to Berlusconi's political movement.

...oh. Crap. I kind of not-disliked him.

Probably rooting (realistically) for Ravasi at this point. Schönborn under a better star...

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6. If someone from the US were pontiff (Dolan, O'Malley) it would prove a global game changer

This is exactly why I'm against any American pope who's not O'Malley.

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A friend of mine who has very good connections with the Vatican told me to bet strongly on Scola.

I hope he's wrong.
Scola is close to PdL,and even went as far as saying that Renato Farina (PdL senator,who was suspended as a journalist after working for the Italian Secret Service as a spy) is "an absolutely great journalist".

Oh dear...

Now the choice is obvious: Scherer all the way. Ideally I think I would support Shönborn, but he seems to have no chance.

I'm beginning to agree with this in its entirety, except I'd still find Ravasi at least somewhat acceptable.

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What?!

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It sounds like people are chanting 'We want the Pope' or 'Bring out the Pope'. Unless it's Italian that I don't understand.

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No, that is the rule for electing popes

I think Tender was expressing what he thinks the chances are the new pope is each of those three men. Personally I think there's a chance it isn't one of them. I hope it isn't, although I haven't heard anything too bad about Maradiaga.

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I'd like it to be Schönborn.

Schönborn is a Bohemian of old, correct?

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I love this Swiss Guard ceremony. It's like something out of Utena, except, you know, not.

Tender, I know he's from Vorarlberg in the sense that that's where his roots currently lie, but wasn't he born in Bohemia towards the end of World War II?

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I love this Swiss Guard ceremony. It's like something out of Utena, except, you know, not.

Tender, I know he's from Vorarlberg in the sense that that's where his roots currently lie, but wasn't he born in Bohemia towards the end of World War II?

Yes, he was born in what is today the Czech Republic, but already as an infant came to Austria because the family had to leave the CR.

That's what I'd have expected, him having been born early in 1945 and all.

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Calling Turkson

That is so last week.

(Disclaimer: I'll prostrate myself if you're right.)

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OHHHH, it's 'Viva la Papa'.

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Is it me or this taking even longer than last time?

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OHHHH, it's 'Viva la Papa'.

"Long live the potato", in Spanish? I doubt it. "Viva il papa" maybe.

...Touché.

My poor grandmother would be horrified at my Italian comprehension.

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Touron's out.

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It's Bergoglio.

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POPE FRANCIS.

Chills.

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So where does he stand?

More or less run-of-the-mill, although his heart doesn't seem to be in the socially conservative stuff (or politics in general) as much as some of the others. He is concerned about economic justice but prefers to emphasize holiness.

He did, however, say some fairly awful stuff when his country legalized gay marriage.

I don't believe he's considered a Vatican insider.

He seems like a genuinely unworldly person.

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I like this pick. Of course he's a social conservative, but his other features are very encouraging.

This is about how I'm feeling too.

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What's his view on contraception?

Generically against.

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What's his view on contraception?

Socially conservative, of course, but his views and contact with poverty is encouraging.

Is he anti-poverty in the form of state spending or does he lean more towards individual charity?

He doesn't really seem interested in that distinction, actually. He's criticized free-market capitalism but not to the extent of being aligned with liberation theology.

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And much like being socially conservative is part of the job description, so also is being less than entirely keen on free market capitalism. You're really just looking to see how far it's taken.

True. The leadership of the Catholic Church really can't be placed on a left-right spectrum as easily as the staggeringly facile American chattering classes think it can.