Who is going to be the next Pope

[Viviennemary]

The Conclave starts today. I'm quite interested to see who will be the successor to Francis.

Seems Cardinal Parolin is the favourite. He's Italian. I hope its not him. Very conventional knows the ropes. Bit of a boring choice.

Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines. Now that would be a lot more interesting. There is a huge Catholic population there. He's second favourite.

Then Cardinal Turkson from Ghana I think. Now that will be really interesting. I think a good thing.

Then Cardinal Zuppi another Italian. Again boring. We need somebody to make a mark but maybe not too big a one.

Anyone got an opinion on this.

Exactly.

The strength of the church is that it doesn't change with the culture.
Or change is painfully slow at least.
Usually centuries.

That's what makes it so fascinating even to non believers who are currently watching a chimney for news on the CEO of a club to which they don't belong.

(But are welcome to join.
A bit of thread based evangelism 😁).

Well, yes liberalism is a political and economic doctrine but I think used widely to denote a modern, progressive standpoint.

The Pope is not ever going to be liberal in any sense, or modern or progressive, because that's not what the church is, though there are many within the church who would want him to be with regard to certain issues. So people hoping for a liberal Pope to bring in female priests will be waiting.

Lol. Media last month "religion is so regressive and unimportant". Media this month"12 hour live coverage of a chimney "

I remember the Latin Mass just about. It was never all in Latin iirc , just the consecration of the bread and wine. And the Pater Noster of course. Although I'm pretty left wing , I like the sound of Latin. A lot of Goths and Emos like Gregorian chant.

Other popes have managed it….

Paul VI and the aforementioned Tridentine Mass for example. That was a big change….

I don't think they changed doctrine, just procedure, like the Latin Mass. I agree that he cant just change the teachings of the church just like that. He isn't a dictator either. He needs to have the approval of the cardinals and other members of the Church.

I agree that the strength of the church is in its stability. The teachings are the teachings. People can choose to belong or not. its a bit like me not being in the WI because I don't like cake, and then moaning that the WI keep having bake sales.
When the C of E tried to bend with the times, it did nothing for the numbers of people coming into the church.

Yes, he changed how Mass was said, which was huge, but didn't change any of the fundamental Church teachings. So you have scope with liturgy (and boy did they go for it and still do) but you don't have scope with Church doctrine (the hard stuff - sexuality, male ordination, etc)

I don't go to mass regularly anymore, but I feel like going to the next Latin mass at my local cathedral. they have one a month I believe.

This is it. I'm in Ireland, everyone moaning "if we were like the Protestants and had a nice married lady in charge the churches would be packed". I know the nice married COI rector in my town, she has about 15 at Sunday service if she's lucky. I never understood, with all the scandals in the Catholic Church in Ireland (and there were many bad, bad things) why more people didn't just go across the road to the COI instead. I think people just want an excuse not to approve of religion and therefore not commit to religious practice.

Go and enjoy it. It's a profound experience.

It's all in Latin where I go except the gospel (which is in Latin and then English) and the homily.
It is also sung by a professional level choir.
It is extraordinarily beautiful and I think beauty points us to God in a way our belief in ourselves as purely rational beings doesn't.

It's also interesting that many women are now choosing to veil at mass, and people are adopting devotions such as the Rosary which had died out or been discouraged.

I think ritual and tradition are reaching something in people that the current culture just doesn't provide.

I have said the Rosary daily for the past 10 years and it has changed my life.

I'm also deeply lazy about going to church, I swear like a sailor, I think bad thoughts about people and am far from a perfect Christian , but the Rosary grounds me and guides me in a way I never expected.

It's hard to explain but what I get from the Church heals, guides and nourishes me in ways I have not found outside of it (and I tried plenty).

I like the look of Pizzaballa and Cristobel Lopez Romero but I'm a born & bred atheist so what do I know?

Go.

I found the beauty, the unbroken connection to early Christianity, and the mysticism broke through a intellectual resistance I'd always had.
I now understand and believe in transubstantiation, which I never thought I'd say!

But even if it doesn't have that impact its a beautiful free performance of exquisite music.

We're all bad Christians! I think that was Francis' point earlier.

I've been saying the rosary daily for a year and it's the most important part of my day. It has brought me through some very dark times and not in the way people imagine, by hoping for intervention, but in helping me know what I need to do and finding the strength to do it.

I now have a real devotion to Our Lady and that's also something I never thought I'd say!

I’ve got a fiver on him simply because he’s got the best name (I know he would change it if chosen). Imagine how many times the commentators would have to say Pierbattista Pizzaballa!

Our Lady as mother, guide and gentle intercessor on our behalf rocks (sorry Protestants 😛)

I do sometimes feel sad for my Protestant friends missing out on the love and intercession of Mary 🤣

But fear not any Protestants reading she will love and care for all who come to her and you can say the rosary too!

Francis had a great devotion to Mary which is why he's buried in Santa Maria Maggiore instead of St Peters.

I think he meant exactly the same.

And I think that’s a change from what a Pope might once have said.

I am hoping for Tagle. I would like Zuppi too but would prefer a non white Pope.

Even one whose views might alienate a lot of moderate Catholics?

I think that as the Church of England found, there is a huge chasm between "Western" Christianity and the African Communion.

OK, but earlier when I said he meant God will be the judge you said 'I'm not sure.'

But I agree it's something other popes wouldn't have said but I think it was unhelpful as it suggested a change in doctrine without delivering it and thereby created confusion.

Francis successfully styled himself as liberal without really changing anything significant.

In my experience, Catholics are pretty crap at quoting the Bible, so he'd fit in quite well with the laity. However, I suspect Cardinals would be able to do slightly better at Biblical quotes than the general populace.

A liberal pope (if there was such a thing) would alienate African Catholics further.

We should all be praying for a uniting Pope.
If we're Catholic.