Colby Cosh on the Papacy

Colby Cosh has a good post up about the late Pope and some speculation on the next Pope:

Non-Catholics are rightly grateful that the Church, faced with the unexpected crisis precipitated by the premature death of John Paul I, chose a man with experience of the 20th century's worst ideological horrors. The direction Catholicism was to take still had not finally been settled in 1978; the church was still, then, emerging tentatively from the maelstrom of the Second Vatican Council. The Pope's influence stretches well beyond the Cold War proper. Marxist-influenced Liberation Theology was near the height of its prestige at the time of his election, and under a more accommodating Pope it could have survived as a vehicle for Third World socialism. It certainly has the better of the scriptural arguments.

In modern times, the eventual identity of the papal successor has been a surprise more often than not. On the other hand, the attention to the candidacy of Cardinal Ratzinger has become so intense in the past year or so that one half-expects to see him chosen quickly by a cardinal-electorate that is 98% composed of John Paul II's personal appointees. All things being equal, I should have much preferred the present pope to live on much longer, just to go on frustrating the dishonest liberal wishful thinking that characterizes most press coverage of the papacy. Reporters following the Vatican tend to robotically promote candidates representing "diversity" or "change"; any minute now I expect to pick up the morning paper and read the headline "Is It Time For A Gay Pope?"

I'm not Catholic, so the topic of who will become the successor to John Paul II is of only limited interest to me, but Colby is quite correct in his expectations for future newspaper headlines. I have carefully not been looking, but I expect that there have been, or will be, plenty of western journalists pushing for their own favourites as the next Pontiff. Given the population shift in the Catholic church since John Paul II was elected, a third-world candidate may at least have a chance of becoming Pope.