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April 11, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 7Oakland,
CA
The spotlight on potential successors to John Paul II
has ranged from Africa, Asia and Europe to Latin America, signaling the
growth of Catholicism in the Third World and the legacy of a Polish pope
who broke a long held Italian domination of the papacy.
Among the candidates whose names have emerged in recent reports are a
cardinal archbishop from India, a Nigerian, a number of Latin Americans
and several Europeans. Italians are on the list but do not dominate it
as in past years.
The African candidate whose name has often surfaced is Cardinal Francis
Arinze, 72, of Nigeria, who has worked for the past 20 years in the Roman
Curia, presently as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and
the Discipline of the Sacraments. He is described as warm, sincere and
from moderate to conservative in his views.
Also on some of the lists is the Archbishop of Mumbai (Bombay), Cardinal
Ivan Dias, 68, of India, a conservative among his more moderate Indian
peers, widely traveled and familiar with 16 languages, having served in
the Vatican diplomatic corps.
Several names from Latin America have surfaced – Cardinal Jorge
Mario Bergoglio, 68, of Argentina; Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz
Ossa, 71, of Chile; Cardinal Claudio Hummes, 70, of Brazil; Cardinal Norberto
Rivera Carrera, 62, of Mexico; and Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiago,
62, of Honduras.
Cardinal Bergoglio is a Jesuit and archbishop of Buenos Aires, an intellectual
who supports traditional spiritual devotion. He is known for his simplicity
and humility, and in Argentina he takes public transportation rather than
riding in a chauffeur-driven car.
Possible European candidates include Cardinal Godfried Daneels, 71, of
Belgium; Cardinal Walter Kasper, 72, of Germany; Cardinal Christoph Schonborn,
60, of Austria; Cardinal Angelo Scola, 63, of Italy; and Cardinal Dionigi
Tettamanzi, 71, of Italy.
Cardinal Daneels is a former professor of liturgy at the Catholic University
of Louvain. He is highly regarded as an intellectual and a pastor, speaks
several languages and is said to be a consensus builder. During a 1999
interview he said he was open to having women serve in the curia. He is,
however, not a doctrinal radical.
Cardinal Kasper is the Vatican’s top official on ecumenical affairs
and is responsible for Catholic-Jewish relations. He has expressed a desire
for decentralization and reform of the curia and speaks several languages.
Those who know him describe him as kind and open.
Cardinal Arinze
Cardinal Bergoglio
Cardinal Danneels
Cardinal Kasper
