The race for the church throne

During the preparations for a new war, the pope's mantra ("peace-dialogue-dialogue-peace") and his concerns were overshadowed by the green light that other church dignitaries unofficially gave to the US. At the same time, the Vatican asks that "the armed response to terrorist attacks be limited, proportionate, without revenge against the innocent".

In the Vatican palaces, behind the scenes, there is great concern because injuries, illnesses and a calendar full of obligations have made the health condition of the 1981-year-old head of the Catholic Church even more difficult. The aftermath of the XNUMX assassination, cancer and several surgeries, along with the rapid progression of Parkinson's disease, could soon confine Pope John Paul II to his bed.

Despite the determination of the current pope to remain at the head of the Catholic Church for a long time and at the cost of leading it from the horizontal, the discussion about his successor is already half open. Those who were less familiar with the situation around the Holy See thought that due to the visible deterioration of his health (he was talking and walking more and more difficult) John Paul II would resign, but sources from the Vatican deny such a possibility because the Catholic world would not accept two popes (one in command and the other retired). Thus, the spectacle surrounding an old man who is obviously very ill, who likes to travel a lot and who has taken it upon himself to apologize for all the sins of Catholics will continue for some time.

CHOOSING: Preparations for the enthronement of the heir and the lobbying that goes along with it, however, are going on unhindered. The technique of the selection itself (see antrfile) is almost unknown to the public. In theory, any practicing Catholic could become Pope. In reality, however, for centuries the pope has been elected from among the members of the Holy College of Cardinals, the so-called. Conclave. Ever since the apostle Peter, various methods of election have been used, and emperors and other "interested citizens" have always done everything to ensure that the appointment of the pope was in line with their interests. Since the 135th century, only cardinals have had the right to vote, and five years ago John Paul II changed the election procedure: the unanimous acclamation was abolished and the decision of the Conclave (now numbering 9 members) was transferred to a smaller group of "selected great voters" (between 15 and XNUMX members). .

However, many believe that the new pope will be promoted by the media. Therefore, during the election of the new pope, all cardinals will be isolated from the rest of the world; the power of the media was felt on his skin by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, one of the most serious candidates, who lost all chances when it was leaked in the newspapers that during his many-year stay in Chile he "made a deal" with Pinochet.

Italian analysts who closely follow events in the Vatican and who are irritated by the interference of the Holy See in the internal politics of Italy (figuratively speaking: "two worlds divided by the river Tiber") are convinced that three factors will determine the choice of Pope Wojtyla's successor. First of all, age. Cardinals will not elect a young pope because John Paul II's "career" spans more than 20 years. That's twice as much as the average in the XNUMXth century, and most cardinals don't want something like that to happen again.

Due to global communication, the new pope will also have to be polyglot, with English and Italian being mandatory. It will be crucial to create good relations with the mass media because the eyes of the whole world will be on him. The third criterion that must be met is the possession of strong charisma, that is, communicativeness and personality. The future pope will follow the same political principles of John Paul II, but will have to modernize the Catholic Church and decentralize the decision-making process. The Vatican is allegedly already ready to change the role of the pope if the other Christian churches would not accept him, that is, if they would not get closer.

IZ THIRD Sveta: Although church etiquette does not allow for open discussion of successors, many cardinals predict that the next pope will be from the Third World, most likely from the Spanish-speaking world. Church dignitaries from South America believe that the time has come for one of them to occupy the "throne" of St. Peter, because half of all Catholics live in the Latin American parish (while their number has increased by 20 percent in the last 36 years). The favorite is Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga (age 58) from Honduras: a psychologist by training, he has spent his whole life among the poor, has vast international experience and can count on the support of his colleagues from North America. One of the super candidates is Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, the powerful cardinal from Lima. This former basketball representative of Peru will, however, have to explain and justify his friendship with the until recently dictator Fujimori to the public.

Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze (69 years old), a close associate of John Paul II, whose emissary for negotiations with Muslims and members of other religions, is given huge odds at the unofficial bookmaker. This very capable and witty cardinal is black and of Jewish descent, which would make his election a real sensation. Arinze has been living in the Vatican for fifteen years, but four years ago, when the first list of serious candidates for the position of pope was published, he started an inconspicuous but high-quality media campaign. It seems to be a great advantage that he is black-skinned because it is the Church's desire to strengthen its influence in Third World countries. Arinze would otherwise be the first black pope after Helasius I, who headed the Catholic Church between 492 and 496.

The Italian cardinals, however, want to return to tradition and see their compatriot once again on the throne of the absolute Vatican monarch. After all, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope after 456 years of their domination. The greatest chances are given to Cardinal Carlo Martini of Milan, who meets all the criteria (he speaks 11 languages, is a top intellectual of great popularity), but for years he has been in conflict with the current pope, who accuses him of being too progressive.

UNGRATEFUL PREDICTION: Regardless of all the speculations, the election of the pope always remains a controversial story and any prediction is ungrateful. After all, the Vatican and the church leaders have a reputation that "those who talk are those who don't know, and those who know don't talk."

In the turbulent and often painful transition to modern society, the Holy See does not manage to find peace because it is regularly affected by various scandals. This summer, Cardinal Milingo nearly broke all the "cardinal" rules by marrying (!) a Korean woman (and in a group wedding in front of the sectarian priest Moon). At the same time, the trial of the Neapolitan Cardinal Giordano on the charge that he "invested" church money (that is, the contributions of believers) in green activities through his brother had a disastrous effect on the reputation of the Church. In addition to the solid evidence of the public accusation, "somehow" an acquittal was obtained.

The financial situation of the Vatican State (not to be confused with the multinational of the Catholic Church) has recently become available to the public: the balance is finally positive thanks to the brilliant moves of the Pope's bankers because they bought American bonds instead of investing in the high-tech stock market. Although not a member of the European Union, the Vatican will also introduce the euro as a means of payment, and the banknotes will feature the image of John Paul II. At the same time, in the process of modernization of the Church, the use of the Internet has been a great success because, in addition to the web cameras from Lourdes and other sanctuaries, a weather forecast has also been introduced on the Vatican websites. Information comes directly from above.