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TimesLIVE
07-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Who will be the next pope? Some possible candidates
Cardinals enter a conclave on Wednesday to choose a new pope, leader of the world's 1.4-billion Roman Catholics. The secret election appears wide open but here are some of the names, in alphabetical order, being talked about as possible successors to Pope Francis, who died last month. CARDINAL JEAN-MARC AVELINE Aveline, 66, the archbishop of Marseille, is known for his easy-going nature, readiness to crack jokes and ideological proximity to Francis, especially on immigration and relations with the Muslim world. He has a doctorate in theology and a degree in philosophy. Born in Algeria to a family of Spanish immigrants who moved to France after Algerian independence, he has lived most of his life in Marseille, a port city that has been a crossroads of cultures and religions for centuries. Under Francis, Aveline became bishop in 2013, archbishop in 2019 and a cardinal three years later. His standing was boosted in September 2023 when he organised an international church conference on Mediterranean issues attended by Pope Francis. Aveline would become the first French pope since the 14th century and the youngest pope since John Paul II.
Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Who will be the next pope? Some possible candidates
Cardinal Jean Marc Aveline presides over a Sunday Mass in Santa Maria ai Monti church, ahead of the Conclave and the election of the new pope, which will start on May 7, in Rome, Italy, May 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli Who will be the next pope? Some possible candidates VATICAN CITY - Cardinals enter a conclave on Wednesday to choose a new pope, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. The secret election appears wide open but here are some of the names, in alphabetical order, being talked about as possible successors to Pope Francis, who died last month. CARDINAL JEAN-MARC AVELINE Aveline, 66, the archbishop of Marseille, is known for his easy-going nature, readiness to crack jokes and ideological proximity to Francis, especially on immigration and relations with the Muslim world. He has a doctorate in theology and a degree in philosophy. Born in Algeria to a family of Spanish immigrants who moved to France after Algerian independence, he has lived most of his life in Marseille, a port city that has been a crossroads of cultures and religions for centuries. Under Francis, Aveline became bishop in 2013, archbishop in 2019 and a cardinal three years later. His standing was boosted in September 2023 when he organised an international Church conference on Mediterranean issues attended by Pope Francis. Aveline would become the first French pope since the 14th century and the youngest pope since John Paul II. CARDINAL CHARLES MAUNG BO Charles Maung Bo, 76, broke new ground in 2015 when Pope Francis appointed him as the first Catholic cardinal from Buddhist-majority Myanmar. In an interview with the Vatican News website after Francis died, he praised the late pope for reaching out to vulnerable and marginalised people. "His papacy embodied a living parable - a witness to a Church that must not reside in palaces while the world languishes outside its gates," he said. However, Bo is a somewhat divisive figure at home - even within the war-torn country's Catholic minority, which makes up around 1% of its population of 55 million people - because of his dealings with its military leadership, in charge since 2021. His father, a farmer, died when he was two and he was raised by his mother before being taken in by the Salesians in Mandalay from the age of eight. He enrolled in a Salesian seminary as a teenager and was ordained as a priest in 1976. He was nominated archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, in 2003. CARDINAL PETER ERDO Erdo, 72, from Hungary, would be seen as a compromise candidate, someone from the conservative camp who has built bridges with Francis' progressive world. He was considered a contender in the 2013 conclave thanks to extensive Church contacts in Europe and Africa and the fact that he was seen as a pioneer of the New Evangelisation drive to rekindle the Catholic faith in secularized nations, a priority for many. A conservative in theology, he is seen as pragmatic and never clashed openly with Francis, unlike other tradition-minded clerics. He did, however, raise eyebrows in the Vatican during the 2015 migrant crisis when he went against Francis' call for churches to take in refugees, saying this would amount to human trafficking, seemingly aligning himself with Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. An expert in Church law, Erdo became a bishop in his 40s and a cardinal in 2003 when he was 51, making him the youngest member of the College of Cardinals until 2010. He has excellent Italian, and also speaks German, French, Spanish and Russian. CARDINAL MARIO GRECH Grech, 68, comes from Gozo, a tiny island that is part of Malta, the smallest country in the European Union. He was appointed by Pope Francis to be secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, a heavyweight position within the Vatican. Initially viewed as a conservative, Grech has become a torchbearer for Francis' reforms, becoming more open to issues such as LGBT rights and Holy Communion for divorcees. "We are going through a period of change. And to me, this is a very positive thing," he told the Malta Today newspaper in 2018. Grech's allies say he has friends in both the conservative and moderate camps and, because of his high-profile role, he is known by many cardinals, an advantage in a conclave where so many cardinals are relative unknowns to each other. CARDINAL CRISTOBAL LOPEZ ROMERO The Spanish-born archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, 72, known for his extensive missionary work and strong advocacy for migrants, has made clear that he does not want to be pope. "If I see any serious danger of that happening, I'll start running from Rome," he joked in the run-up to the conclave. Yet his name has repeatedly come up amongst Church watchers as a possible contender. He is seen to embody Francis' focus on the "peripheries" and interreligious dialogue, particularly with Islam, and is a member of the Salesian religious order, which makes the education and evangelization of young people, especially the poor, a priority. Lopez Romero has spent decades ministering in North Africa, and before that Latin America, notably in Paraguay, where he worked from 1984-2003. CARDINAL PIETRO PAROLIN A 70-year-old Italian, Parolin is seen as a compromise candidate between progressives and conservatives. He has been a Church diplomat for most of his life and served as Pope Francis' secretary of state since 2013. The position is similar to that of a prime minister and secretaries of state are often called the "deputy pope" because they rank second to the pontiff in the Vatican hierarchy. Parolin served as deputy foreign minister under Pope Benedict, who in 2009 appointed him the Vatican's ambassador in Venezuela, where he defended the Church against moves to weaken it by then-President Hugo Chavez. He was also the main architect of the Vatican's rapprochement with China and Vietnam. Conservatives have attacked him for an agreement on the appointment of bishops in communist China. He has defended the agreement saying that while it was not perfect, it avoided a schism. Parolin was never a noisy activist in the Church's so-called culture wars, which centred on issues such as abortion and gay rights, although he did once condemn the legalisation of same-sex marriage in many countries as "a defeat for humanity". Parolin would return the papacy to the Italians for the first time since 1978. CARDINAL ROBERT PREVOST Prevost, 69, an American who has spent much of his career as a missionary in Peru, is a relative unknown on the global stage. Made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023, he has given few media interviews and rarely speaks in public. Originally from Chicago, he has attracted interest from his peers because of his quiet style and support for Francis' 12-year papacy, especially his commitment to social justice issues. Prevost served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, from 2015 to 2023. Francis brought him to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops across the globe, meaning he has had a hand in selecting many of the world's bishops. Prevost said during a 2023 Vatican press conference: "Our work is to enlarge the tent and to let everyone know they are welcome inside the Church." CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE Tagle, a Filipino, aged 67, is often called the "Asian Francis" because of his easy laugh and commitment to social justice. If elected he would be the first pontiff from Asia. On paper, Tagle, who prefers his nickname "Chito", seems to have all the boxes ticked to qualify as pope. He has had decades of pastoral experience since his ordination to the priesthood in 1982. He gained administrative experience, first as bishop of Imus and then as archbishop of Manila. Pope Benedict made him a cardinal in 2012. In a move seen by some as a strategy by Francis to give Tagle some Vatican experience, the pope in 2019 appointed him head of the Church's missionary arm, formally known as the Dicastery for Evangelisation. Between 2015 and 2022, he was leader of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of more than 160 Catholic relief and development organisations. Francis fired its entire leadership in 2022 following accusations of staff bullying. Tagle's role was mostly ceremonial and he was not involved in day-to-day operations at the organisation and was apparently not himself accused of wrongdoing, but he was removed from his post. CARDINAL MATTEO MARIA ZUPPI When Zuppi, 69, became archbishop of Bologna in 2015, national media referred to him as the "Italian Bergoglio", due to his affinity with Francis, the Argentine pope born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Zuppi is known as a "street priest" who focuses on migrants and the poor, and cares little about pomp and protocol. He goes by the name of "Father Matteo", and in Bologna often uses a bicycle rather than an official car. If he were made pope, conservatives would likely view him with suspicion. Victims of Church sex abuse might also object to him, since the Italian Catholic Church, which he has led since 2022, has been slow to investigate and confront the issue. The Italian cardinal is closely associated with the Community of Sant'Egidio, a global peace and justice Catholic group based in Rome. The group brokered a 1992 peace agreement that ended a 17-year-old civil war in Mozambique, with Zuppi acting as one of the mediators. He has engaged in more diplomacy in recent years as papal envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zuppi would be the first Italian pope since 1978. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Who might succeed Pope Francis? Nine possible candidates
Who might succeed Pope Francis? Nine possible candidates Show Caption Hide Caption Who could be the next pope? There are nine cardinals being talked about as "papabili" to succeed Pope Francis. VATICAN CITY - Predict who the next pope will be at your peril. An old Italian saying warns against putting faith or money in any presumed front-runner ahead of the conclave, the closed-door gathering of cardinals that chooses the pontiff. It cautions: "He who enters a conclave as a pope, leaves it as a cardinal." But here are some cardinals being talked about as "papabili" to succeed Pope Francis, whose death at the age of 88 was announced by the Vatican on Monday. They are listed in alphabetical order. More: World mourns Pope Francis, a humble reformer who favored 'the poorest': Live updates Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille, French, aged 66 According to the French press, he is known in some domestic Catholic circles as John XXIV, in a nod to his resemblance to Pope John XXIII, the round-faced reforming pope of the early 1960s. Pope Francis once quipped that his successor might take the name of John XXIV. Aveline is known for his folksy, easy-going nature, readiness to crack jokes, and ideological proximity to Francis, especially on immigration and relations with the Muslim world. He is also a serious intellectual, with a doctorate in theology and a degree in philosophy. He was born in Algeria to a family of Spanish immigrants who moved to France after Algerian independence, and has lived most of his life in Marseille, a port that has been a crossroads of cultures and religions for centuries. Under Francis, Aveline has made great career strides, becoming a bishop in 2013, an archbishop in 2019, and a cardinal three years later. His standing was boosted in September 2023 when he organized an international Church conference on Mediterranean issues, at which Pope Francis was the star guest. If he got the top job, Aveline would become the first French pope since the 14th century, a turbulent period in which the papacy moved to Avignon. He would also be the youngest pope since John Paul II. He understands but does not speak Italian, which is potentially a major drawback for a job that also carries the title Bishop of Rome and requires a lot of familiarity with Roman power games and intrigues. Cardinal Peter Erdo, Hungarian, aged 72 If Erdo is elected, he will inevitably be seen as a compromise candidate—someone from the conservative camp who has nonetheless built bridges with Francis' progressive world. Erdo was already considered a papal contender in the last conclave in 2013, thanks to his extensive Church contacts in Europe and Africa, and his being seen as a pioneer of the New Evangelisation drive to rekindle the Catholic faith in secularized advanced nations—a top priority for many cardinals. He ranks as a conservative in theology, and in speeches throughout Europe, he stresses the Christian roots of the continent. However, he is also seen as pragmatic and never clashed openly with Francis, unlike other tradition-minded clerics. That said, he raised eyebrows in the Vatican during the 2015 migrant crisis when he went against Pope Francis' call for churches to take in refugees, saying this would amount to human trafficking -- seemingly aligning himself with Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. An expert in Church law, Erdo has been on a fast track his entire career, becoming a bishop in his 40s and a cardinal in 2003 when he was just 51, making him the youngest member of the College of Cardinals until 2010. He has excellent Italian, and also speaks German, French, Spanish and Russian -- which could help him thaw relations between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches after the deep chill of the war in Ukraine. Erdo is not a charismatic speaker, but while this was once undoubtedly viewed as a serious drawback, it could potentially be seen as an advantage this time around if cardinals want a calm papacy following the fireworks of Francis' rule. Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, Maltese, aged 68. Grech comes from Gozo, a tiny island that is part of Malta, the smallest country in the European Union. But from small beginnings, he has gone on to big things, being appointed by Pope Francis to be secretary general of the Synod of Bishops—a heavyweight position within the Vatican. Initially viewed as a conservative, Grech has become a torchbearer of Francis' reforms within the Church for years, moving sharply with the times. In 2008, several gay Maltese citizens declared they were leaving the Church in protest at what they saw as the anti-LGBT stance of the then-pontiff -- Pope Benedict. Grech offered them little sympathy at the time, but speaking in the Vatican in 2014, he called for the Church to be more accepting of its LGBT members and creative in finding new ways to address contemporary family situations. The following day, Pope Francis tapped him on the shoulder at breakfast and complimented him for the speech, marking him out for future promotion. In 2018, Grech spoke about how he relished the challenges faced by the Church. "We are going through a period of change. And to me, this is a very positive thing," he told the Malta Today newspaper. He warned that it would not remain relevant to modern society if it did not move beyond nostalgia for the past. His views have won him some high-profile enemies, and conservative Cardinal Gerhard Muller memorably turned on him in 2022, belittling his academic profile and accusing him of going against Catholic doctrine. Grech's allies insist he has friends in both the conservative and moderate camps and that, because of his high-profile role, many cardinals know him, a clear advantage in a conclave where so many cardinals are relative unknowns to each other. Coming from a tiny country, his election as pope wouldn't create any diplomatic or geopolitical headaches. He has stressed that he always seeks consensus over confrontation, but he has sometimes courted controversy. In 2016, he led a pilgrimage to pray for rain after meeting farmers worried about drought. A local newspaper said it was "a throwback to prehistoric attempts at inducing rain," but a few days after the event, it did indeed start to rain. Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, Spanish, aged 79. Omella is a man after Pope Francis' own heart. Unassuming and good-natured, he lives a humble life despite his lofty title, dedicating his Church career to pastoral care, promoting social justice and embodying a compassionate and inclusive vision of Catholicism. "We must not see reality only through the eyes of those who have the most, but also through the eyes of the poor," he told the Crux news site in April 2022, in words reflecting Francis' world vision. He was born in 1946 in the village of Cretas in northeastern Spain. After being ordained in 1970, he served as a priest in several Spanish parishes and also spent a year as a missionary in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Underscoring his dedication to social causes, from 1999 to 2015, he worked closely with Spain's Manos Unidas charity, which tackles famine, disease, and poverty in the developing world. He became a bishop in 1996 and was promoted to archbishop of Barcelona in 2015. Just one year later, Francis gave him a red cardinal's hat—a move seen as a clear endorsement of Omella's progressive tendencies, which stand in contrast to more conservative elements that once dominated the Spanish Church. Omella is a former president of Spain's bishops' conference. He had to deal with the fallout from an independent commission that estimated in 2023 that more than 200,000 minors may have been sexually abused by Spanish clergy over a period of decades. Omella has repeatedly asked for forgiveness for the mismanagement of sexual abuse, but has denied that so many children were abused, with an internal Church investigation identifying just 927 victims since the 1940s. "At the end of the day, numbers do not get us anywhere. The important thing is the people and to make amends as far as possible," he said. "Blaming is not the way. The problem does not belong to the Church, it belongs to society as a whole." In 2023, Francis invited Omella to join his nine-member kitchen cabinet of cardinals to advise him on questions of governance. If the conclave decides the Church needs a new approach, then this proximity will count against Omella. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Italian, Vatican diplomat, aged 70. A punters' favourite, Parolin is seen as a compromise candidate between progressives and conservatives. He has been a Church diplomat for most of his life and served as Pope Francis' secretary of state since 2013, the year Francis was elected. The position is similar to that of a prime minister and secretaries of state are often called the "deputy pope" because they rank second to the pontiff in the Vatican hierarchy. Parolin previously served as deputy foreign minister under Pope Benedict, who in 2009 appointed him the Vatican's ambassador in Venezuela, where he defended the Church against moves to weaken it by then-President Hugo Chavez. He was also the principal architect of the Vatican's rapprochement with China and Vietnam. Conservatives have attacked him for an agreement on the appointment of bishops in communist China. He has defended the deal, saying that while it was not perfect, it avoided a schism and provided some form of communication with the Beijing government. Parolin was never a front-line or noisy activist in the Church's so-called Culture Wars, which centred on issues such as abortion and gay rights, although he did once condemn the legalisation of same-sex marriage in many countries as "a defeat for humanity". He has defended the Vatican's power over local Church leaders, criticising attempts in Germany to allow priests to symbolically bless same-sex couples. He said local Churches cannot make decisions that would affect all Catholics. A softly spoken and genteel person, Parolin would return the papacy to the Italians after three successive non-Italian popes - John Paul II of Poland, Benedict of Germany and Francis of Argentina. He entered the Vatican's diplomatic service just three years after his priestly ordination in 1980 so his pastoral experience is limited. But a factor in his favour is that he speaks a number of languages. Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Filipino, aged 67. Tagle is often called the "Asian Francis" because of his similar commitment to social justice and if elected he would be the first pontiff from Asia. On paper, Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname "Chito", seems to have all the boxes ticked to qualify him to be a pope. He has had decades of pastoral experience since his ordination to the priesthood in 1982. He then gained administrative experience, first as bishop of Imus and then as archbishop of Manila. Pope Benedict made him a cardinal in 2012. In a move seen by some as a strategy by Francis to give Tagle some Vatican experience, the pope in 2019 transferred him from Manila and appointed him head of the Church's missionary arm, formally known as the Dicastery for Evangelisation. He comes from what some called "Asia's Catholic lung," because the Philippines has the region's largest Catholic population. His mother was an ethnic Chinese Filipino. He speaks fluent Italian and English. Between 2015 and 2022, he was the top leader of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of more than 160 Catholic relief, social service, and development organisations around the world. In 2022, Pope Francis fired its entire leadership following accusations of bullying and humiliation of employees, and appointed a commissioner to run it. Tagle, who was also removed from his role, had been nominally president but was not involved in the day-to-day operations, which were overseen by a lay director-general. Announcing the pope's dramatic decision, Tagle told a meeting of the confederation that the changes were a moment for "facing our failures". It remains to be seen how the saga will impact Tagle's chances at the papacy. Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, N.J., American, aged 72. It's unlikely the world's cardinals would choose the first-ever U.S. pope, but if they were up for that, Tobin would seem the likeliest possibility. A former global leader of a major Catholic religious order known as the Redemptorists, the Detroit native has spent time in countries around the world and speaks Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese fluently. He also has experience in Vatican service and in top positions across the U.S. church. Tobin served as second-in-command of a Vatican office from 2009-12 and was then named by Pope Benedict as archbishop of Indianapolis, Indiana. Francis promoted him to cardinal in 2016 and later made him the archbishop of Newark. In this latest role, Tobin, a big man known for his weight-lifting workout regime, has dealt with one of the highest-profile Catholic scandals in recent years. In 2018, then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of Tobin's predecessors in Newark, was removed from ministry over accusations of sexual misconduct with seminarians. McCarrick, who denies any wrongdoing, resigned as a cardinal and was later found guilty by a Vatican tribunal and removed from the priesthood. Tobin was praised for his handling of the scandal, including his decision to publicly disclose previously confidential settlements between the archdiocese and McCarrick's alleged victims. Tobin is the oldest of 13 children and has said he is a recovering alcoholic. He is known for an attitude of openness toward LGBT people, writing in 2017 that "in too many parts of our church LGBT people have been made to feel unwelcome, excluded, and even shamed". Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Ghanaian, Vatican official, aged 76. From humble beginnings in a small African town, Cardinal Peter Turkson has gone on to great things in the Church, making him a contender to become the first pope from sub-Saharan Africa. He combines a long pastoral background tending to congregations in Ghana with hands-on experience leading several Vatican offices and strong communication skills. The fact that he comes from one of the most dynamic regions for the Church, which is struggling against the forces of secularism in its European heartlands, should also bolster his standing. The fourth son in a family of 10 children, Turkson was born in Wassaw Nsuta, in what was then called the Gold Coast in the British Empire. His father worked in a nearby mine and doubled as a carpenter, while his mother sold vegetables in the market. He studied at seminaries in Ghana and New York, was ordained in 1975, taught in his former Ghanaian seminary, and did advanced biblical studies in Rome. Pope John Paul II appointed him archbishop of Cape Coast in 1992 and, 11 years later, made him the first cardinal in the history of the West African state. Promotions continued under John Paul's successor, Benedict, who brought him to the Vatican in 2009 and made him the head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace -- the body that promotes social justice, human rights and world peace. In that role, he was one of the pope's closest advisors on issues such as climate change and drew much attention by attending conferences such as the Davos Economic Forum. Francis merged Turkson's department with three other offices in 2016, leading to what some saw as a power struggle between him and another cardinal. Turkson resigned from that role in 2021 and was appointed to head two pontifical academies on sciences and social sciences. In 2023 he told the BBC he prayed "against" the possibility that he would be elected pope but some of his detractors said that given his media appearances it appeared he was campaigning for the job. Matteo Maria Zuppi, Italian, archbishop of Bologna, aged 69. When Zuppi got a promotion in 2015 and became archbishop of Bologna, national media referred to him as the "Italian Bergoglio", due to his affinity with Francis, the Argentine pope who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Zuppi would be the first Italian pope since 1978. Much like Pope Francis when he lived in Buenos Aires, Zuppi is known as a "street priest" who focuses on migrants and the poor, and cares little about pomp and protocol. He goes by the name of "Father Matteo", and in Bologna, he sometimes uses a bicycle rather than an official car. In a city that loves its meat products, Zuppi once made waves when pork-free tortellini were served as an option on the feast day of Bologna's patron saint. Zuppi called the Muslim-friendly move a normal gesture of respect and courtesy. If he were made pope, conservatives would likely view him with suspicion. Victims of Church sex abuse might also object to him, since the Italian Catholic Church, which he has led since 2022, has been slow to investigate and confront the issue. The Italian cardinal is closely associated with the Community of Sant'Egidio, a global peace and justice Catholic group based in the historic Rome district of Trastevere, where he spent most of his life as a priest. Sant'Egidio, sometimes called "the United Nations of Trastevere," brokered a 1992 peace agreement that ended a 17-year-old civil war in Mozambique, with the help of Zuppi as one of the mediators. He has engaged in more diplomacy recently as papal envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, concentrating on efforts to repatriate children who Ukraine says have been deported to Russia or Russian-held territories. Zuppi is a born-and-bred Roman with a fairly thick regional accent, and solid Catholic family roots. His father, Enrico, edited the Sunday supplement of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, while his mother's uncle, Carlo Confalonieri, was also a cardinal.
Euronews
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Is France's Emmanuel Macron trying to influence who will be picked as the next pope?
ADVERTISEMENT The French president's slew of meetings with top cardinals and high-level officials of the Catholic Church on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral at the Vatican last Saturday has caused a stir in Italy, with speculation rife that Macron might be attempting to influence the selection of the next pontiff, Borgia-style. In what the Italian press dubbed "interventionism of the modern Sun King," Emmanuel Macron held a meeting at the French embassy in Rome with four compatriots who will be present at the conclave: Archbishop of Marseille Jean-Marc Aveline, Bishop of Ajaccio François Bustillo, Apostolic Nuncio to the US Christophe Pierre and Archbishop Emeritus of Lyon Philippe Barbarin. Two of them — Aveline and Bustillo — are full-fledged cardinals and are considered to be among the contenders to become the next pontiff. Prior to the embassy get-together, Macron supposedly shared a meal at a notable Roman restaurant with Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, a highly influential Church organisation known for its charity work and peace missions abroad. This was enough for the domestic press to come to believe that the French leader was organising a pre-conclave of his own, intent on pushing for his own favourite — and, if possible, a French one. However, Riccardi — who is believed to have the ear of many a cardinal as one of the most well-connected people within the Church and also has a soft spot for France, where he studied — dismissed the rumours on Thursday, telling Italian newspaper Il Foglio that the Macron-Sant'Egidio conspiracy was "idiocy". Riccardi and Macron had "fettuccine, not escargot," he said — indicating that the story of the two breaking bread while fomenting a cabal was, by and large, overblown. French President Emmanuel Macron, Finland's President Alexander Stubb and US President Donald Trump, attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, 26 April 2025 AP Photo Furthermore, Cardinals Aveline and Bustillo's chances of being elected as the next pontiff are slim, according to experts. Aveline's Italian — the working language of the Holy See — is seemingly lacking, while Bustillo, who speaks fluent Italian due to his Corsican roots, might be too young at the age of 56, due to the belief that the Church would be wary of a protracted pontificate. France has not had a pope since the 14th century. The last pontiff from the country was Pope Gregory XI, who died in 1378. Meanwhile, Pope Francis' death and the upcoming conclave, set for next Wednesday, have attracted interest from many world leaders, including US President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Trump threw his hat in the ring by saying he "would like to be pope," further jesting that he would be his own "number one choice" for the next pontiff. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham backed Trump's pitch on X, saying Trump would "truly be a dark horse candidate," and asking the conclave and the faithful "to keep an open mind" about the possibility. 'The first pope-US president combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke... Trump MMXXVIII,' Graham concluded.
New York Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Contender for the Papacy Known for Promoting Dialogue With Other Faiths
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France — considered a contender to be the next pope — has been jokingly referred to for years as John XXIV. He owes the nickname to his physical resemblance to the stocky, amiable former church leader, Pope John XXIII, who was a hero to many liberal Catholics for his efforts to open the church to modernity. Now the cardinal's supporters hope that nickname was prescient. 'I think he would be a great pope,' said Jean-François Colosimo, a French theologian and editor of the Catholic publishing house Cerf, who has known Cardinal Aveline for more than 20 years. He added that Cardinal Aveline is 'neither a progressive nor a conservative,' but someone who 'can talk, listen, and build bridges while staying extremely firm on his identity.' Cardinal Aveline, 66, was recently elected as the head of the French bishops' conference. He has spent a large part of his career promoting dialogue between different faiths in Marseille, a Mediterranean, cosmopolitan port city at the confluence of diverse cultures and religions that is also plagued by poverty and crime. Among candidates, Cardinal Aveline would be a less obvious choice. Working in his favor: he mixes Francis' openness to dialogue with deep theological knowledge. Possibly working against him: conclaves have not been warm to French candidates since the 14th century, when a French pope moved the papacy to Avignon in the south of France. Another challenge is that Cardinal Aveline is not particularly familiar with the inner workings of the Vatican, said Isabelle de Gaulmyn, the former editor-in chief of the French Catholic newspaper La Croix. And he is not fluent in Italian, the language used in day-to-day operations at the Vatican. 'He is making progress,' with his language studies, said Xavier Manzano, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Marseille, who accompanied Cardinal Aveline to Rome for the Conclave. Cardinal Aveline had a good relationship with Francis; he shared his embrace of diversity, a pastoral approach that emphasizes contact with the faithful over protocol, and a similarly simple personal style. When he received the call in 2019 with the news that he had been named the Archbishop of Marseille, he was doing his laundry, two people close to him said. He also likes to drive his own car, sing and play the guitar, Father Manzano said. During a homily that Cardinal Aveline gave for Pope Francis last week at the St. Louis of the French Church in Rome, he thanked Francis for 'never giving in to the slumber of consciences, in the face of the dramas of conflicts, suffering, and injustices that continue to bloody our earth.' In the homily, Cardinal Aveline added that Francis loved France. Cardinal Aveline, who is of Spanish descent, was born in Algeria during France's colonial rule but grew up in a working-class area in Marseille, where his father was a railway worker. He studied theology and philosophy, and in 1992 founded the Catholic Institute of Science and Theology of Religions in Marseille. Francis helped develop his career: he was named a bishop, then an archbishop, then a cardinal during Francis' papacy. In 2023, Cardinal Aveline convinced Francis to visit him in Marseille, where he organized a Mass for the pope in the city's soccer stadium. Unlike Francis, Cardinal Aveline has refrained from openly taking stands on contentious issues within the church such as the blessing of gay couples or giving communion to divorced people, both of which Francis allowed. Both detractors and supporters describe Cardinal Aveline as embracing 'classic' positions on church doctrine. 'He has a different personality,' than Francis, said Father Manzano, adding that Cardinal Aveline 'is not an impulsive man.' Msgr. Dominique Rey, a bishop who has known the cardinal since meeting him at the seminary decades ago, said that when he clashed with the Vatican over a series of issues, largely related to his embrace of traditionalism, Cardinal Aveline 'sought to mediate things.' Still, Monsignor Rey, who resigned from his post as bishop of the Fréjus-Toulon diocese at the Vatican's request last year, said he would like to see a pope like the conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea. He added that Cardinal Aveline would not be the ideal person to bring the church back to a more traditional approach. 'The traditional world,' he said, 'is not his cup of tea.' Still, said Ms. de Gaulmyn, Cardinal Aveline's open approach has consistently led him to an embrace of different styles and communities, even if they were not the closest to him. 'He is a pragmatist,' she said. 'He goes beyond ideology and focuses on reality.'
