The Pope is dead, long live the Pope...!
Well, the papal succession is not as easy to figure as the British monarchy...... But consider:
Who will be the next Pope? This is clearly a geopolitical as well as a religious decision....and I suspect that everyone knows it.
Back in the "old days," when the Papacy was an Italian political office....like governor of New Jersey, it was easy to guess who might be the new Pope, only three or four Archbishops were in the running.
But an Italian Pope NOW would be seen as reversion back to the medievalism of the past....an Italian would be a total yawner for most people....and the Papacy would lapse back into irrelevancy for many people.
The College of Cardinals knows that the whole world is watching now, and that a bad choice will cause an instant bad reaction in the age of cyber-news and bloggers.......
So, perhaps it's best to think about who COULD NOT BE POPE....before deciding who could be Pope.....?
Clearly, an African or Latin American Pope would be far too "third world."
And while Catholicism is a "third world religon" now,....affirming this with a Pope from the third world would be very problematic indeed,.....additionally, it's unlikely that a Pope from one of those lesser areas would be "diplomatic" enough to handle relations with the first and second world sophisticates in Europe and North America.
And, Asian Pope is also out of the question because quite simply, Asia is not the center of gravity for the Catholic Church, and it never was.
A Euroland Pope would be interesting; because Euorland is totally secular and socialist now....and a French or German Pope could "inspire the faithful" in those worldly and materialistic climes.....?
But, a Western European Pope would be too close to these secular socialists for the comfort of most Catholics.
THIS LEAVES A NORTH AMERICAN, A MIDDLE EASTERN, OR AN EAST EUROPEAN POPE AS THE BEST CHOICES......
But, having ANOTHER Pope from the old Soviet Bloc could seem like over-kill....and clearly East Europe has had it's time in the sun for nearly 27 years......nothing further is planned there.
The Middle East is as bad as Africa and Asia for a new Pope.....it's just not where the action is.
WHERE IS THE ACTION.....?
WITH THE WORLD'S ONLY "SUPERPOWER" .......THE USA!
An American Pope would give Catholics a seat at the table in the Republican religious right agenda..... An American Pope would speak English well, and would have the ear of the President, arguably the most powerful man on earth..... An American Pope could tap into the vast American Popular Culture to spread the Catholic doctrine around the world...after all, America is the media capital of the world!
ANY OTHER CHOICE, BUT AN AMERICAN POPE WOULD BE A BLOW TO THE CHURCH..... AND COULD SET CATOLICS BACK 50 YEARS IN MAKING THE CHURCH INTO A VIABLE 21st CENTURY ORGANIZATION......
........AN AMERICAN WILL BE ELECTED POPE!
Postscript: Are you ready for it....?
