Betting On The New Pope

T

terry

At the Start
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
666
Obviously I don't have a clue but we've had the mother in law staying with us for a couple of weeks and she knows a fair bit more about it all.

In fact she shocked us all by declaring that the next Pope should be African. The mum in law is not generally recognised as the most PC person around so this did knock us over a bit. However, she could also be described as a traditionalist and apparently the African cardinals are more in line with John Paul II than their counterparts in the 'Americas'.

The name in the frame is Arinze as he is not a member of any particular grouping but has a broad base of admirers. So I've had a few quid on him. He's 11/4 with Powder Puff yet nearly 8/1 on Betfair.
 
Have to agree with your out-law on this, Terry - Phil also reckons it's time for a black Pope - and sorry if the word 'black' offends any on here but saying 'African' doesn't get to the bottom of the reasoning - there are many white Africans.

I know nothing of any of the top contenders credentials, and as I'm not R C, it's really nothing to do with me but if the man is basically a good and godly one, then being black as well can only be an added bonus.

However, if Arinze has the same stance on contraception as Pope J P II, then I fear for many Africans, regardless of colour.
 
One "Vatican expert" on CNN last week was suggesting it is a Papacy or two too early for a black Pope. I don't buy/read the Catholic press so I'm not at all clued up on what is being reported but I do believe Catholicism needs a strong leader to remind us we should be living God's will and not giving in to a what-we-can-live-with approach.

If the Holy Spirit guides the Conclave to an African, so be it. They got it right the last time B)
 
I'm not well up on these matters - but was there not some prophecy of doom that the world was going to end when a black pope was elected. I can't remember what they are called - the famous ones.
 
They keep quoting the fact that John Paul II was not mentioned in the betting for the last 'election' but then again the old Pope had only reigned for a few days and this time virtually all of the Cardinals voting were appointed by John Paul in the first place.

I think that Ratzinger will probably be the key player here as he'll want to keep the exisitng infrastructure in place and he is probably in a position to make sure that his chosen man will do just that.
 
Yeah apparently Nostradamus has been interpreted as saying that the world will end after a black pope is appointed. But then again, that's just an interpretation - Nostradamus' writings are usually so cryptic, who can really tell what he was getting at?!!
 
Aye, Nostradamus. I'm sure it's all hooey anyway and even then I'm not sure he predicted any such thing, but I just wonder how many of the cardinals will have it in the backs of their minds that, just in case they are wrong, they don't want to be responsible for a little triviality like the world ending. I don't know if it is Nostradamus or someone else, but there is another prophecy that we are on our second last pope.
 
Nostradamus said the second last pope would be black. Thats not the same thing as after the first black pope.
 
I've never spent much time studying the writtings of Nostradamus - Thank you Gearoid, I will sleep a little easier now.
 
When did Nostradamus last tip a classic winner?

Jose Da Cruz Policarpo, the Patriarch of Portugal, is seen by some (though not, perhaps, Nostradamus) as being a candidate capable of bridging the theological gap between the European and Latin American cardinals. He is 16/1 with Paddy Power. I have had a small portion of 38.0 on Betfair.
 
I'm not sure that they'd be too bothered about bridging gaps like that Brian.

The Vatican seems happy enough to play the 'nasty policeman' and to let the Cardinals and Bishops be a little bit 'nicer' if they want to, given that they don't go too far.

This seems a better way of going about it than say the C of E, where there are too many nice policemen and the nasty ones get the hump and there's a row.

It seems easier to hold the strings tightly from the top and give out a bit of slack than to let them all go and then try and gather them in from further down the line.
 
I've got a book on Nostradamus' predictions back in the UK - I agree with Purr, he was so cryptic that it is difficult to interpret his verses with certainty. A lot of his predictions do appear to be spookily accurate though - again, I guess this also relates to them being open to interpretation.

Funnily enough I heard on BFBS radio this morning that a lot of people think that Arinze has a good chance of being elected next.
 
It's got nothing to do with "nice" and "nasty" terry, this is all about raw politics - and there's nowhere better at that game than the Vatican.

There are 115 cardinals who will vote. Whoever wins the election will need a two-thirds majority of 77. Europe has 58 cardinals and Latin America 20. The South Americans say that they are under-represented in the conclave with a growing following that is currently made up of over 500 million followers. The church in South America has only 17.5% of the conclave's votes. The winning candidate will have to be acceptable to both the Europeans and the South Americans.

Another who could fit the bill is Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the Cardinal Archbishop of Sao Paulo, whose parents were German and who has the largest diocese in the church. (Hummes is 9/1 and if I'm following this particular political line I guess that I should back him too.)

Both Policarpo and Hummes are orthodox on matters of doctrine and both have been concerned with human rights and world poverty.

Cardinal Policarpo would be the first cigarette smoking pope.
 
I have recently learned that my original selection, Fr Dougal Maguire, has been withdrawn from the betting by Paddy Power. Some rubbish to do with him not actually being a priest, I gather. The Church used to be more flexible about that kind of difficulty.

In any case I've been forced to look for a new name to back. In the past we've had Cardinal Sin, who apparently was quite saintly, and currently we have Cardinal Law who has actually been rather naughty. A Cardinal Error is of course by definition impossible in the Church, but there are plenty of other names to consider before making a choice.

Cardinal Dias will surely have his supporters. I can already imagine the discreet whispers of "Up Dias" running through the conclave.

Ecumenists might vote for Cardinal Medina as a gesture towards the Muslim faith, but I don't see Cardinal Barbarian getting much support.

Those who enjoy their meat and drink could go for Martini, Errazuriz or Biffi, while the ascetic choice would be Pham Minh Man of Vietnam.

Cardinal Keeler might offer a scent of profumo, which would certainly interest the likes of Cardinals Lustier and Regalia.

Cardinal Husar will appeal to those anxious for a return to the Church militant but he will face competition for these votes from the redoubtable Cardinal Catchavillain.

The German cardinal Car Lane Man is surely too banal a choice, even for those who want more empathy with the laity.

The competition, as you can see, is very strong, but in the end I have no choice but to fall back on a fellow O'Malley, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, a man guaranteed, I'm sure, to provide the most saintly of example in all that he does. Just like myself.
 
mister_bean_pope.jpg
 
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Whoever it is, he clearly had a very interesting time in the conclave. It must be Cardinal Dias.
 
Brian, the pope before last, the one that only reigned for a few weeks, was supposed to be a smoker.

I'd guess they'll pick an Italian.
 
You may well be right.

I certainly don't recall him saying, while addressing the faithful, anything along the lines of "Anyone seen my snouts?".
 
Back
Top