The site oddschecker.com has compiled a list of the top choices and sitting at a comfortable fourth position is Montreal’s Marc Ouellet. Before we get too excited that a Canadian could become the next pope, keep in mind that Joseph Ratzinger was not even in the Top 10 back in 2005 with 20-1 odds heading into the conclave, and he became Pope Benedict XVI.
Here’s a closer look at the Top 10 hopefuls:
1. Angelo Scola, Italy
Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, is seen as Italy’s best chance at reclaiming the papacy, following back-to-back popes from outside the country that had a lock on the job for centuries. The powerful cardinal has displayed not only an ease with youth but also a desire to make himself understood, a vital quality for a church that is bleeding membership. It was a sharp contrast with Benedict, who was almost painfully shy in public.
Scola, 71, has commanded both the pulpits of Milan’s Duomo as archbishop and Venice’s St. Mark’s Cathedral as patriarch, two extremely prestigious church positions that together gave the world five popes during the 20th century.
The cardinal has engaged all of the tools of technology to reach his youthful audience, including live streaming and using Twitter actively.
However, Scola’s own Twitter account disappeared in the days leading up to the cardinals pre-conclave meetings – leaving one former follower to quip that he’d soon be using @Pontifex, the handle recently vacated by Benedict after he resigned as pope.
2. Peter Turkson, Ghana
@TurksonCardinal
Peter Turkson, 64, is a Ghanian cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and is widely regarded as a frontrunner to become the next pope.
If he is chosen, he will become the first black pope to serve. Turkson has said that “if God would wish to see a black man also as pope, thanks be to God.”
He has caused controversy by insisting that condoms were not the solution to preventing HIV and that they could instill false confidence in those infected. He has said abstinence, fidelity and refraining from sex if infected are key to fighting the epidemic.
When discussing the stigma surrounding homosexuality in Africa he has said that as there is a call for rights, there is also a call to respect culture and “if it’s being stigmatized… it’s probably right to find out why it is being stigmatized.”
3. Tarcisio Bertone, Italy
@CardinalBertone
Tarcisio Bertone comes with the most controversy of the Top 10 hopefuls. He is the main target of the ‘Vatican leaks’ scandal and blames church pedophilia on the ‘homosexual infiltration’ of the clergy.
The 78-year-old currently serves as Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo.
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Bertone became a lightning rod for division within the central office at the heart of the Vatican bureaucracy known as the Curia.
A canonist, he had no diplomatic experience coming into the job, and the main battle lines drawn in the Curia today come down to his loyalists and those still loyal to his predecessor Cardinal Angelo Sodano. Taken as a whole, the leaked documents seemed aimed at undermining Bertone.
4. Marc Ouellet, Canada
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, once said that being pope “would be a nightmare.” He would know, having enjoyed the confidence of two popes as a top-ranked Vatican insider.
Former Archbishop of Quebec, Ouellet currently sits as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Ouellet would be the first Canadian to serve as pope if he is elected.
By many accounts, Ouellet is not beloved in Quebec, where friends say he struggled following his appointment as archbishop in 2002. His comments condemning abortion even in the case of rape were attacked by politicians and commentators – sometimes viciously.
Some worry that the election of another conservative, intellectual pope known for his impenetrable speeches would further damage a church that is fighting losses in membership in Europe and North America due to growing secularism and sex abuse scandals.
Bookies give weight to Ouellet’s accomplished resume when listing him among the top three likely future leaders of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
5. Angelo Bagnasco, Italy
@conBagnasco
Angelo Bagnasco is the Archbishop of Genoa and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference. His views are considered to be conservative.
The 70-year-old is also a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and the Congregation for Bishops.
Bagnasco is considered to be conservative in his views, expressing strong opposition to abortion and emergency contraceptive pills. Bagnasco has also publicly condemned same-sex relationships and has received several death threats from gay-rights activists.
Map: The top 10 pope hopefuls hail from all around the world
View Hometowns of the Top 10 pope contenders in a larger map
6. Gianfranco Ravasi, Italy
@CardRavasi
Gianfranco Ravasi is the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture and became a cardinal in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The 70-year-old is the son of an anti-fascist tax official who deserted the army in the Second World War, and was subsequently away from his family for 18 months.
Ravasi has said the absence of his father during this time of development has influenced him to continually search for permanence through spirituality.
Ravasi is an active Twitter user, and a proponent of using technology to communicate faith. He also has said that the prevalence of television and Internet broadcasts requires preachers to be compelling, narrative and colourful.
7. Leonardo Sandri, Argentina
Leonardo Sandri, 69, left for Rome as a young man and never went back to stay in Argentina. Initially trained as a canon lawyer, he reached the third highest spot in the church’s hierarchy under Pope John Paul II, the zenith of a long career in the Vatican’s diplomatic service ranging from Africa to Mexico to Washington.
As substitute secretary of state for seven years, he essentially served as the pope’s chief of staff, running the Curia.
Sandri is said to be well-liked, charismatic, with a lively sense of humour. Catholic faithful probably best remember him as the “voice of the pope” who delivered papal speeches when John Paul II became too infirm, and it was Sandri who announced the beloved pope’s death to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, adding the memorable observation that “we all feel like orphans this evening.”
8. Peter Erdo, Hungary
Peter Erdo, 60, is a Hungarian Cardinal and serves as the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, and is Primate of Hungary.
He is also the President of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe. Erdo was born in Budapest, the eldest of six children.
He has a doctorate in both theology and canon law and was ordained to priesthood in 1975. Erdo became a cardinal by John Paul II and was one of the electors in the papal conclave who selected Pope Benedict XVI. Erdo has written about the special socio-economic conditions of the people of Rome and has openly wondered the correct way to convert them.
9. Odilo P. Scherer, Brazil
@DomOdiloScherer
Odilo P. Scherer, 63, was born in Brazil, and comes from German lineage. He is a distant relative of the late Cardinal Alfredo Scherer, Archbishop of Porto Alegre.
Scherer was ordained to the priesthood in 1976. He studied philosophy, then theology and took a master’s degree in philosophy.
He was awarded a doctorate in sacred theology in 1991. He has also studied higher education and three languages, German, French and English.
Scherer is active on Twitter and has more than 25,000 followers. If elected, he will be the first Latin American pope. He has spoken throughout his career on the need for evangelization.
Cardinal Scherer is considered to be theologically moderate, though in his own country he is seen as fairly conservative.
10. Christoph Schönborn, Vienna
Schönborn was born in what is now known as Skalsko, Czech Republic in 1945. In December 1970, he was ordained for the Dominican Order.
He spent the early 1970s to early 1990s in Switzerland, teaching and serving on various Roman Catholic church commissions.
In September 1995, Schönborn became archbishop of Vienna. He became a cardinal in February 1998. According to the Catholic Herald, Schonborn has spoken out about the clerical child abuse scandal, calling for increased sensitivity and understanding about the crisis.
As a son of divorced parents, he has campaigned in favour of divorced and re-married people receiving communion. His views as a conservative, yet balanced reformer known for having tolerance, diplomatic skills and openness for dialogue make him a popular choice.
With files from the Associated Press
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