First, I found this funny,
Yesterday or the day before, Brian LEPORT!!!!! posted some thoughts on who he’d like to see as the next pope. He would like to see someone from the Global South, a common enough thought as it is expressed by every do-gooding liberal social justice Gospel denying poser like Jim Wallace.
I kid… I kid because I care. In all actually, LEPORT!!!!!!! makes some real salient points that you should read.
On the other hand, I have two people I’d like to see. There is a growing list or eight, I think, of likely contenders. Of that list, I’d like to see (or should I say See) Cardinal Dolan. I disagree with the Cardinal on several issues, including theology but to say the least, politics. However, I think he would be good for American Christianity in general (not in the least because of the disagreements) and in American Catholicism in specific.
But, the ecumenical side of me would like to see a Cardinal from the Eastern Rite (or Greek/Byzantine) Catholic Churches. Of course, one doesn’t have to be a Cardinal to be Pope, so even with the ages of these Cardinals, there is hope. Why? Well, thank about what this would do for the relationship between Rome and the original heretics/Protestants, the Orthodox Church.
Anyway, the Cardinals are in our prayers.
I have my own theological issues with Rome, but none of which preventing me from praying that the next Pope will be chosen with the favor of God.
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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Yankee Dolan? You’re kidding, right?
The next pope is going to be a Canadian.
Yeah, but we all know Canada is really the 51st American State
An interesting thought: could we have a married Pope? I suppose we could in principle if he is chosen from one of Eastern Rite Catholic churches which permits married priests, as the Maronites do. Or is there some specific canon forbidding a married Pope? That would be a hard one to defend given the biblical evidence that St Peter was married.
While there are some married clergy in the Eastern Rites, as well in the Latin Rite (think converts from Anglicanism), I don’t believe there are any bishops who are married, East or West.