''Third World'' Pope a Possibility
As the world prepares for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, there is some speculation that the church could look outside Europe for the next pontiff
The most widely traveled pope in history, John Paul II crafted a papacy marked by unprecedented outreach to the Third World with his frequent pilgrimages to nations from Argentina and Brazil to Upper Volta and Zaire. And following his passing this past weekend, some are hoping the Vatican will continue that momentum by electing a spiritual leader from Africa or Latin America.
Although traditionally the Pope has been Italian, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, and there is some speculation that the church could look outside Europe for the next pontiff.
Currently, the church's most visible trend is its growing strength outside Europe, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP). This trend is reflected in the very makeup of the next conclave, bettering the prospects of Latin American or African candidates such as Vatican-based Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, or Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
According to reports, Asia, Africa and Latin American provide 44 cardinals under 80 years old—a condition for participating in the conclave and voting for the pope—compared with 58 from Europe.
In the past half century, Latin America and Africa have replaced Europe as the center of growth in world Catholicism. Current statistics reveal that half the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics live in Latin America alone, and the church is seeing explosive growth in Africa and Asia.
Prof. Daniel Speed Thompson, associate chairman of theology at Fordham University, told the N.Y.-based Newsday news agency, "The cardinals may want to select someone from the Third World who could reach out and continue John Paul II's work in representing a global Catholicism which is growing in the Southern Hemisphere and is growing in Africa, but in a contested way."
Bishop Carl Mengeling, spiritual leader of 230,000 Catholics in the 10-county Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, similarly stated that he wouldn't be surprised if the next pope came from a Third World country.
In an interview with the Michigan-based Flint Journal, Mengeling speculated on the successor to Pope John Paul II.
"I would not be surprised if it is someone from the Third World—as we use the terminology although I don't particularly like it," he told the Flint Journal. "The church is flourishing in Africa, in Latin America and in Asia."
Although flatly rejecting the possibility of a pope from America, Mengeling said John Paul II broadened the scope of church hierarchy.
"I think the Pope has left us with a legacy," he said. "For example, he has internationalized the College of Cardinals.
"The vast majority of them are not Italians anymore. They are from Asia. They are from South America. They are from Africa. They are from all over the world. So that the mission of Christ to the whole world is definitive and that's going to have to go on."
Mengeling, who heads a diocese that includes Catholics in Genesee, Livingston and Shiawassee counties, said John Paul II also internationalized the Catholic Church by making more than 100 trips outside of Rome to 134 countries.
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell, who will be one of the 118 cardinals to vote for the new Pope, said a South American could one day become Pope and that time may be sooner rather than later.
“Some not too distant time we will have a Pope from South America-about half the Catholics, perhaps more than half the Catholics in the world come from there already,” he told ABC television in Rome.
“Whether we will have such a Pope this time, well that remains to be seen,” he added.
Although some Catholics in developing countries were reportedly pessimistic about the chances of seeing a non-European pope despite their faith in the church, Church leaders have insisted the cardinals' decision will not be based on a geographical calculation.
The candidates, they say, will be judged by their faith and their ability to lead.
"It won't matter where he comes from, from which continent," Sao Paulo, Brazil Archbishop Claudio Hummes told AP Friday after Mass.
Hummes, who is often mentioned as a candidate, said "It will matter that the cardinals will be in front of God, under oath, and they will have to choose the one they think is the man for this moment in the history of the church and the world."
Mark Brumley, author on Pope John Paul II and president of the largest Catholic book publishing company in America, said the College of Cardinals would be holding a clandestine meeting within 15 and 20 days after the passing of a John Paul II to choose a successor from among their numbers.
A two-thirds vote is needed in the choice, but if the cardinals go 12 days into it, they may change the rule and elect with a simple majority, Brumley said. In this century the process typically took two to four days.
