Here’s a quote of the day from last month, via RNS. Robert Mickens, The Tablet:
It’s not clear that it would make any difference to have a pope with an African or Latin American face if he turned out to be more Roman than Caesar.
The North American and European cardinals talking about going “outside Europe” are crazy like foxes. They know well that a pope from outside Europe will work out about as well (nor not) as the last two choices from outside Italy. I think I’m sticking to my meme of the past decade: a bishop should be chosen from among the priests of the diocese. Perhaps a see as important as Rome might merit someone from the region. But generally, I’d say a bishop in Marquette, Michigan, say, should be chosen from among the clergy of Marquette. A bishop for Portland from the clergy of that Oregon diocese. Selecting a pope, a bishop for Rome, from the ranks of bureaucracy, from another country even, and from anything less than a pastoral and administrative position in working with people makes no sense practically, traditionally, or Scripturally.
At minimum, nobody campaigning for the spot should be considered. That said, I noticed a blog commentator somewhere talking about the “via negativa” factor from embittered cardinals. Maybe those with king-making aspirations will be limited to the role of king-breaker, passing on stories, and urging journalists and even other cardinals to consider supporting doomed candidates.
It’s why I’m praying for the conclave. We need a good pastor. I’m not convinced that another diehard conservative will sway the Barque enough for another Council. But regardless of ideology, we need a good pastor who can pull the plug on the curia.
22 February 2013 at 11:03 am
Nice idea for a diocese to choose its own bishop. But that does not happen in the RC church. The bishops are appointed by the pope. So all those pope-appointed bishops can be considered to be priests of the diocese of Rome. … But I do like the idea, especially given that near future Rome, like ancient Rome, would be majorrity not European.
22 February 2013 at 1:07 pm
While I have a general bias towards diocesan bishops coming from their home diocese, I don’t find such a policy for the Pope wise. The Successor of Peter has universal and immediate jurisdiction over the Catholic faithful: in a sense, the world is his diocese. Limiting the talent pool to the clergy of Rome for a position such as this would be an artificial impediment.
BTW the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople does have to come from that See. That office has diminished greatly as the number of available candidates has dropped dramatically with the near-extinction of Orthodox in and about Istanbul.
22 February 2013 at 5:30 pm
Shock of shocks, I align w/Fr Michael here. The see of Rome has always been sui generis, because it was such a huge city in antiquity and peopled by many people from all over the Empire, and that’s why there is the Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome….