Pope Francis has died, Vatican says, 21 Apr 2025

[BetteDavisEyes]

Martin Scorsese and Pope Francis teamed to produce a documentary called 'Aldeas — A New Story'

“Aldeas — A New Story” will feature conversations between Pope Francis and Scorsese, including the pope’s final in-depth on-camera interview for a film.

www.nbcnews.com

NEW YORK — Martin Scorsese is a producing a documentary made with Pope Francis that will chronicle the late pontiff’s work with cinema in the global educational movement he founded before his death.

“Aldeas — A New Story” will feature conversations between Pope Francis and Scorsese, including what the filmmakers say are the Pope’s final in-depth on-camera interview for a film. The documentary will detail the work of Scholas Occurrentes, a non-profit, international organization founded by the pope in 2013 to promote the “Culture of Encounter” among youth...

Before his death, Pope Francis called Aldeas “an extremely poetic and very constructive project because it goes to the roots of what human life is, human sociability, human conflicts ... the essence of a life’s journey.”...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Africans say a Black pope would be nice to have. But they are not too hopeful

At least three African cardinals are being cited among the current “papabile,” the term used by Vatican observers to describe possible contenders to lead the Catholic Church.

www.detroitnews.com

Kampala, Uganda — If the next pope is from sub-Saharan Africa, he would be the first in Catholic Church history. Catholic Africans think it is a long shot, though some are cautiously optimistic that Pope Francis’ successor could be a Black cardinal from their continent.

The answer will come soon, as the cardinals eligible to elect the new pope open their conclave next Wednesday at the Sistine Chapel.

Who are the Africans considered ‘papabile’?​

At least three African cardinals are among those currently cited as “papabile," the term used by Vatican observers to describe possible contenders to lead the Catholic Church.

They are Cardinals Robert Sarah of Guinea, Peter Turkson of Ghana and Fridolin Ambongo of Congo...

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Who are the Africans considered ‘papabile’?
At least three African cardinals are among those currently cited as “papabile," the term used by Vatican observers to describe possible contenders to lead the Catholic Church.

They are Cardinals Robert Sarah of Guinea, Peter Turkson of Ghana and Fridolin Ambongo of Congo...

Do we know where these three sit on the liberal-conservative spectrum? I would guess that they are probably on the conservative wing. Sub-Saharan Africa is very conservative on gay issues so I would expect that a Pope from that region would turn back the clock on the liberalisation of the Church in relation to gay people.

The Ghanaian parliament in particular has, within the past year or so, passed a law making homosexuality a criminal and imprisonable offence, although the president has (AFAIK) been resisting signing it into law because of the optics vis a vis the developed world, although it does have strong support at popular level.

The vast majority of voting cardinals were appointed by Francis, so are likely to be on the liberal end of the spectrum. Maybe a candidate from SE Asia would be a good option.

 

[iamshadow21]

Do we know where these three sit on the liberal-conservative spectrum? I would guess that they are probably on the conservative wing. Sub-Saharan Africa is very conservative on gay issues so I would expect that a Pope from that region would turn back the clock on the liberalisation of the Church in relation to gay people.

The Ghanaian parliament in particular has, within the past year or so, passed a law making homosexuality a criminal and imprisonable offence, although the president has (AFAIK) been resisting signing it into law because of the optics vis a vis the developed world, although it does have strong support at popular level.

The vast majority of voting cardinals were appointed by Francis, so are likely to be on the liberal end of the spectrum. Maybe a candidate from SE Asia would be a good option.

ABC Australia has an article with a list of contenders with their positions on certain aspects listed.

The cardinal contenders who could emerge as the next pope

Speculation is swirling about who could be the new leader of the Catholic church. But the secretive nature of papal elections means it's hard to pick a single frontrunner.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Dotta]

Again from the Vatican expert I quoted earlier:

" 'Is an African Pope possible? -

Of course,
but I personally do not believe that it is time for a black Pope.

He could be from Africa,
but he will not necessarily be black.

For example,
the bishop of the capital of Morocco, Rabat,
the Spaniard Cristobal Lopez Romero.

He has a lot of experience in ecumenical dialogue with Islam,
he is a very 'Francis-like' candidate,
he lives modestly.

He does not appear in the rankings of favorites,
but it is an interesting name.

However,
I do not suspect that it will be a black Pope.

There are a dozen or so of them in the college,
but I do not think that they will convince a 2/3 majority'
- the Vaticanist points out."

Czy możliwy jest wybór czarnoskórego papieża? W grze kilka znanych nazwisk

Kardynałowie w pierwszej połowie maja wybiorą nowego papieża. Jeszcze przed śmiercią Franciszka w mediach pojawiały się spekulacje pierwszych potencjalnych "papabile". Najbardziej elektryzującym pytaniem jest...

wiadomosci.wp.pl

 

[MelmothTheLost]

ABC Australia has an article with a list of contenders with their positions on certain aspects listed.

The cardinal contenders who could emerge as the next pope

Speculation is swirling about who could be the new leader of the Catholic church. But the secretive nature of papal elections means it's hard to pick a single frontrunner.

www.abc.net.au

Interesting. Their profiles of the runners and riders did not include Turkson.

 

[iamshadow21]

Interesting. Their profiles of the runners and riders did not include Turkson.

They were relying on Catholic media sources to create their list.

As we saw with Francis, sometimes a Pope comes from nowhere and the 'likely contenders' are left behind.

MOO

 

[Dotta]

Maybe a candidate from SE Asia would be a good option.

You know,
You might be right!

After all,
one of the favourites is
Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines.

„Azjatycki Franciszek” jednym z faworytów konklawe

Jednym z najczęściej wymienianych kandydatów na następcę papieża Franciszka jest filipiński kardynał Luis Antonio Tagle. 67-letni hierarcha ze względu na swoje zaangażowanie społeczne...

www.tvp.info

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Again from the Vatican expert I quoted earlier:

" 'Is an African Pope possible? -

Of course,
but I personally do not believe that it is time for a black Pope.

He could be from Africa,
but he will not necessarily be black.

The link provided by @iamshadow21 above has interesting information for Stephen Brislin of South Africa. White, admittedly, but African and very much on the liberal wing.

 

[detective.moon]

Do we know where these three sit on the liberal-conservative spectrum? I would guess that they are probably on the conservative wing. Sub-Saharan Africa is very conservative on gay issues so I would expect that a Pope from that region would turn back the clock on the liberalisation of the Church in relation to gay people.

The Ghanaian parliament in particular has, within the past year or so, passed a law making homosexuality a criminal and imprisonable offence, although the president has (AFAIK) been resisting signing it into law because of the optics vis a vis the developed world, although it does have strong support at popular level.

The vast majority of voting cardinals were appointed by Francis, so are likely to be on the liberal end of the spectrum. Maybe a candidate from SE Asia would be a good option.

yes, the three of them are definitely known for being conservative when it comes to homosexuality, women in the church, abortion, euthanasia, etc. one of them did speak out against criminalising homosexuality, but they are still considered very conservative.
(when it comes to things like climate change, poverty, economic equality, you could say they are more “left wing”)

pope francis did also appoint some of these conservative cardinals. i think he maybe prioritised having more cardinals from all over the world over specifically choosing progressive cardinals. but i do agree, for now they seem like unlikely choices to me. although you never know!

 

[MelmothTheLost]

You know,
You might be right!

After all,
one of the favourites is
Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines.

I was wondering about John Ribat of Papua New Guinea, though I don't know what his position is on various issues. He's actually Cardinal Sir John Ribat, having been knighted by the late Queen

John Ribat - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[detective.moon]

They were relying on Catholic media sources to create their list.

As we saw with Francis, sometimes a Pope comes from nowhere and the 'likely contenders' are left behind.

MOO

yes, they were using this website!

The College of Cardinals Report

A groundbreaking new website aimed at helping members of the Sacred College know one another better in view of the next conclave and into the future.

collegeofcardinalsreport.com

i think it’s a really helpful resource but i learned from dutch media that the people behind this website are quite conservative so i think their list of possible next popes leans more on the conservative side / there is a bit of a bias

 

[PrairieWind]

Do we know where these three sit on the liberal-conservative spectrum? I would guess that they are probably on the conservative wing. Sub-Saharan Africa is very conservative on gay issues so I would expect that a Pope from that region would turn back the clock on the liberalisation of the Church in relation to gay people.

The Ghanaian parliament in particular has, within the past year or so, passed a law making homosexuality a criminal and imprisonable offence, although the president has (AFAIK) been resisting signing it into law because of the optics vis a vis the developed world, although it does have strong support at popular level.

The vast majority of voting cardinals were appointed by Francis, so are likely to be on the liberal end of the spectrum. Maybe a candidate from SE Asia would be a good option.

These three listed African Cardinals are quite conservative in regards to Church doctrine and morality issues. Very much against LGBTQ issues in various ways.

 

[Yellowbelly]

I was wondering about John Ribat of Papua New Guinea, though I don't know what his position is on various issues. He's actually Cardinal Sir John Ribat, having been knighted by the late Queen

John Ribat - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The protocol, certainly amongst Anglican clergy, is that clerics who are knighted don't use the title as it has military overtones. For example, the noted ecclesiastical historian, Diarmaid MacCulloch, who never renounced his Anglican orders, uses the postnominal letters 'Kt' instead.

 

[Dotta]

"Preparations for the Conclave. ​

A record number of cardinals will elect a Pope.​

May 7th inauguration of the Conclave.​

On May 7 at 10 a.m.,
a Mass Pro eligendo Papa,
(Mass for the election of the 267th Pope),
will begin in St. Peter's Basilica.

It will be presided over by
the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

Then,
at 4:30 p.m., the rite of entry of the cardinals in procession to the Conclave will begin—
from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel.

The Conclave participants will swear an oath to keep it secret
and listen to reflections on the significance of the election of the Pope.

Once the doors are closed,
the first vote will take place that day.

In the following days,
there will be two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Of the 133 participants in the conclave,
- 51 come from Europe,
- 16 from North America,
- 4 from Central America,
- 17 from South America,
- 23 from Asia,
- 18 from Africa and
- 4 from Oceania.

The youngest elector is the 45-year-old Greek Catholic Cardinal from Ukraine, Mykola Byczok, who serves in Australia,
and the oldest are
the 79-year-old Spaniard Carlos Osoro Sierra
and Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko from Poland."

Przygotowania do konklawe. Papieża wybierze rekordowa liczba kardynałów

W rozpoczynającym się 7 maja konklawe uczestniczyć będzie 133 kardynałów, najwięcej w historii – poinformował we wtorek Watykan. W wyborze papieża nie weźmie udziału dwóch...

www.tvp.info

By the way,
the word "Conclave"
Is from the Latin expression:
"under lock and key".

 

[MelmothTheLost]

There have been a number of media reports here in the UK recently about a drift back to Christianity by Generation Z, with most interest being in the Catholic Church rather than the CofE. However, I wonder what the effect would be of the election of a conservative pope, especially on social issues.

 

[detective.moon]

There have been a number of media reports here in the UK recently about a drift back to Christianity by Generation Z, with most interest being in the Catholic Church rather than the CofE. However, I wonder what the effect would be of the election of a conservative pope, especially on social issues.

i did read that gen z (especially gen z boys/men) are both more religious and more conservative! though i don’t know how conservative they would like their pope to be

 

[Dotta]

"How does Conclave work?​

Conclave
is a strictly defined ritual
that combines centuries of tradition
with the mystery and spiritual dimension
of choosing a new leader of the Catholic Church.
<modsnip - posting more than 10% is a copyright violation - see link>

More in the link from my country's MSM

W oczekiwaniu na biały dym. Na czym polega konklawe?

Po długim, trwającym ponad dekadę pontyfikacie, zmarł 88-letni papież Franciszek. Do Rzymu przylecą kardynałowie-elektorzy z całego świata, by ze swojego grona wybrać jego następcę. Jak...

www.tvp.info

 

[Dotta]

" 'Alarm' in Vatican. ​

Conclave favourite seriously ill.​

The final preparations for the Conclave are underway in Vatican.

Meanwhile,
as some Vatican journalists report,
there is an 'alarm' in Vatican
due to the sudden deterioration in the health of 70-year-old Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The current Secretary of State of the Holy See
is listed among the hierarchs
who have the greatest chance of becoming the new Pope.

'The 70-year-old Cardinal
reportedly fell ill with a sudden illness
related to high blood pressure
and was under the care of a medical team for an hour',
wrote Vatican journalist Diane Montagna on the X platform."

More in the link

"Alarm" w Watykanie. Faworyt konklawe poważnie chory

W Watykanie trwają ostatnie przygotowania przed konklawe. Tymczasem - jak donoszą niektórzy watykańscy dziennikarze - w Watykanie "alarm" z powodu nagłego pogorszenia się stanu zdrowia 70-letnego włoskiego...

wiadomosci.wp.pl

 

[PrairieWind]

This is starting to read like a Dan Brown novel.