Contenders for the new Pope according to the NYT

I always forget there are swedish catholics.. I think paul westerberg is/was one

The only people I've met from Sweden are Lutherans. He is Sweden's first Catholic cardinal

well, Cardinal Anders is probably not gonna be pope

I don't know anything about this process (didn't watch the movie) but my bet in on one of the Italians.. gotta get the old band back together

Do any of them vape?

that's your criteria for selection?

watch da movie

ah okay

Going with Pizzaballa, has a Guido Sarducci vibe

where is Cardinal Fiennes

lol, I love the name Pizzaballa, but the name Zuppi is almost as good, and he sounds like the most progressive of them.

He wrote the forward to my American Jesuit hero James Martin's book about welcoming and ministering to gay Catholics "Building a Bridge". Martin has been inching the faith forward to help understand and accept gay people, gay couples, and gay marriage

Pope Frances had a lot to say about that

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-01/pope-francis-letter-james-martin-homosexuality-sin-lgbtq.html

not a lot of it was great. Pope Francis said sexuality outside of marriage is a sin, and Martin argued then let gay people get married

The Pope concluded his letter by assuring Fr. Martin that he prays for him and his work with the LGBTQ community

He was modestly progressive, but we need a more progressive Pope

Pope Francis was not particularly tolerant or even 'turn the other cheek' about homosexuality, it just wasn't his hill to die on (ouch, too soon?)

Maybe not. he did have a few good words - "who am I to judge"

Here is James Martin's bluesky account:

https://bsky.app/profile/jamesmartinsj.bsky.social

He seems like a really good person to me

I like reading his posts and I need that kind of faith right now

Just faith in something

for good in the world to win out. It just all seems so evil right now

oh I think Francis was personally very concerned about the welfare of the LGBT community, it's just he wasn't able to reconcile with doctrine
yeah, probably the best pope of my life, I hope they don't contract backwards

Tagle and Zuppi seem like the most likely picks. There's no way they're gonna give it to a convert (Arborelius), and "one day there'll be a pope from Africa" is the religious equivalent of the old saying "Brazil is the country of the future...and always will be."

He was modestly progressive, but we need a more progressive Pope

― Dan S

at least three of my friends have put forth their candidacy

elagabalus was emperor like 1800 years ago, surely it's time catholicism had a transgender leather pope

i'm out, i lobbied pretty hard last time but the college of cardinals weren't able to promise me there wouldn't be a cadaver synod afterwards

Pope Francis was not particularly tolerant or even 'turn the other cheek' about homosexuality, it just wasn't his hill to die on (ouch, too soon?)

― Andy the Grasshopper

we don't even _have_ a hill to die on! see, if one of my friends gets made pope, they'll move the Holy See to Capitol Hill in Seattle. _then_ we'll have a hill to die on.

erdo and ambongo seem like the ones to root against at least…though the next pope is probably just as likely to be someone outside this list as someone from it. francis wasn’t thought to be a strong contender during the last conclave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3UqyHtaM_8

elagabalus was emperor like 1800 years ago, surely it's time catholicism had a transgender leather pope

The only new pope I’m interested in is the the one that sits down on the papal ball fondling throne and says “you better tug a lot harder, because I’m calling myself Joan II”

besides Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle, there is talk about Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson, who is not on the NYT list

Pizza vs soup

Can we see their posts? If they are as good as Francis' that's where my preference goes.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

The leading contenders to become the next Pope, according to current speculation and betting odds, include Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Peter Turkson, and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi.

Cardinal Parolin, the current Vatican Secretary of State, is often cited as a frontrunner.

Tagle, a cardinal from the Philippines, is also considered a strong contender and would be the first Asian Pope if elected.

Turkson, a cardinal from Ghana, is another favorite and would be the first Black Pope if chosen.

Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna, is also gaining traction as a potential successor.

Their process is arcane and inscrutable, so we could very well end up with someone unexpected.

I hope the new pope picks a new and unimpeachable name, like Francis did

It's amazing that Francis has never been the name of a pope before now. Our now deceased pope was Francis the first, named after Francis of Assisi

Father James Martin has suggested some possibilities for the new pope's name:

Paul VII: Steady hand to guide some of the reforms of Francis (that is, a Paul VI to Francis's John XXIII).

John XXIV: A continuation of a more progressive papacy, and an emphasis on Vatican II.

Pius XIII: A desire to return to more of a "pre-conciliar" (that is, pre-Vatican II) traditionalism.

Francis II: Obvious.

John Paul III: Traditionalist, firm in standing against the excesses of the modern world, activist in the political sphere.
Benedict XVII: Traditionalist, thoughtful, perhaps more focused on Europe, even a "smaller, purer church."

Leo XIV: An emphasis on Catholic social teaching and, perhaps specifically the rights of workers and the poor.

If you're not Catholic you probably don't know any of these. I would like to see Francis II, John XXIV, Paul VII, or some completely new name

I like James Martin a lot.

I think John Paul II seems pretty likely. John Paul II was very greatly beloved and his traditionalism had a gentle face.

What

I think it’s a call for a zombie pope

I think Noothgrush meant to say "I think John Paul III seems pretty likely". On a personal level Pius sounds antiquated, Leo XIV immediately makes me think of the French Revolution, and how do you say John XXIV? John Twenty-Four? John Ecks Ecks One Vee? "John"?

I used to have a bunch of those late-70s/early-80s Nigel Rees Graffiti books. I always got Nigel Rees mixed up with Stephen Pile of Heroic Failures fame because they were so similar. The two of them, and Gyles Brandreth. And Roger Stilgoe, who is still alive. That kind of snarky Oxbridge-educated white-person Douglas Adams / Willie Rushton wordplay seemed to peak back then. Was it punk? A violent reaction against feminism? A failed attempt at ascension? I don't know.

One of the quotes was a piece of graffiti that read "DAVE ALLEN FOR POPE", which had been amended to read "DAVE ALLEN FOR POPE THIS TIME". Which taught me that 1978 was the most recent year of three popes. After Paul VI died in August 1978 he was succeeded by John Paul I, who died in September 1978, who was in turn succeeded by John Paul II, who survived into the modern age. I just wanted to share that.

Richard Stilgoe btw.

It's amazing that Francis has never been the name of a pope before now. Our now deceased pope was Francis the first, named after Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi was lways too woke for the Catholic hierachy.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/world/europe/papal-conclave-politics.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

some remarkably candid comments from cardinals in here

It is very exciting to consider that we might see the first non-white pope in a few days

"On a personal level Pius sounds antiquated, Leo XIV immediately makes me think of the French Revolution, and how do you say John XXIV? John Twenty-Four? John Ecks Ecks One Vee? "John"?"

Well, what do I know. I always remember a line from one of The Straight Dope's message boards, now sadly long-deleted, where one user said something like "you are the duke, nay the king, of Wrong Kong". That stuck with me. One of those little bits of the internet that might exist in an archive somewhere, but how would you search for it?

As of this writing "the king of Wrong Kong" doesn't return any Google results.

The new Pope was born in Chicago. It'll be absolutely fascinating to see if he makes an official visit to the US in the new few years. That will be a heck of a thing.

wow NYT got this wrong wrong wrong

apparently Polymarket gave him 0.3% odds