Could next pope be a Mumbaiite?
Apr 12, 2005
Mumbai’s Archbishop Ivan Dias may be among the contenders, for the post of the next pope, if strong speculation by church-going communities is, anything to go by.
(Times of Oman, 11 of April 2005) MUMBAI — ‘Probably true’ is how Fr Praveen Fernandes, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Bombay, reacts to the reports.
The deterioration in Pope John Paul II’s health intensified speculation over who will succeed him, but whatever happens the choice is expected to reflect the profound changes within the Roman Catholic Church in the past decades.
The Vatican yesterday said the Pope was struggling between life and death after his condition deteriorated dramatically following an overnight heart attack. The 84-year-old pope is ‘conscious, lucid and serene’, a Vatican spokesman said in Rome but added the pontiff had received rites administered to the ill when approaching death.
The death of the Pope immediately sets into motion a historic chain of events to elect a successor and prevent any risk of division in the Roman Catholic Church.
Names of prelates from Asia, Africa and Latin America are being considered and, reportedly, Archbishop Dias is on the list.
However, Fr Fernandes says the Archdiocese has received no official intimation, “although there’s a lot of speculation going around”. He adds that the source of the information is still unclear. “Many cardinals will go for elections,” he says.
“But don’t know yet if Cardinal Ivan Dias has been shortlisted.”
The Roman Pontiff is the religious leader of and a symbol of unity for all bishops and the 1.1 billion Catholics in the world.
Having appointed 115 of the 120 cardinals who will elect the pope, appointing a new pontiff will finally be in the hands of Pope John Paul Il, exercising his influence in view of his stand on controversial issues like abortion, homosexuality, bioethics and the role of women.
Apart from Cardinal Dias, the contenders include Francis Arinze from Nigeria and Oscar Rodriguez Maradaiga, a Honduran, among others.
Meanwhile, Sisters from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity order offered special prayers yesterday for the ailing Pope, who has received the last rites after suffering a heart attack. “Our dear Holy Father, we are with you in your suffering. We pray for you. We love you,” said a statement quoting Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa’s successor.
“The Missionaries of Charity around the world are offering prayers for the recovery of our Holy Father...
“Even as we accompany our Holy Father in his illness with our thoughts and prayers, we are confident of the abundance of graces he is surely receiving from the Almighty,” the statement added.
Nobel laureate Mother Teresa was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003 — one of the fastest beatifications in Catholic history.
Could next pope be a Mumbaiite?