The Hindu : International : Prelates decide to maintain status quo

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Saturday, Apr 02, 2005

International

International

Prelates decide to maintain status quo

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, APRIL 1. As Pope John Paul II's physical condition deteriorated on Friday, four top prelates in the Vatican concluded a pact to maintain the status quo at the Holy See so long as the uncertainties persisted.

Their powers will cease upon the Pope's death with the Cardinal Camerlengo or chamberlain, Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, automatically becoming the acting head of the Church.

But many say the Pope is encircled by four influential Polish prelates who have managed to undercut the powers of the seniormost Cardinals.

Vatican watchers say the man who wields the most power in the Vatican is the Pope's personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.

The 66-year-old Pole has been the key link between the increasingly fragile Pope, the Vatican and the outside world, interpreting a nod of the head or the Pope's instructions scribbled down on a notebook.

Under Church law, Popes do not have a deputy to replace them if they become incapacitated.

Speculation on successor

As news of the Pope's declining health spread, so too did speculation about his possible successor.

In Africa, there was mounting hope that his successor would be the African Cardinal Francis Arinze, the 72-year-old Prefect of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, one of the Pope's closest advisers, a staunch conservative and number four in the Vatican hierarchy.

An Indian name, that of Telesphore Placidus Toppo (65), the Cardinal Archbishop of Ranchi, has also been cited as a possible candidate.

But Vatican observers said this would be too radical a step for a Vatican peopled with extremely conservative Cardinal electors.

Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years. Many Cardinal electors might wish to return to tradition and elect an Italian to the supreme office.

Two trends

Two major trends are under way, Professor Alberto Melloni, Professor of theological studies at Rome University, told The Hindu .

"It will either be a return to Italy or we shall see the election of a Pope from Latin America, home to the world's largest number of Catholics.

Also, there are two opposing camps — the liberals versus the conservatives on issues that are fundamental to the Church such as a more collegial management of Church affairs, priestly celibacy, the ordination of women, contraception, euthanasia etc," he said.

In the case of an Italian successor to Pope John Paul II, five Cardinals are in the running: Dionigi Tettamanzi (70), Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola (63), Archbishop of Venice Tarcisio Bertone (70), Archbishop of Genoa, the Vatican's Secretary of State Angelo Sodano (77), and the Prefect of the Bishops' Congregation, Giovanni Battista Re (71).

Outside Italy, the names most often cited are: Columbia's Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the Honduran Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and the Brazilian Claudio Hummes. The only African name is that of Cardinal Arinze.

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