Waiting for the white smoke

Tomorrow the eyes of the world will be on the 115 cardinals who enter the conclave entrusted with the task of electing the new Pope. It is an onerous task indeed. All of us are asked to participate through our prayers.

The number went down from 117 to 115 because two cardinal-electors will not participate in the conclave for health reasons. These are the Filipino Cardinal Jaime Sin, retired archbishop of Manila, and Mexican Cardinal Alfonso Suarez Rivera, retired archbishop of Monterrey, who were too ill to make the trip to Rome.

Last week the cardinals agreed to stop giving comments to the press. The decision, as expected, was one which disappointed many journalists, especially because it came after such a big media blitz covering the agony and death of the Pope. But several cardinals had given interviews and comments to the media in the preceding days. A Christian Outlook would like readers to share some of these comments.

The next Pope will have to help the Church stay dedicated to addressing the spiritual needs of the world's migrants, Japanese Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao said.

"The successor of John Paul II, in my opinion, should continue to put emphasis on the pastoral-missionary dimension of migration as a form of new evangelisation, as a contribution of the Church that goes beyond mere humanitarian assistance," he said.

One of the papabili, Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, summed up the mixed emotions felt by the cardinal-electors. He said that to sketch out a profile of the next Pope, one must look at Pope John Paul, a "giant" in Church history. But he added that whoever the next Pope is, he must "be himself" and not try to imitate the late Pontiff.

That thought was echoed by several cardinals.

"I don't think we have to have a copy of John Paul II to build on his work. He was unique," Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec said.

Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York said that "whoever is chosen... he would be very, very poorly advised to try to be Pope John Paul II, Paul VI or Pius XII." He added that the essential trait needed in the next Pope is that he be "a man of holiness; everything else is important, but that is crucial."

Like Cardinal Egan, many voters said holiness and an ability to offer clear, personal witness to the Gospel were the most important qualities to look for when picking the next Pope.

A Scottish cardinal said the Church's priority should be "re-Christianisation" and predicted a "groundswell of opinion" for choosing a Pope in the coming conclave.

"Looking around the world now, we can see moral standards have fallen - people's lives aren't as good as they used to be," Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, said. "The re-Christianisation of Scotland is one of the goals I set myself as cardinal. We now need to re-Christianise the world and the Church, so Christ's followers will be as he wanted them".

Pope John Paul II's willingness to take a stand on political issues, such as the war in Iraq, is a model to be followed by the next Pope, an Indonesian cardinal said. "The Church should be a moral force in the world," Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of Jakarta said.

According to Cardinal Darmaatmadja, Pope John Paul "was accepted as a human being and accepted as a moral leader" by people of different religions and by the rich as well as the poor.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said the next Pope "must be a man of deep faith, a man striving to be holy, a man faithful to Christ and his teachings, and a man who will bring them into our times."

French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon - one of the few who came to Rome saying he knew who he would vote for - told a French radio station that the conclave should select someone "who shows the light of Christ and the strength of the Gospel". What part of the world he comes from, or whether he is young or old, are secondary issues, he said.

Commenting on the challenges facing the next Pope, many cardinals said revitalising the faith of Christians was at the top of the list. They also mentioned the erosion of traditional religious values in society, the need for continued dialogue with Islam and the renewal of missionary efforts - particularly in Asia.

Several cardinals said they would be looking for someone with pastoral experience. That did not exclude Roman Curia officials, many of whom have served as bishops, but it did reflect the fact that of the 115 cardinals expected to vote in the conclave, three-quarters of them would be coming from outside Rome.

Ukrainian Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Lviv said a universal problem faced by the Church is the "lack of moral fibre" in the world. He said the Church needs to respond not with more pronouncements but by pastoral encouragement.

"Addressing the problem of morality is not a matter of reciting rules, rules, rules, but of helping people to do God's will," he said.

In a world suffering from war, hunger, environmental crises and disease, the next Pope should be "an intelligent person who can provide good leadership and a critical look at issues", a Ghanaian cardinal said.

Pope John Paul II "wanted dignity and respect for the human person in all forms," Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, said. The cardinal noted that Pope John Paul spoke out on issues such as world hunger, ethnic warfare and the modern slave trade and established a foundation in Burkina Faso to address problems related to drought and the expansion of deserts in Africa.

In their comments to reporters, most cardinals discounted geography as a primary factor in choosing a Pope, though it may be in the back of their minds when the voting begins. Few would underestimate the immediate media impact of a Third World Pope, for example.

Those forecasting conclave results may want to heed words of caution from Italian Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, who is over 80 and too old to vote.

"I'm sure whatever predictions you journalists have collected will be swept away in one minute by the breath of the Holy Spirit," he said. He made his own prediction: that the next Pope would be as big a surprise as when Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected in 1978.