With the merciful (heaven knows, he suffered ill health far too long) passing of Pope John Paul II, MSNBC has identified the top 21 candidates. In spite of all we’ve heard about the supposed homogeneity of the Catholic Church’s senior hierarchy, some actually sound like they’d be good.
Here are the non-“Conservative” contenders:
Cardinal Godfried Danneels (Belgian) – Liberal – “Intellectual, blunt, well-liked, multilingual”
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos (Colombia) – Liberal – very popular in his native country, has Vatican experience
Cardinal Walter Kasper (German) – Moderate – “gifted theologian, wants curial reform, friendly”
Cardinal Karl Lehmann (German) – Moderate to Liberal – “pastoral; advocates celibacy changes, remarried Catholics; progressive
Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga (Honduran) – Liberal – “young, intelligent, politically able”
Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez (Dominican) – Liberal – “smart, pastoral, media-savvy”
Cardinal Cristoph Schonborn (Austrian) – Liberal – “young, considered charming, multilingual, reminds people of a young John Paul II”