2008 Woodie Awards
Voters Debate over Race and Nationality of Next Pope
Juliana Rizzo Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/14/05 Section: News
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Billions of people, within and even outside of the Roman Catholic church, mourn the death of beloved Pope John Paul II. However, there is a mixture of excitement and anxiety as we await the announcement of the new leader.
The church boasts of the great milestones John Paul II has set in global outreach. He promoted numerous African bishops to the ranking of cardinal and contributed to the major boost in Catholic followers in Latin America to over 500 million. There is great uncertainty as the process continues as to whether or not the world is ready to see another non-Italian pope after John Paul II, or if the church will restore its former tradition by electing another Italian pope. Many see this next papal appointment that we are in the midst of as a time for change and great development in diversity in the church.
Being that John Paul II was the first non- Italian pope in 455 years, there is hope of a possibility that the next pope may be of a different race. There is controversy between nations as to what national decent the pope should be. Being that half of the Catholic population resides in Latin America, many Latin Americans feel that the next pope elected should be from Latin America, in order to better represent the followers. Wealth has also become a matter of question in this selection process, as some members of a poorer society believe that if the pope was from a poorer area, it would lend hope to others in the situation and encourage them to follow and offer hope of salvation.
There are 117 cardinal voters taking part in this papal election. However, there is no clear favorite. There is great question as to whether traditionalists will push to restore the custom of having an Italian pope or if they have learned from the successful 26 year reign of John Paul II that a great pope does not necessarily have to be Italian.
"John Paul II made amazing strides to involve Catholics of all countries and raise the level of diversity at the Vatican. Hopefully people will realize this and continue that by electing a pope in fairness to all nationalities," said Jen Ciccatelli, a sophomore from Putnam Valley, NY.
The church boasts of the great milestones John Paul II has set in global outreach. He promoted numerous African bishops to the ranking of cardinal and contributed to the major boost in Catholic followers in Latin America to over 500 million. There is great uncertainty as the process continues as to whether or not the world is ready to see another non-Italian pope after John Paul II, or if the church will restore its former tradition by electing another Italian pope. Many see this next papal appointment that we are in the midst of as a time for change and great development in diversity in the church.
Being that John Paul II was the first non- Italian pope in 455 years, there is hope of a possibility that the next pope may be of a different race. There is controversy between nations as to what national decent the pope should be. Being that half of the Catholic population resides in Latin America, many Latin Americans feel that the next pope elected should be from Latin America, in order to better represent the followers. Wealth has also become a matter of question in this selection process, as some members of a poorer society believe that if the pope was from a poorer area, it would lend hope to others in the situation and encourage them to follow and offer hope of salvation.
There are 117 cardinal voters taking part in this papal election. However, there is no clear favorite. There is great question as to whether traditionalists will push to restore the custom of having an Italian pope or if they have learned from the successful 26 year reign of John Paul II that a great pope does not necessarily have to be Italian.
"John Paul II made amazing strides to involve Catholics of all countries and raise the level of diversity at the Vatican. Hopefully people will realize this and continue that by electing a pope in fairness to all nationalities," said Jen Ciccatelli, a sophomore from Putnam Valley, NY.