Could the next pope be an Austrian? John Allen reports:
Also Oct. 17, CNN conducted an interview with Angelo Scola, the patriarch of Venice, who became a cardinal Oct. 21, and I was invited to tag along. Given that Venice produced three popes in the 20th century (Pius X, John XXIII and John Paul I), many eyes are on Scola as possible papal material, though he modestly insisted that “it is not my case.”
Scola’s most fascinating comment came before the cameras rolled, while we were chatting in St. Peter’s Square. As we stood there, Cardinal Christoph Sch?nborn of Vienna approached and said hello. Sch?nborn is himself widely mentioned as a papal candidate, and as he walked away, Scola said unexpectedly: “He is the man of the future.”
I immediately asked, “In what sense?”
“I think you understood me,” Scola replied. “In every sense.”
Read more. Fascinating.