Leading Candidates for the Papacy

By Lina Saigol
Financial Times
February 11, 2013

www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/27d69c90-744f-11e2-a27c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2KbVvHjAf

The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. The Financial Times provides a guide to the possible candidates.

Cardinal Angelo Scola, Italy

The 71-year-old son of a truck driver is widely considered a likely successor. His appointment as Archbishop of Milan – Italy’s largest diocese – in 2011 was seen as an endorsement by Pope Benedict. A noted scholar, he has tried to find ways to avoid a “clash of civilisations” by developing a forum for dialogue and encounter between the West and Islam.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, Italy

The President of the Pontifical Council for Culture has teased priests for their dull sermons and encourages them to use social media. A master communicator, the Italian-born scholar may face opposition to the post because he has never held a diocesan post.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Honduras

If elected, Cardinal Maradiaga would become the first Pope from Latin America which is home to half the world’s 1bn Roman Catholics. Born into an upper-class family in Honduras, the charismatic, left-leaning intellectual speaks five languages, plays the piano and flies light aircraft and helicopters. A critic of capitalism and a staunch defender of the poor.