VATICAN CITY
NBC News
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
The bookmakers in Europe already have their favorites, but the world won’t know who will succeed Pope Benedict XVI until that puff of white smoke is sent up the chimney of the conclave room next month.
The College of Cardinals has no shortage of factors to consider in picking the next pope — from age to geography — and no dearth of potential candidates.
Here are some of the princes of the church whose names have emerged from Vatican watchers since Monday’s surprise abdication announcement:
Cardinal Angelo Scola: He’s the archbishop of Milan, a good launching pad for popes, and the former Patriarch of Venice, which has also produced many a papal front-runner. Scola, 71, has close ties to the conservative Communion and Liberation movement, is a champion of immigrants’ right and has been active in outreach to the Muslim world. Vatican expert John Allen has written of Scola: “If you like Benedict XVI, you’ll love Scola; even if you don’t, you’ll find it hard not to be charmed.”
Cardinal Marc Ouellet: Former archbishop of Quebec, he heads the Congregation of Bishops, a power center. Ouellet, 68, speaks six languages, spent a decade as a missionary in Colombia and has strong ties to Latin and South America. He’s considered conservative and made headlines in 2010 when he said abortion was a “moral crime,” even in cases of rape. In a 2011 interview, he laughed off the idea of becoming pontiff, saying the workload and responsibility “would be a nightmare.”
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