BOSTON (MA)
WBUR
Audio report (above) is WBUR reporter Deborah Becker’s full conversation with John Allen, the National Catholic Reporter’s Vatican correspondent. Text report (below) by WBUR’s Newsroom.
BOSTON — As Catholic cardinals head to Rome next week to say goodbye to Pope Benedict XVI, some Italian commentators are suggesting that Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley could be a candidate for the papacy.
Vatican reporter John Allen, with the National Catholic Reporter, says several Italian news reports mention O’Malley as a possible successor, praising his handling of the church sex abuse scandal despite criticism from victim advocates in Massachusetts.
Last week, O’Malley has made it clear that he is not interested in becoming pope, saying “it’s a very, very challenging position and it’s a very lonely position. It’s a very difficult task.”
“I haven’t lost sleep about it and I have bought a round-trip ticket, so I’m counting on coming home,” O’Malley added.
Allen reported that before now, an American was rarely considered for the position.
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