The speculation over who will be the next pope is often a preoccupation of the Italian press and the subject never really fades away.

Newspapers up and down the peninsula love to handicap the race among the cardinals who are thought to be the most likely candidates to be elected pope. Indeed, the Italian term “papabile,” coined by Vatican watchers, has become mainstream over the last few decades.

Which man is “pope-able” (that is, able to become pope) is often debated in Rome and anywhere Roman Catholics gather.

Who will follow Pope Francis? The pontiff turns 84 in December, fueling speculation over who will be his replacement once he dies and the College of Cardinals meets to elect a new leader. Of course, there is now the possibility that he could retire — like Pope Benedict XVI.

A new book out, “The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates” (Sophia Institute Press) by the National Catholic Register's longtime Rome correspondent Edward Pentin (you can read his wonderful work here), delves into the lives and beliefs of the cardinals most likely to ascend to the Chair of St. Peter. Extremely well-researched (thanks to the help of international scholars), this book is a must-read for all Catholics and anyone who wants to take a peek into what the future and what personal experiences and philosophies these various men bring to the table.

In all, Pentin helped to pinpoint 19 men who could replace Francis once his pontificate is over. Becoming the spiritual leader of more than one billion Catholics worldwide and one of the most influential moral and religious figures in the world isn’t a matter to take lightly. What this book does well is offer up an in-depth look at these cardinals (their ecclesiastical life as priests and later bishops), many of whom remain unknown to most people — journalists included.

Each chapter profiles a cardinal and features a short biography. What makes this book a wonderful reference guide isn’t just the encyclopedic details it provides, but also details each man’s views on moral and theological matters — some of which are now being openly debated across the doctrinal spectrum as Francis’ papacy continues to divide Catholics across the world.

Criticism of Francis’ papacy is especially felt across conservatives in North America and Western Europe, where the growth of political populism in the Trump and Brexit era has put Pope Francis’ views on climate change and immigration to the left of many Catholic voters. The Vatican press office, and the mixed messaging to come out of Rome in recent years, hasn’t helped fill this divide. If anything, it has grown larger in recent years.

Further driving this wedge was the scandal involving ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, what Francis knew about it and the accusations launched by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. The allegations have made matters worse, exposing some of the political machinations that takes place behind closed doors of Vatican City. While the pope has addressed the notion of a schism, that remains unlikely for now. But the book does go into how divided some of these cardinals are about the future of the church and its relevance in an ever-secularized West.

As a Vatican correspondent, Pentin knows these stories of palace intrigue very well. He takes his reporting and scholarly research to put together a book that highlights prelates such as Cardinal Raymond Burke of the United States and Robert Sarah of Guinea. Both men, holdovers of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, have publicly sparred with Francis on a host of theological priorities.  

Continue reading “The Race To Be The Next Pope: New Book Details The Possible Candidates,” by Clemente Lisi at Religion Unplugged.