As the world anxiously
anticipates the announcement of the new Pope, the bets are on as to who would
be elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church through the many challenges that
lie ahead.
From sex scandals, to the
Papal butler controversy, the Vatican seems to be searching for a “savior” amid
global resentment and the rise in secularist legislation worldwide.
A
poll
conducted by the LA Times asking readers to describe their ideal new pope
produced several answers; however the below description seems to hit the nail spot
on.
We need a
pope who will recognize the church's murderous wars…the church's time-tested
sexism based on the silly tenet that Jesus named only males as his closest
disciples… its coverup of sexual abuse by priests and the blackballing of
Catholic politicians who support women's reproductive rights.
Any
pope-elect who can't tick off those failings and promise to work tirelessly for
their redress won't be worthy of the name.
Richard
Craigo
So yes,
several challenges lie ahead of the new Pope even before he embarks on his near
impossible mission; challenges so tough as to lead the Vatican toward a bold
and unprecedented move similar to that of Pope Benedict’s resignation.
Whoever
takes the stand on St. Peter’s balcony amid crowds cheering and shouting
Habemus Papam will have to illicit trust to the flock of believers and
non-believers alike. He must be a holy Pope indeed, one that would steer the
image of the church clear from sexual abuse coverups, media slanders and claims
of racial superiority inherent in decades of Western Papal dominance. And so
the question begs, who among the cardinals has the credentials to withstand the
challenges of any investigation, attack, scrutiny or intimidation?
Although the list of
top contenders/favorites
circulating via the media depict names from the US, Canada, Hungary and Italy,
reason leads one to look the other way in terms of what the world will deem
acceptable in light of the challenges listed above. A Pope will be deemed without credibility
should he come from countries where priest sex abuse scandal is paramount like
America or Europe.
Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Norway, and
Austria also bear the same stigma.
For statistics on the Catholic
clergy sex abuse scandals see this link.
A Pope with superpowers is what is needed, one
that will attract rather than repel, unite rather than scatter.
And so this leaves me with a
handful of cardinals that may fit the description including the Patriarch of
Antioch and of the Eastern Catholic Church, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara
Rai.
Why Rai you ask?
With all eyes set to the Middle East vise-a-vise
the Arab Spring and the raging war in Syria, Cardinal Rai appears a saintly
figure, one that would deliver mass from a war zone. Cardinal Rai risked his own life and popularity when he accepted to heed
Benedict XVI’s request and enter Syria in February 2013. Following his
visit to attend the enthronement of the newly elected Greek Orthodox Patriarch
Youhanna X Yazigi (also an important move); Pope Benedict announced his
abdication on February 11th. Rai entered a war zone to obey Pope
Benedict XVI’s request, risking not only his life, but his popularity among
anti-regime enthusiasts in his native Lebanon.
This move seems to come in line with the
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation for
the Middle East which calls for strengthening the presence of Christians in the
volatile area. A move which I personally see as a throwback at increasing globalization
trends and Western policies that have increased Christian migration from Middle
Eastern countries for economic and political reasons.
[Benedict opposed the war in Iraq, rejects the death penalty, denounces
the excesses of capitalism and focuses strongly on helping the poor and
immigrants. Beyond the liberal-conservative debate, Benedict has worked to
reunite Roman Catholics with Orthodox Christians, divided for 1,000 years, and
open formal relations between the Vatican and China.
He also speaks out often
on the plight of Christian minorities in Muslim countries, as Christians
disappear from the lands where the faith began]- excerpt from the New York
times article titled Pope Benedict XVI, published on March 11,2013.
Most of the world knows nothing about Cardinal Rai because
the news carrying all of his
stories and events is in Arabic & rarely ever gets translated.
This also makes him the dark horse of the
Conclave, one that would prove to be a challenge for media slander campaigns while
also setting him on the advance of popular sympathy in terms of shedding light
on the plight of the Christians in the Middle East (in accordance to the
Apostolic Exhortation).
Cardinal Rai speaks fluent Italian, Latin, French, English,
Arabic, Spanish and knows Greek
making him the best papabili.
Church related sexual abuse stories have not been documented
in the history of the Catholic Church in the Middle East, not publicly at least.
All these factors lead me to believe that
the Maronite Patriarch stands a fairly good chance at being elected as Pope
Benedict’s successor not to mention his rise to Cardinal and his election as
order of bishops at the Vatican.
Nadine Mazloum is
currently the editor for LBCI Online English News. She received her
Honors in Communication Arts (Media Production) from The University of
Western Sydney in 2008.