The Pope is dead! Who is next?

[Samson]

Mainstream obituaries are erasing Pope Francis’s deep concern for Palestine

Significantly absent in the long obituaries for Pope Francis in both the New York Times and the Washington Post were mentions of his deep concern for the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza. In Francis’s last public message on Easter Sunday, just hours before he died, he had called for a ceasefire in Gaza, and condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” there.

The obits also failed to note that Pope Francis had personally telephoned the Holy Family Church in Gaza just about every evening since Israel invaded the territory in October 2023 — including the Saturday night before Easter. The church’s pastor, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, remembered: “He said he was praying for us, he blessed us, and he thanked us for our prayers.” Other church members said that the Pope “would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room.”

Pope Francis’s concern for Gaza and Palestine did not start in October 2023. Rev. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian theologian and Lutheran pastor, told Democracy Now:

I think no Palestinian will ever forget when Pope Francis, in 2014, stopped his car, went down, stepped down and prayed at the separation wall separating Jerusalem from Bethlehem — a moment that touched all of us and continued to speak to us for years.

Of course, there was plenty in the life of this remarkable 88-year-old man to include in those obituaries. But the pontiff’s ongoing concern for Gaza surely should have been part of the record in America’s leading newspapers. Those nightly telephone calls were exactly the kind of detail that brings a story to life. Instead, part of Pope Francis’s message is being erased.

So what actually happened at the New York Times? Journalists with first-hand experience there have told me that 95 percent of the self-censorship about Israel/Palestine is unspoken. “No one has to actually tell you to skirt the subject,” one source explained. “You just understand that you have to be very careful.”

 

[Kyriakos]

He also was very vocal about the kurds needing their own country. I can think of a few countries/media where this won't be mentioned - not really the US.

 

[Zardnaar]

Putting aside the the inherent problems of Pope's in general. Probably the best one in my lifetime.

Fails a lot of purity tests but by Pope standards.....

 

[Samson]

This is Polymarket now:

Someone on X said these were the odds a few hours ago, and has more options:

Spoiler Quite a big image for no good reason :

 

[Samson]

Also I found out

The Original Prediction Market Was Betting on the Pope

Prediction markets have a long history, and one of the earliest involved betting on who would be the next pope. In fact, Renaissance Romans gambled on everything from papal elections to whether a particular noblewoman would give birth to a boy or girl.

Avoiding paywall is here but only for reference, this is an intro to a paywalled 41 minute interview.

 

[Samson]

Some candidates:

Pietro Parolin, 70, Italy

Seen as a moderate “continuity candidate”, Parolin was close to Francis. He has been the Vatican’s secretary of state since 2013, playing a key role in diplomatic affairs, including delicate negotiations with China and governments in the Middle East. He is regarded as a reliable and trusted papal representative by secular diplomats. In 2018, he was the driving force behind a controversial agreement with the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops, criticised by some as a sellout to the communist regime. Parolin’s critics see him as a modernist and a pragmatist who places ideology and diplomatic solutions above hard truths of the faith. To his supporters, he is a courageous idealist and avid proponent of peace.

Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, the Philippines

Tagle, a former archbishop of Manila, would be the first Asian pope, the region with the fastest-growing Catholic population. At one time he was considered to be Francis’s preferred successor and a strong contender to continue the late pope’s progressive agenda, but recently appears to have fallen out of favour. He has suggested that the Catholic church’s stance on gay and divorced couples is too harsh, but has opposed abortion rights in the Philippines.

Matteo Zuppi, 69, Italy

Appointed a cardinal by Francis in 2019, Zuppi is considered to be on the progressive wing of the church, and would be expected to continue Francis’s legacy, sharing the late pope’s concern for the poor and marginalised. He is (relatively) liberal on same-sex relationships. Two years ago, Francis made him the Vatican peace envoy for Ukraine, in which capacity he visited Moscow to “encourage gestures of humanity”. While there he met Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox church and Vladimir Putin’s ally. He has also met Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president.

Péter Erdő, 72, Hungary

A leading conservative candidate, Erdő has been a strong advocate for traditional Catholic teachings and doctrine. He would represent a big shift away from Francis’s approach. He is widely regarded as a great intellect and a man of culture. Erdő was a favourite of the late cardinal George Pell who believed he would restore the rule of law in the post-Francis Vatican. In 2015, Erdő appeared to align himself with Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, when he opposed Francis’s call for churches to take in migrants.

Peter Turkson, 76, Ghana

Turkson would be the first black pope in centuries. He has been vocal on issues such as the climate crisis, poverty and economic justice while affirming the church’s traditional positions on the priesthood, marriage between a man and a woman, and homosexuality. However, his views on the latter have loosened and he has argued that laws in many African countries are too harsh. He has spoken out on corruption and human rights.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.”

Is Nostradamus still a thing? The name of the guy leading the bets is Peter (Pietro), and he is Italian, not exactly Roman but from near Venice. Close enough.

 

[Moriarte]

Parolin’s critics see him as a modernist and a pragmatist who places ideology and diplomatic solutions above hard truths of the faith.

Looks to me like the perfect man for the job!

 

[uppi]

Tagle, a former archbishop of Manila, would be the first Asian pope, the region with the fastest-growing Catholic population.

First Asian pope? I would like to point out a certain Simon Peter

 

[Birdjaguar]

The lines to get into the Vatican today were very very long: up to half a miles in places.

 

[Ordnael]

Israel shares, then deletes, condolences over pope's death​

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-shares-then-deletes-condolences-over-popes-death-2025-04-22/

JERUSALEM, April 22 (Reuters) - The Israeli government shared and then deleted a social media post offering condolences over the death of Pope Francis, without saying why, though an Israeli newspaper linked the decision to the late pontiff's criticism of the war in Gaza.
The verified @Israel account had posted on Monday a message on social media platform X that read: "Rest in Peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing", alongside an image of the pope visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Post quoted officials at the foreign ministry as saying that the pope had made "statements against Israel" and that the social media post had been published in "error".
The foreign ministry, which social media platform X states on its website is linked to the verified @Israel account, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, suggested last November that the global community should study whether Israel's military campaign in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people, in some of his most explicit criticism yet of Israel's conduct in its war with Hamas that began in Oct. 2023.

In January the pope also called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "shameful", prompting criticism from Rome's chief Jewish rabbi who accused Francis of "selective indignation".
Israel says accusations of genocide in its Gaza campaign are baseless and that it is solely hunting down Hamas and other armed groups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads a far-right coalition of religious and nationalist parties, has not commented on the pope's death.
However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday sent a message of condolence to Christians in the Holy Land and around the world, describing Francis as "a man of deep faith and boundless compassion".
Relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism have improved in recent decades, after centuries of animosity.
Pope Francis was usually careful during his 12-year pontificate about taking sides in conflicts, and he condemned the growth of antisemitic groups, while also speaking by phone with Gaza's tiny Christian community every evening during the war.

Francis in 2014 visited the Western Wall - the most sacred prayer site in Judaism - and also prayed at a section of a wall built by Israel in the occupied West Bank dividing Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

 

[caketastydelish]

 

[Lexicus]

The way the thread title is phrased implies it's asking who's next to die, lol

 

[Gori the Grey]

Re-read Yeekim's first post.

 

[Evie]

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.”

Is Nostradamus still a thing? The name of the guy leading the bets is Peter (Pietro), and he is Italian, not exactly Roman but from near Venice. Close enough.

Whether Nostradamus is still a thing, that quote is not his. It's the final line of the Prophecy of the Popes, or Prophecy of Malachy, which purports to be a medieval document predict all the upcoming popes, but whose accuracy drop precipitously off into nebulous "This line could be about that pope if you squint really hard and are dizzy" territory in the Early Modern era right around the time we find our first independent source attesting the existence of the document.

So, probably a sixteenth century (or thereabout) forgery falsely purporting to be a medieval prophecy that has proven remarkably obscure at predicting any pope from the 17th century onward. There's some small reason to believe the original purpose of the document may have been to try and influence Cardinals around that time into voting for specific candidate based on their fitting the prophecy. As best as we can determine, it was...inefficient.

There's also some difficulties in that, technically, if the prophecy is meant to be a proper complete list of all the popes, then the last name given before Petrus Romanus would be for Benedict XVI, and Petrus Romanus was Pope Francis himself (which makes very little sense) whereas if we assume the list is incomplete or skip over names, then Petrus Romanos could be 10, 100 or 1000 years away for all we know. That's the fun with putting too much stock in prophecies.

 

[Broken_Erika]

More Trae Crowder

Spoiler :

 

[amadeus]

I’m more of a traditionalist, so I say Rod Blagojevich.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

I think the thing is between the Italian guy and the Philippine one. It all depends if they are tired of 'foreign' popes and want to return to the roots or want to promote catholicism more across the world now that Europe is becoming atheist, specially in Asia. Second option makes more sense.

 

[Ordnael]

^"Europe is becoming atheist"
the new europeans disagree with u
for instance our Brazilian immigrants are fervorous Christians, the same for Africans from our former colonies.

 

[Broken_Erika]

The Last Italian Pope lasted 33 days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_three_popes