The Conclave to elect the new Pope will take place on April 18. Most VFR readers are undoubtedly asking themselves whether the new pontiff will be as reassuring on issues of morality and as disappointing on geopolitical issues as the previous one. This article will try to analyze the top contenders for the papacy and ascertain whether each would be a good choice from a traditionalist conservative perspective.

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, 69 (Milan, Italy)

Tettamanzi is the clear frontrunner for several reasons. First, he’s Italian, and after more than a quarter century of non-Italian pontifical rule, the influential Italian cardinals and the predominantly Italian Vatican apparatus want to see another Italian pontiff ascend the Throne of St. Peter.

Cardinal Tettamanzi is also the frontrunner among the Vatican bureaucracy because in many ways he is similar to the late John Paul II: a fairly reliable traditionalist on such issues as abortion, birth control, homosexuality, and the ordination of women and very liberal on geopolitical issues. This allowed Cardinal Tettamanzi to obtain support from both sides of the Vatican aisle. According to Time Magazine, Tettamanzi is supported both by the liberal Catholic organization Community of Sant’Egidio and by the traditionalist Opus Dei.

Like the late John Paul II, Cardinal Tettamanzi is very good at reaching out to laity. He made headlines by taking a ride in a Formula One car at Milan’s Monza racetrack before the Grand Prix.

The bottom line is that Dionigi Tettamanzi is a plumper and shorter version of Karol Wojtyla. While steadfast in his devotion to religious and social traditionalism, as exemplified in his collaboration on the 1995 papal essay on bioethics, Cardinal Tettamanzi is disappointingly liberal in his geopolitical outlook. He has been “outspoken against the mistreatment of immigrants” (which could only mean he’s against the deportation of illegals) and has expressed support for anti-globalization protestors, who are notoriously anti-Western and anti-Christian. As Dr. Srdja Trifkovic wrote on April 4 in his regular online column (News and Views) for Chronicles magazine, “Tettamanzi seems unwilling to confront the “external,” geopolitical challenge that will face the new pontiff.” Furthermore, as Dr. Trifkovic points out, Cardinal Tettamanzi “takes a soft line on the issue of immigration with touchy-feely platitudes and avoids any statements that could mark him as a culture warrior.”

As all this makes clear, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi is not a good choice for traditionalist conservatives. If he is elected, we can expect at least another decade of more of the same seemingly conservative policies on the “domestic front” and self-destructive liberalism on external issues.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, 72 (Nigeria)

Arinze is the unofficial spiritual leader of African Catholics, one of the fastest growing laities in the world. A convert from West African animism who became the youngest bishop in the world at the age of thirty-two, Cardinal Arinze is an outspoken traditionalist on socio-cultural issues. For example, he spoke out against granting communion to pro-abortion and pro-gay politicians. In a famous Georgetown University speech in 2003, Arinze said that the traditional family is being “mocked by homosexuality.”

Cardinal Arinze’s record on geopolitical issues is far less impressive. While he is unknown to have made any pro-mass immigration or pro-Islam comments, he was the head of the ultra-ecumenical Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for eighteen long years (1984-2002). Francis Arinze will probably not take an explicitly pro-Western and pro-Christian outlook in external affairs of the Church.

However, since Cardinal Arinze is a member of a persecuted minority in Muslim-dominated Nigeria, he could be expected to realize the danger of Islam’s growth and spread, but since he is culturally distant from Europe, traditionalist conservatives should not expect Arinze to be a better choice than John Paul II. Because of his outspoken social traditionalism, Arinze may be a somewhat better choice than Cardinal Tettamanzi.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78 (Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith)

Cardinal Ratzinger (see Wikipedia article) is in charge of promoting Catholic doctrine and fighting against heresy. He is the Vatican’s foremost theologian and the only cardinal who has an online fan club. Cardinal Ratzinger is one of the most socio-culturally conservative figures in the Vatican. He has warned against the dangers of radical secularism, homosexual “marriage,” the decline of European culture, and disregard for the unborn.

Cardinal Ratzinger is also fairly traditionalist on geopolitical issues. While he hasn’t spoken out against Islamic immigration, Ratzinger believes that the European Union has “deeply Christian roots” and that Turkey should not be admitted to the organization.

For traditionalist conservatives, Joseph Ratzinger is by far the best choice as the next pontiff. Unfortunately, his election is unlikely because of his very advanced age and stalwartly traditionalist views on external issues. However, according to the Washington Times, this time around the conclave is unwilling to elect a pope who will serve for as long as John Paul II. Therefore, Cardinal Ratzinger has a chance of getting elected.

Cardinal Claudio Hummes, 70 (Archbishop of Sao Paulo)

Cardinal Hummes is the spiritual leader of Brazilian Catholics, the largest laity in Latin America, a region that some say will give the Church its next pope. Cardinal Hummes has a plainly leftist world outlook.

While Hummes has adopted a traditionalist stance on birth control (drawing the ire of Brazil’s anti-AIDS campaigners), he is notorious for supporting the extreme-left Workers Party and for allowing its leader to make speeches during his masses. When a military government ruled Brazil, Cardinal Hummes allowed trade union leaders and other extreme Left subversives to hold political meetings at his church.

Many traditionalist conservatives will no doubt appreciate Hummes’s recent statements against free trade and global capitalism. However, his explicitly leftist world outlook and flirtation with anti-Americanism make Cardinal Hummes an unwelcome candidate for the papacy.

(Mr. Girin’s profiles of the papabile continue in part II of this article.)

Eugene Girin will be attending CUNY Baruch College as a junior this fall. He is 20 years old and has been published by vdare.com, Think-Israel, Israel National News, and other websites in the U.S., Israel, and Russia.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 07, 2005 06:57 PM | Send