Vatican: Bookies favour Italy's Angelo Scola as
next pope
Rome, 11 March (AKI) - Italian cardinal Angelo Scola is
now leading the race to be the next pope, according to Irish
bookmaker Paddypower. At 2-1, Scola has overtaken the
previous front-runner, Ghana’s Peter Turkson at 4-1, Italy's
Tarcisio Bertone at 5-1 and Brazil's Pedro Odilo Scherer at
7-1.
Most Vatican experts predict the conclave to elect
Benedict XVI's successor will be a contest between
reformists, headed by the likes of Scola, who is archbishop
of Milan, and Marc Ouellet of Canada, and conservatives such
as Cardinal Pedro Odilo Scherer of Brazil.
Conclave: Scola, Scherer and Oullet are
front-runners but the race is still open
There seems to be one established
certainty. Already as of tomorrow evening, when the 115
voters will shut themselves in the Sistine Chapel for the
election, a fair number of votes (some mentioned 35,
others 40) should go to the Archbishop of Milan, Angelo
Scola, who has the support of various European cardinals
and a few Americans. If he is elected, the papacy will
become Italian again, thirty-five years after the election
of John Paul I. Another candidate who should gather a fair
amount of consensus is the Archbishop of São Paulo, Odilo
Pedro Scherer, a Brazilian with a long experience in the
Curia. Unconfirmed reports on the eve of the
Conclave - which of course need to be taken with a pinch
of salt – suggest the Brazilian could get 25 votes. A
third candidate who might stand out from the beginning is
the Canadian Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops who is believed to be able to draw to himself
twelve votes from South America and the United States.
Lombardi: “Black smoke on the
horizon tomorrow”
“The first smoke signal is expected to
be given at 8 pm tomorrow evening; it is unlikely the
outcome will be positive, as this will be the first voting
session.” The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr.
Federico Lombardi announced this in today’s press
conference.