Papal vote may mark shift in Church

THE worldwide outpouring of affection for Pope John Paul II may have convinced the cardinals choosing his successor that today’s Roman Catholic Church has no room for a so-called “transitional” leader.

The profile of a Pope who knows how to communicate and to bridge cultural and religious divides fits a number of the 115 cardinals in today’s conclave. Those contenders include Brazil’s Claudio Hummes, Argentina’s Jorge Bergoglio and Austria’s Christoph Schoenborn.

Both Cardinal Hummes, aged 70, and Cardinal Bergoglio, aged 68, have been highly visible advocates for the poor, questioning the benefits of globalisation and free-market policies. Cardinal Schoenborn is the model of a modern churchman - a multilingual scholar who has reached out to Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians - but at 60 he may be considered too young.