From New York to the Vatican: Cardinal Dolan could be more likely to become Pope than you think
Cardinals gathered in Rome will begin the process of electing a new pope on Wednesday. Among the 135 potential candidates is one who has Trump’s backing.
Cardinals of the Catholic Church on Wednesday will be locked in the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave, the process of electing a new pope. Of the 252 members of the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals, only 135 who are under the age of 80 will be eligible to vote.
They can choose any baptized, Catholic man to be pontiff, but generally the person chosen comes from the College of Cardinals. While it is quite a longshot that the new pope would be someone from the US, there are a couple Americans who are among the frontrunners.
Timothy Dolan: New York cardinal who is Trump’s pick to be pope
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 75, will be among the 135 cardinals voting in the conclave. This conclave will be his second, having participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday.
President Donald Trump insinuated, without mentioning him by name, that Dolan would make a good candidate to be the next pontiff, telling reporters last week, “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Dolan being chosen would be quite the surprise, as only four popes in the entire history of the Catholic Church have been from a country outside of Europe. Furthermore, typically the Church avoids picking popes from economic and political hegemons.
His proximity to Trump would also not help him. Dolan led prayers for both of Trump’s presidential inaugurations and is reportedly chummy with the US president.
You may also be interested in: How to watch the conclave from the U.S.?
Who is Cardinal Dolan?
Dolan was ordained to the priesthood in 1976 for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, Missouri, his home state. In 2002, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Milwaukee and then Pope Benedict XVI named him to his current post, Archbishop of New York, in 2009. Three years later, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Dolan to the College of Cardinals.
According to Dolan’s official biography, he is also a member of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, and the Dicastery for Evangelization.
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