John Paul II and Benedict XVI, popes of very recent memory, share one thing in common: they were not front-runners during the conclaves that eventually elected them to the papacy. Referred to as “compromise candidates,” both Karol Cardinal Wojtyla (John Paul II) and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) were elected popes because all those speculated by the public and the media to be front-runners carried with them their own number of cardinal electors who would not budge an inch if the other front-runners were still on the ballot.
Yes, the Holy Spirit is supposed to inspire the cardinal-electors to vote rightly, but hey, there is free will on the part of these human beings now locked inside the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. And sometimes, it may be difficult to discern who among them the Holy Spirit prefers—especially with a body so large (counting 115 electors at present) as to have so many possible candidates.
This explains why modern anti-espionage gadgets and jamming devices have been reportedly put in place around and inside the Sistine Chapel. Even the Vatican recognizes that princes of the church these cardinals may be, they are prone to human frailties which may affect the outcome the Holy Spirit would have wanted. Any student of the history of the Roman Papacy will know the political character of these elections and how important the papacy is, especially with its vast influence that can affect world events. It is not just us ordinary people who take note of the elections now, even the leaders of the great superpowers and the highly developed world are awaiting the results with bated breath!
What is most certain is that the longer it takes for these cardinals to elect a pope, the greater the chances Filipino Roman Catholics have of waking up in a few days to see an Asian pope, incidentally, the only one from our part of the world who is among the possible compromise candidates. I am referring anew to Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle (Pope Chito, as some have playfully nicknamed him right after Benedict XVI resigned last month) whom I wrote about last month as a favorite of the recently resigned pope.
Commentators see his age as a factor that will be most important on the minds of electors if and when his name comes up. Is the Vatican ready for another pope who will leave his mark reigning for perhaps 30 years? When that question comes up, I am certain the electors will look at the papacy of John Paul II, who reigned from 1978 to 2005 or about 27 years. And in that papacy they will hopefully see the good that can happen, more than the bad, if they elect this simple 55-year-old theologian who has been described as someone who can move people to tears of remorse, sadness and even joy with his homilies.
My fearless forecast is that if this is not Cardinal Tagle’s time then another short-lived papacy will be in the offing, one that will not last more than six to ten years. We will then finally see a Pope Chito thereafter. So take courage, dear readers. Our cardinal elector and candidate is still young. He will be just 65 years old ten years from now and will still make pope.
With the Holy Spirit behind us, I think we can also wait that long. That is, if this is not yet Pope Chito’s time.