Other Papabile. Tony Hendra, author of Father Joe, has this article (in .pdf format) on his website listing some of the other possible candidates to fill JP2's shoes. For example, this one should make Father Richard McBrien happy:

Belgian Jean-Paul Georges Ringaud, Cardinal Archbishop of the sprawling industrial diocese of Sprout to the east of Brussels is widely considered to be the standard bearer for the left-liberal wing of the church. Cardinal Ringaud wants to reach out to other denominations by canonizing Martin Luther and naming the first Jewish cardinal. He would make the use of birth-control a sacrament and declare a Feast of the Contraception. He sees no reason why the faithful should not be allowed to attend Mass via cell-phone or Blackberry. A Biblical scholar by training, Ringaud shares with reformist Dutch and German theologians progressive views on the interpretation of the Gospels. The most dramatic is the possibility - according to the latest biblical research - that Jesus of Nazareth was actually a woman. Cardinal Ringaud welcomes the hypothesis: as he has said: the world is ready for a ‘Ms.-iah’ He is well known in his native Belgium for leading congregations in a prayer he penned himself: The Maternostra (Our Mother). This gibes with another of his convictions: the Church has not apologized to nearly enough injured groups – for instance to all women for the existence of the penis. His first act as Pope would be to abolish the papacy.

Luring Home Schoolers? Article here.

"He was my Pope, too..." So says Lutheran Uwe Siemon-Netto here. I am in total accord with Siemon-Netto's essay -- please read it all.

Pope John Paul has given the entire Christian Church so much to reflect on -- in his actions, his example, his faith, his theology. I'm sure I wasn't the only Protestant who pulled out some of his encyclicals in the past week. My particular favorites: The Gospel of Life, The Splendor of Truth, and Faith and Reason. They are available on-line for easy reading or may be purchased for a nominal price at most Catholic bookstores.

There is truly no way to express how much this great soul meant to so many of us.

We thank God for him.

Sweet Sistine. Here are the papabile brackets. I'm not sure, but I think it's a venial sin just to view this...

I Coulda Been A Contender... As Christopher S. Johnson writes: "Since the Pope died, nobody's going to be paying any attention to ECUSA for a while." Let's face it, ECUSA is class D ball even within the Protestant community, so let's look at the interesting stuff; the big leagues.

Naturally, there's a blog out there keeping an eye on the papabile: "Dedicated to the discussion of the possible successors of our Holy Father, John Paul II. Papabile: (pay-pah-bee-lay), n., one who is considered a possible candidate to be Pope."

If you want to bet on the next pope, you can look here the current odds are:

• Francis Arinze (Nigeria) 11-4
• Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy) 11-4
• Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga (Honduras) 9-2
• Joseph Ratzinger (Germany) 7 - 1
• Claudio Hummes (Brazil) 7-1

All odds, when posted, may be found here, at oddchecker...

If you really want to bet (I sure wouldn't), keep in mind the The Pignedoli Principle when reading the newspapers.

And, since you can't tell a player without a scorecard, here's a good place to look for the current information on who's who.

Last, don't forget about the prophecy of St. Malachy.

More...

Thumbnail bios from the National Catholic Reporter...