Papal Race

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has seemingly thrown the race for the papacy wide open.

The suggestion that the next pope might be a non-European have gathered momentum after comments by a currently serving curia cardinal.

The Portuguese cardinal José Saraiva Martins, opined:

A vast and authoritative range of candidates, who reflect the truly universal and not just European nature of the church, will present themselves at the conclave ... Therefore, the big surprise may come from faraway places such as Asia, Africa and Latin America ... this is a universal church and . . . in the end I wouldn’t be surprised if the chosen one ended up being a young cardinal, like the Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle ...

The Irish Church which has reeled in recent years over child sex abuse scandals will watch developments with interest. It is 34 years since Ireland last hosted a Papal visit.

Pope John Paul II visits Ireland in 1979

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