By Nicole Albright
Contributing Writer
It was the news that shocked the world: On Feb. 11, Pope Benedict XVI announced he would step down from his position. Now the race is on for the papacy, and some Americans want one of their own to be considered for the position.
An American pope?
Such an idea seems outlandish and foolish at this time. Sure, there will be a time when the idea is possible, but today is not that day.
According to a Feb. 16 ABC News story, none of the United States’ current candidates fit the bill for being pope.
There are certain standards a candidate must adhere to, such as being multilingual and able to handle clergy abuse. Yet we live in a time when some Americans only know English fluently. The candidates running for the papacy don’t speak Latin, which I find a problem because Latin is a key language when it comes to the Catholic faith.
In order to be pope, one must speak fluent Italian, evident in the fact that the Vatican City is located in Rome. Can any of the current American cardinals speak Italian? Sure. Yet, according to a Feb. 17 Huffington Post article, none are fluent enough to hold a full conversation or gain a majority of the votes from the College of Cardinals.
While Cardinal Timothy Dolan from New York has been to Rome, he has never served in a Vatican office. However, many Americans seem to think he might be elected as the next pope, according to the Huffington Post article. The idea is absurd. He can only speak a little Italian, and he has only been a Cardinal for a year. Surely, there must be better candidates.
The ABC News article points out that the American church is still new, especially within a faith that has been around for more than 2,000 years. Therefore, the likelihood for the world supporting an American candidate for the papacy is unlikely. With the United States being less than 300 years old, our Catholic church hasn’t been fully established. How can a cardinal from America go from our relatively young Catholic Church to lead one that existed for millenia?
The United States has been considered the world’s mediator, so there is no way an American would receive the required votes to become pope. We are a global superpower, so the goal of the American papacy would be considered a benefit to the American people. So where, then, does this idea of an American pope sound plausible?
The world still views America as a dominating nation, one that wishes to expand. Therefore, other cardinals might consider an American a threat, trying to exert control over the Catholic world.
What the papacy needs is someone everybody can be satisfied with, which means the idea of an American pope is out of the question. The College of Cardinals will be voting for the pope too, and they would rather have a European than an American. Let us not forget that every pope has been from Europe – one being from Poland and the other from Germany. I feel as though a European is more capable for the role. They are familiar with not only the territory, but the people of Rome as well.
I would love to see a capable American hold the position as Bishop of Rome, yet right now such a person does not exist. Not in the eyes of the world. Right now, we need to concentrate on what is going on in our society, and with our people.
All eyes will be on Rome as a new pope comes into power, and I predict he will be from a European nation.
