From enemy to possible pope

[Freddie Stubbs]

Giving a voice to a church that had long been silenced, Cuban Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino is among a long list of contenders to become the next pope.

BY NANCY SAN MARTIN
[e-mail]

Once confined in a Cuban hard-labor camp with dissidents, petty criminals, homosexuals and other ''enemies of the Cuban revolution,'' Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino has emerged as a voice in a church that was all but totally silenced after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.

Ortega has earned some respect for his relatively independent stand on Castro's communist regime, and worked diligently to rebuild a church decimated by government restraints and teach a largely baptized but vastly untutored population.

Nearly half of Cuba's 11.2 million people consider themselves Catholics, but few are devoted practitioners in a nation where the government was officially atheist for more than two decades and often promoted other religions as a counterweight.

Seen as a deft conciliator between the notoriously divided Cuban exile community and those who stayed behind, Ortega, 68, is among several cardinals considered to be possible successors to Pope John Paul II.

more: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/11378976.htm

[DELUSIONAL]

1. Am I psychic or what??

I suggest a week or so ago right here on DU that this cardinal should be chosen as the next pope.

In part because it would put a burr under Der bshita's saddle (of his bike since he is afraid of horses).

[Judi Lynn]

2. It has been discussed for years in Cuba and some places

Excellent idea. Cardinal Ortega, Achbishop of Havana figured largely in the Pope's visit to Cuba.



He was recently treated very rudely stopping in the U.S. Pathetic.

[todwest]

6. What Taste!

And he has a superb sense of Catholic kitch, as evidenced by the hideous figurine behind him.

[piece sine]

14. that's Our Lady

at least a billion Catholics think the world of her. Each culture expresses their view of her in their own diverse, visual vocabulary.
You might want to stick a sock in it.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TahitiNut]

5. Join the club

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3413736&mesg_id=3413797
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3408735&mesg_id=3408788

[booley]

3. So what kind of Pope would he be?

I know nothing of the man other then he is Cuban and was stopped by US authorities recently.

what views does he have>

[kskiska]

4. I've been hoping this guy would get it

Wouldn't that be a kick in the head to *?

[Freddie Stubbs]

7. Why would to be a kick in the head to Bush?

:shrug:

[Judi Lynn]

8. It would be amusing if the pResident made another visit to Rome

for an audience with the new pope, who REMAINED IN CUBA, unlike to _Bush's terrorist, bombtossing, bomber-hiring, Cuba-embargo-loving friends in Miami.

[CarefullyLiberal]

9. Please correct me if I am wrong...

I think that any celibate male is eligible to be elected Pope.

It doesn't have to be a Cardinal. Though unlikely, I believe to be elected Pope the celibate man doesn't even have to be catholic.

Again, please correct me if I am wrong.

-Fergus

[Stinky The Clown]

10. I think he has to be catholic, but not celibate

But I'm not sure ..... :shrug:

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. He has to be an unmarried Catholic man

[AnneD]

11. I'll go out on a limb

I believe (and have since JPII's death) the next pope will be hispanic. Christian evangelicals have made real gains in the once catholic dominated CA and SA and it would be a real coup AND go a long way to slow the CE's. My 2 cents and it's worth just about that.

[xchrom]

13. indeed -- it would be a smart chess move.

but the vatican seems torn between shooting itself in the left foot or the right foot -- since it wants to stay in the dark ages on issues that really matter to people.

[roguevalley]

15. There are so many hispanic Catholics but the church is being

undermined by evangelicals. A hispanic pope would be smart. I don't think there are many people in the College that aren't horrible in their positions, just that some are LESS horrible than others.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

16. I would like to see a Hispanic in the Vatican.

There's never been a Hispanic before as pope. Well, there were a few Spanish popes five or six hundred years ago but never a Latino pope.

[Judi Lynn]

20. Tons of people in Latin America are really hopeful..

Latin American pope a possibility
By SONIA MELENDEZ
April 13, 2005

As Latino Catholics mourn the passing of John Paul II, speculation grows about the possibility of electing a Latin American pope.

Nearly half of the estimated 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide live in Latin America, lead by110 million in Brazil and 105 million in Mexico.
(snip)

The pope's stance hurt the church in Latin America, says Sister Bernice Kiga of the New York-based Maryknoll Catholic Worldwide Missionaries. She spent 20 years in war-torn Guatemala and recalled to Weekly Report the struggles of the people under decades-long military regimes.

She recounts that many priests, including Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, were murdered because they took positions against oppressive governments, but received little support from the pope.

In 1979, Romero went to the Vatican asking for the pope's support to help stop violence in El Salvador. He instead received a lecture against liberation theology.

"The pope did not understand the complexity of the progressive Catholic movement in Latin America and as a result didn't provide the support these people needed at a time of civil war," UF's Vasquez said.
(snip/...)

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_world/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19864_3701575,00.html

[eriffle]

17. does this mean...

a lowriding popemobile?
:silly:

[dflprincess]

18. LOL

I have a friend who, upon learning any unmarried Catholic male can be pope, decided he was interested in the job. But he said the first thing he'll do is change the celibacy rule as he figures the pope mobile could be a real babe magnet.

BTW, my friend is Hispanic (and liberal). He'd be perfect!