Short answer: well, no, it's not going to happen this time, but it could, and it has happened before (though not lately). Let's look at the current options right now, and in Part II (tomorrow unless overtaken by events) we'll look at past Popes from North Africa and Syria.
The Conclave can choose any unmarried male baptized Catholic as Pope, in theory, but since 1378 the Cardinals have always discovered that they need to go nor farther than. well. the College of Cardinals to find their man. Since that's even longer ago than the last time a Pope resigned, the odds are pretty good that the new Pope will come from the Cardinals.
The Cardinals include a number from the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, those Eastern Churches wich retain their traditional liturgies and practices and are in union with Rome. Currently there are four living cardinals from the Arab world, several from the two Indian Rites, and several Eastern Rite cardinals from the Ukrainian and Romanian churches. I'll concentrate on the Arabs here.There has sometimes been speculation that choosing someone from the Eastern Rites would be good for ecumenism, though that might backfire; the late Pope John Paul II, who had a Ukrainian grandmother, paid much attention to the Eastern Churches.
I'll leave the Ukrainians and the one Romanian cardinal out of this. In the past there have been Armenian Catholic Cardinals and some Melkite Cardinals, but there are four living cardinals from the Middle East today: two Maronites (one retired), a Chaldean (retired) and a Coptic Catholic (who just retired in January). In short, two Lebanese, an Iraqi, and an Egyptian. I doubt if I need to note to readers of this blog that all would be politically explosive. But then of course, the Cardinals chose a Polish Pope back when Communism was still a going concern.
There are other reasons to assume the four current Arab cardinals won't get the nod. Two of them are over 80, and will not be eligible to vote in the conclave. That doesn't mean they couldn't be chosen by their younger colleagues, but when we've just seen an 85-year-old Pope retire due to health, it's unlikely. One of the two over-80s, the retired Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, is 92 years old. a cardinal since 1994, he was Maronite Patriarch 1986-2011. Beyond the fact that his age disqualifies him, he would be a contentious figure.
The second over-80 cardinal is Emmanuel III Cardinal Delly, Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans from 2003-2012, a cardinal since 2007.
Of the two cardinals still under 80, the Coptic Catholic, Antonious Naguib, stepped down as Patriarch of Alexandria for the Coptic Catholics on January 15, after suffering a stroke late last year. It's said his speech is impaired and he chose to give up his Patriarchal seat; he's been a cardinal since 2010 and can still vote, as he's only 77.
The fourth current Arab cardinal is the current Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Pierre Raï (Rahi). Cardinal Raï is 72 and succeeded Sfeir in 2011. But choosing the Maronite Patriarch would not be an outreach to the Middle East so much as a plunge into the maelstrom of Lebanese confessionalism.
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| Indian Cardinal Cleemis |
One addendum: though the Middle Eastern cardinals may not be viable candidates, the current Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, which handles relations between the Vatican and the Eastern Rites, is being seriously mentioned as a papal candidate: Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, an Argentine (so he would be a Third World Pope) but one who has spent so long in Rome he is well-connected in the Vatican establishment and might win support from the large Italian bloc of cardinals. He would, at least, have an Eastern connection.
Part II will look at previous Catholic Popes from the Middle East and North Africa.
The
Syrian popes were: Evaristus (107), Anicetus (168), John V (687),
Serguis I (701), Sisinnius (708), Constantine I (715), and Gregory III
(732). I shall give brief biographical sketches of the Eastern popes
among these who distinguished themselves in the government of the
universal Church.
St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.
John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.
Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex— Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.
John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.
Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.
Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.
Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.
- See more at: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2741#sthash.TzcWDiKh.dpuf
St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.
John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.
Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex— Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.
John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.
Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.
Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.
Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.
- See more at: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2741#sthash.TzcWDiKh.dpuf
The
Syrian popes were: Evaristus (107), Anicetus (168), John V (687),
Serguis I (701), Sisinnius (708), Constantine I (715), and Gregory III
(732). I shall give brief biographical sketches of the Eastern popes
among these who distinguished themselves in the government of the
universal Church.
St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.
John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.
Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex— Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.
John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.
Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.
Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.
Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.
- See more at: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2741#sthash.TzcWDiKh.dpuf
St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.
John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.
Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex— Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.
John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.
Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.
Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.
Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.
- See more at: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2741#sthash.TzcWDiKh.dpuf
The Greek popes were: Cletus (91), Telesphorus (139), Hyginus
(142), Eleutherius (192), Anterus (235), Sixtus II (258), Eusebius
(310), Zosimus (418), Theodore I (649), Agatho (681), Leo II (683), John
VI (705), John VII (707), and Zacharias (752).
The Syrian popes were: Evaristus (107), Anicetus (168), John V (687), Serguis I (701), Sisinnius (708), Constantine I (715), and Gregory III (732). I shall give brief biographical sketches of the Eastern popes among these who distinguished themselves in the government of the universal Church.
St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.
John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.
Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex— Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.
John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.
Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.
Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.
Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.
- See more at: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2741#sthash.ScEudIvP.dpuf
The Syrian popes were: Evaristus (107), Anicetus (168), John V (687), Serguis I (701), Sisinnius (708), Constantine I (715), and Gregory III (732). I shall give brief biographical sketches of the Eastern popes among these who distinguished themselves in the government of the universal Church.
St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.
John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.
Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex— Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.
John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.
Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.
Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.
Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.
- See more at: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2741#sthash.ScEudIvP.dpuf
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