The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates

Product Description

When Pope Francis’ pontificate has passed, it’s very likely that one of the nineteen cardinals featured in these pages will be elected to become the next Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics and the most influential and widely respected moral and religious figure in the world.

Yet outside the Vatican walls, despite the considerable roles that some of these men play in the Church and in the world, few of them are known by the public or even by their brother cardinals.
Hence this book, an engrossing and thoroughly documented instrument through which a future pope may be known in that sphere that matters most: his life and service, first as a priest, and then as a bishop.
Written by the National Catholic Register’s longtime Rome correspondent, Edward Pentin, in collaboration with an international team of qualified scholars, these encyclopaedic pages present you with the fruit of years of research.
Each cardinal profile begins with a brief biography that sketches the major points of his ecclesiastical life. Then comes a detailed, richly footnoted report and assessment of his three fundamental roles as a successor to the apostles: his sanctifying role as a priest, his governing role as a bishop, and his prophetic role as a teacher.
As an important bonus, these pages also carefully document many of the candidates’ published views on moral and theological issues currently debated in the Church and in the public arena, as such views often reveal most efficiently the individual s true character and deepest held beliefs.
Finally, each profile concludes with a summary, recapitulating the main points brought to light by the thorough research, giving readers and tomorrow’s cardinal electors a fair and accurate picture of the man who may soon become The Next Pope.

Review

“I did TV commentary from Rome on EWTN and the Fox News Channel at the 2013 conclave that elected Jorge Bergoglio to succeed Pope Benedict XVI. How I wish I had a book like this back then! Edward Pentin provides us with thoroughly researched background reports on 19 cardinals who will likely be in serious consideration at the next conclave. Accurate information about the pastoral and doctrinal approaches of these cardinals, set forth here with carefully footnoted references, will assist their fellow cardinals, and all interested observers, in making well informed judgments about these men, one of whom could become the next Pope.” Fr. Gerald E. Murray, JCD Member of EWTN’s Papal Posse and pastor of Holy Family Church, New York, NY
“Edward Pentin is one of the world s leading journalists on the Vatican. His meticulously documented and very readable outline of the men most likely to be the next pope will be of great help to Catholics and non-Catholics alike trying to understand many of the complex dynamics which help determine who ends up in the Chair of Saint Peter.” Samuel GreggResearch Director, Acton Institute
“The Next Pope is an indispensable gift to the Church at this time, providing those entrusted with electing the next pope, and others advising the electors, an invaluable aid in assessing the quality of the candidates. This and promised future volumes will also help those of us intensely interested in ecclesial affairs to follow a drama unlike any other and to know for whom to pray.” Janet SmithRetired Moral Theologian
“This substantial, well written and well-resourced text, The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates, has the potential of offering a great service to the Catholic Church in the 21st Century. It respectfully outlines the men who would be likely candidates for the papacy in a future conclave. It offers accurate and verifiable information which allows the Church and future elector Cardinals to know these men and their resumes more fully as they deliberate the crucial choice of a new Vicar of Christ. It presents this information in a manner which fully respects the freedom