The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-02-02
NEXT POPE WILL
BE AN ITALIAN!
ii.
Vatican Circles Discuss the
Most Probable Success
or of Pope.
CARDINAL MAFFI?
IN. E. A. staff Specially

I'm. Il. "A. SCan specially
-Well-informed persons in
ecclesiastical circles here are unable
to point to any one cardinal as the
most probable successor to Benedict
XIV.
But every one in Vatican cirlces
agrees on two points:
One-That the next pope will be an
Italian.
Two-That he will be picked from
among the pastoral cardinals those in
charge of various dioceses- rather
than from the members Of curia, or.
pope's council.
That the next pope will be an Ital-
ian is certain, ecclesiastical experts
say, because thirty-one of the sixty
one members of the Sacred College
majority-are hof Italian birth.
Base Prediction on Past Elections.
And the prediction that the next
pope will be a pastoral cardinal is
based on careful study Of the papal
elections of the last two centuries.
Observation has shown Vatican OBJ
servers that whenever so-called "po-
liticaP pope is elected, he is followed
by religious" pope as sort of re-
action.
And, in the same way, when "re-
ligious" pope occupies the pontifcate,
he is followed by political" pope.
Thus Leo XIII is called political"
because of the world conditions under
which he was elected.
He was followed by Plus x, purely
religious" pope.
And Benedict XIV quite naturally was
political" pope, having been elevat-
ed to the pontifical seat at a time
when the whole Christian world was in
turmoil.
Conditions. Point to Religious" Pope.
That's why experts predict a Gre
ligious" success to Benedict XIV.
Now, of the thirty-one Italian card
inals, twenty-one are members of the
curia. They live in Rome, sit on vari-
Gus ecclesiastical tribunals and aid
the pope in governing the church.
None of these can be considered as
probable popes-not only because they
are eliminated by the rule of "religi-
Gus" and political" succession but be-
cause all the outstanding curia mem
bers are too old to assume the bur-
denseof the pontifcate.
Cardinal Gasparri is TO-. And he is
exhausted from the tremendous IahAr
of codifying the canon law, which
one of his duties as papal secretary
of state.
Cardinal Vannutelli, an outstanding
cardinal, is 184qs Cardinal di Belmonte
is 20. CARDINAL Vico is "a.
Ten Pastoral Cardinals Are Only
Possibilities.
So the possibilities narrow down to
the ten Italiangpastoral cardinals who
head various dioceses.
Cardinal Mafi Of Pisa is one of
these. He. is extremely popular in
Italy. aHe's "a and has been a cardinal
fourteen years. He is a strong Ital-
ian patriot and stands for reconcilia-
tion between the Vatican and the Ital-
ian government. -
Another leading possibility is Card
inal Ratti of Milan. Ratti has been
cardinal only one Year, but Pope Bene-
dict had been a, cardinal only four
months when elevated.
Ratti started his career as curator
in the libraries Of Milan and the Va
tican.
Then he became apostolic visitor to
Poland while Poland was struggling
for freedom.
When Poland was freed he became
papal nuncio. He also acted as eccles-
iastical diplomat lin Finland and Rus
STA, making an enviable record of &C
somplishment.
Cardinal La Fontaine of Venice also
is considered. La Fontaine is 81 and
was made cardinal in 1916.
Alessio Ascaliessi of Benevento has
been mentioned among these. But by
most he is considered too young he's
do