news

There is like a not-insignificant faction of very conservative catholics in france, the United States and most importantly africa, which is the local in which the constituents of the church is most strongly increasing in numbers. Especially to combat the evangelicals who have been spreading like wildfire trying to erase „paganism“ in africa.

and with the far right on the rise worldwide

This is some “only the Global North really matters” type of thinking (I mean the author of the article, not you OP). Sure, fascism is on the rise in the US and Western Europe (and maybe some adjacent areas like Argentina or Poland)… but this isn’t necessarily true in the rest of the world. And I think the Catholic Church is pivoting to the Global South anyway. It’s sound logic that they may not want a further reformer, but I don’t buy the argument I quoted.

Pretty much my thinking. The Vatican isn't going to paint a target on themselves, the chic thing of corporations (and Vatican is just one big child abusing, criminal corporation in a sense) trying to pretend to be woke and progressive has been tossed aside. Some parts of Europe are still clinging to a veneer of it but the far right is rising rapidly even in France and I think that within 5-8 years at most you have much more reactionary governments in power across Europe and the Vatican won't want a pope that's out of step on that.

The fact also is the idea that Francis vetted these people and made sure they were ideologically committed to his way of thinking seems a bit spurious, it is so like the rad-lib to want to have variety, to accept reactionary people to the right of your position because they're with you on one particular thing or they seem on a personal level to be likeable and not horribly corrupt and a true believer at least. So I would not be surprised if even without the shifting global trends that happened.

Francis was notably picked in 2013, that was in Obama's second term, world-wide there was this propaganda feeling that America had made a decidedly progressive permanent turn by electing a black man not once but twice and so they wanted to follow on with that. Now with Trump, with the rise of "trad" among the incel-o-sphere and man-o-sphere among young guys, with the alignment of the big corporations with Trump with the big tech bourgeoisie literally lining up behind him it would make sense to put in someone more appropriate for that setting.

Probably a pope that's more outspoken on calling trans people evil because that's a popular thing now unfortunately. And maybe even one who is willing to be openly anti-China and help lead the religious proles on a crusade against the Asiatic communist power. Because let's be honest, with all the secret society shit, the ties between the Vatican and European aristocracy and bourgeoisie it's hard to believe there aren't powerful people not at all affiliated with the church weighing in on the choice and what they NEED to see in who the next pick is with the electors before they go into seclusion.

Anyway I just saw this image. And here's a video of Tagle, speaking in 2008.

I think if Parolin or Turkson are selected then this author would be vindicated. I still think Tagle, Zuppi, or Pizzaballa are more likely than any of the moderates, though.