As a conclave gathers to elect a new pope, many in the Catholic world and well beyond speculate about who will replace the now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who abdicated the throne of St. Peter on February 11, the first papal resignation in almost 600 years. It is true that in the secretive world of the Vatican there is no way to know who is in the running, not to mention that history has yielded plenty of surprises, but there are a few names that have come up time and again as “papabile,” a term coined by Vaticanologists to describe the likely contenders to be elected pontiff. One of those names is that of Brazilian cardinal Odilo Scherer, Brazil‘s best hope to be the next pope.
At the relatively young age of 63, Scherer is known for enthusiastically embracing all new methods for reaching believers. He has appeared on Brazil’s most popular late-night talk-show. He is a prolific tweeter. He even prefers to squeeze into the busy and crowded subway of Sao Paulo, where he was appointed archbishop in 2007 and was named a cardinal later the same year, on his way to his morning commutes.
Scherer, who speaks Italian, German and Portuguese fluently and is proficient in English, French and Spanish, is also known as one of the “Vatican bankers,” a committee of cardinals who oversee the Istituto per la Opere di Religione (IOR), or the Institute for Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, as well as being a member of The Prefecture for Economic Affairs, which coordinates the finances of the Holy See. Scherer was a constant presence in Rome during the “Vatileaks” scandal, the leaking of Vatican documents allegedly exposing corruption and money laundering charges that cost the church millions in higher contract prices and cost Ettore Gotti Tedesche, the then-CEO of the IOR, his job.
Considering that many of the church’s recent controversies involved the institution, electing a pope that is familiar with the matter seems like a step in the right direction. Besides, Scherer is said to be highly respected by Benedict XVI, and he is well acquainted with social problems in Sao Paulo, a cosmopolitan city of 11 million people where the archbishop oversees parishes facing high poverty rates, crime, youth unemployment and lack of basic services, which may be useful to his possible quest of leading the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, the majority of whom are in the developing world.
“I would say that Scherer is the best bet,” said American John Allen Jr, a respected Vatican expert and author of several books on the Catholic Church. “He has a good reputation and is admired here (in the Vatican),” the daily O Globo quoted Allen as saying recently.
Although Scherer, like most of the peers, sticks to conservative Roman Catholic doctrine, he’s taken stands just as strong on liberal issues. Scherer has praised the advances made by liberation theology, a movement that uses Jesus’ teachings to fight social injustice, in helping Brazil’s poor. His support for the movement is also a way to stem the growing influence of evangelical Protestants, especially the ‘neo-Pentecostal’ ones, on Brazil’s religious scene.
The seventh of 13 children in a family that descended from German immigrants, born and raised in southern Brazil, Scherer could be the surprise of the conclave. His German ancestry connects him to Europe, where the church is losing ground. At the same time, he comes from Latin America, a region that is home to about 40% of the world’s Catholics.
And he is up to date with the Vatican finances, a subject that will certainly play an important role in the choosing of the next pope, as the cardinals who are already in Rome for the conclave were briefed last Thursday on the church’s money, its bureaucracy and continued suspicions about its bank.
When it comes to assets, the Catholic Church could be considered one of the world’s largest corporations (the Sistine Chapel alone is believed to be worth in excess of $800 million). By that standpoint, wouldn’t it make sense choosing someone financially-oriented as the next pope?
Brazilians like to say that God is Brazilian. If not, maybe His next earthly representative will be.
