BOOKMAKERS have named the Archbishop of Birmingham as the joint favourite to become the next leader of Britain's Roman Catholic church.Archbishop Vincent Nichols, aged 61, has become increasingly popular in Rome and is now seen as the front-runner to replace the current Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, who is expected to resign in August.
Online bookmakers Paddy Power make Archbishop Nichols as 7-2 joint favourite, along with Archbishop of Southwark Kevin McDonald, to become the next leader of Britain's Catholics.
They head the field with other front runners including Archbishop of Cardiff Peter Smith at 12-1 and Dominican theologian Aiden Nichols at 6-1.
Archbishop Nichols's refusal to back down over the Government's plans to introduce quotas for faith schools has reportedly earned him a reputation as a strong leader amongst Pope Benedict XVI's advisers.
He has been a vocal supporter of the holy father and spoke out in October over a BBC documentary entitled Sex Crimes and the Vatican.
He told the makers of the Panorama show they "should be ashamed of themselves" for carrying out what he described as an "unwarranted attack on Pope Benedict XVI".
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