There is a 40 to one chance that Roman Catholic Cardinal Marc
Ouellet, of Quebec, could become the next pope, says a leading
bookmaker.
Paddy
Power, a large British online gambling consortium, is giving Ouellet
those odds to replace Pope Benedict XVI, now that 24 more cardinals have
been named to the college in the Vatican.
Paddy Power maintains, however, that odds are highest -- 7/4 -- that
the next pope will be Italian. Looking at individuals, the bookmaker
said it was most likely -- two to one odds -- that Nigeria's Cardinal
Francis Arinze will be voted into the top position, following the death
of the current pontiff.
This June, after serving in Quebec as Canada's top cardinal, Ouellet
was asked to return to the Vatican to take some high-profile and
influential positions, specifically as prefect for The Congregation of
Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin American
Bishops. It is not the first time his name has come forward as a
possible pope.
I interviewed Ouellet in Rome about five years ago (photo left) and
found him a gracious and thoughtful man.
(Actually, I've also
interviewed Arinze when he came and spoke at the Benedictine Abbey in
Mission.)
Despite his personal gifts, however, Ouellet has often found
himself in hot water in Quebec after airing conservative views about
abortion and other hot-button sexually related issues. That said, it's
par for the course for a Catholic leader in a secularized country, and
certainly does not hurt his chances of being elevated.
Here's the release from Paddy Power:
NEXT POPE TIPPED TO BE AN ITALIAN JOB
(21 October 2010) The Papacy is being tipped to return to the hands of the Italians following Pope Benedict’s appointment of 24 new cardinals.
Irish Bookmaker Paddy Power now make an Italian their 7/4 favourite to succeed Pope Benedict as the 266th Pope when the time comes. Despite the fact an Italian Cardinal is tipped for the Pontiffs office Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze is still the overall frontrunner on the bookies papal book at 2/1.
The boost for Italy comes following the news that a total of ten, almost half of Pope Benedict XVI’s new twenty-four strong consistory, are Italian. Come 20th November, a total of 25 of the 120 voting-age Cardinals will be Italian.
Italians held the papacy for 455 years until the election of Poland's John Paul II in 1978, followed by the German-born Benedict in 2005.
Sharon McHugh, spokesperson for Paddy Power, said: “This is great news for the Italian’s who, after 32 years, are longing to see one of their own back in the Vatican.”
Amongst those favoured to be the next Pope are Cardinal Angelo Scola from Venice at 6/1, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga at 8/1 and Italy’s Dionigi Tettamanzi at 12/1.
U2 front-man Bono is the 1000/1 rank outsider. While the odds look stacked against the Irishman it is worth remembering that technically any unmarried Catholic man could be chosen as the next Pope!
All twenty-four new cardinals will receive their red beretta’s and rings on November 20th when Pope Benedict officially appoints them as Cardinals.
Where will the Next Pope come from?
7/4 Italy
15/8 Africa
9/4 South America/Central America
Next Pope
2/1 Francis Arinze (Nigeria)
6/1 Cardinal Angelo Scola (Venice)
8/1 Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga (Honduras)
10/1 Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco (Italy)
12/1 Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Argentina)
12/1 Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy)
14/1 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (Italy)
16/1 Count Christoph von Schoenborn (Austria)
16/1 Archbishop Piero Marini (Italy)
16/1 Archbishop Raymond Burke (America)
18/1 Cardinal William Levada (America)
20/1 Claudio Hummes (Brazil)
20/1 Daniel DiNardo (Galveston-Houston)
20/1 Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (Argentina)
25/1 Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa (Chile)
25/1 Cardinal Ruini (Italy)
25/1 Philippe Barbarin (France)
33/1 Cardinal Karl Lehmann (Germany)
33/1 Attilio Cardinal Nicora (Roman Curia)
33/1 Norberto Rivera Carrera (Mexico)
33/1 Jose Da Cruz Policar (Portugal)
33/1 JaimeLucas Ortega y Alamino (Cuba)
33/1 Cardinal Renato Martino (Italy)
33/1 Wilfred Napier (South Africa)
33/1 Cardinal Odilo Scherer (Sao Paulo)
33/1 Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera (Spain)
40/1 Angelo Sodano (Italy)
40/1 Cardinal Marc Ouellet (Canada)
50/1 Giovanni Battista Re (Italy)
50/1 Cardinal Sean Brady (Ireland)
50/1 Cardinal Ivan Dias (India)
50/1 Archbishop Vincent Nichols (England)
66/1 Antonio Maria Rouco Varela (Spain)
66/1 Giacomo Biffi (Italy)
66/1 Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (UK)
66/1 Geraldo Majella Agnelo (Brazil)
66/1 Keith O Brien (Scotland)
66/1 Cardinal Peter Turkson
80/1 Godfried Danneels (Belgium)
80/1 Cardinal Dario Castrillion Hoyos (Colombia)
80/1 Lopez Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)
80/1 Diarmuid Martin
80/1 Timothy Dolan (USA)
100/1 Cardinal Walter Kasper (Germany)
100/1 Cardinal George Pell (Australia)
100/1 Cardinal Amigo Vallejo (Spain)
125/1 Francis George (USA)
125/1 Cardinal Carlo Maria Matini (Italy)
150/1 Silvano Piovanelli (Italy)
1000/1 Father Dougal Maguire (Craggy Island)
1000/1 Bono (Ireland)
SIC: CCC/USA