As the Catholic Church prepares to select Pope Francis' successor during next week's papal conclave, Father Gerald Murray, of St. Joseph's Church in New York City, said Friday that Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle are considered "continuity" candidates for those looking for more of the late pontiff's policies.
"What I'm hearing is that a lot of people who want a continuity candidate, someone who can continue the policies of Pope Francis, would be Cardinal [Pietro] Parolin because he would have an ability to not only attract more liberal voters, but also moderate and even some conservative parties," Murray told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" from Rome. "So that's a name that's thrown out."
Parolin reportedly had a fainting spell during the general congregation earlier this week, but Murray said that doesn't necessarily take him out of the running.
"It depends on what happened," he said. "If he just fainted because he was tired or thirsty or whether or not, in fact, there's some kind of medical issue. I'm sure we're going to learn more about that as we get closer to the conclave."
Tagle, another candidate who would be considered "a Pope Francis continuity man," was appointed in Rome but "encountered some difficulties during his time" there, Murray said.
"He was removed from one Vatican organization where there was financial mismanagement, and Cardinal Tagle is a very emotional man, so we'd have to be ready for a pontificate where there would there be a lot of, let's say, public presentations, which wouldn't be your traditional papal style, more kind of charismatic and emotional," he said.
The idea of an American Pope has often been dismissed, however, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago native, is someone who might be considered, given his proximity to the late Pope Francis.
"He was a religious order man," Murray said. "He was a missionary down in South America, and he was named, surprisingly, by Pope Francis to be the prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops. So, he was in charge of the department that named all the bishops throughout the world, and he's a friend of Cardinal [Blase] Cupich of Chicago, who had a lot of influence with Pope Francis."
On the conservative side, Murray said that he's heard a couple of names being pushed as top contenders ahead of the conclave's opening.
"The name that's always been present for even a couple of years now is the cardinal from Budapest, Hungary, Cardinal [Peter] Erdo," he said. "A very scholarly man, a canon lawyer, he's been a cardinal for many, many years, appointed by [former Pope] John Paul II. Another could be, a surprise candidate could be, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal [Pierbattista] Pizzaballa. He's an Italian, he was a Franciscan, likewise serving in the Holy Land for many years as a missionary; a very well-regarded, intelligent man."
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