Tag Archive | age
May 2, 2020  

Filipino Cardinal Tagle Promoted To Be A Cardinal Bishop, As Predicted — But, Still NOT Papabile.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE. Updated from ‘gcatholic.org’.

Click image to access original from: ‘American Magazine’.

As I predicted 4-months ago. Was NOT hard.

Click to access my post.

Click to ENLARGE. The notion of ‘Suburbicarian Sees’ — i.e., the diocese (the sees) that surround Rome.

Click to access my post from 3-weeks ago.

As a senior curialist Luis Tagle he definitely was entitled to be a Cardinal Bishop. That he did NOT get the vacant Suburbicarian See was interesting. But, to be fair, Benjamino Stella (Italy), is more senior in terms of the curial dicastery he heads.

This is great for the Catholic Filipinos. They will be ecstatic. Good for them.

It still does NOT make him papabile. Not even close.

He now has 3 strikes against him:

  1. Way, way, way too YOUNG!
    …
  2. Too exotic, for current times. Church wants to re-trench, get back to its roots.
    ….
  3. Coming across TOO much as Francis’ MAN, and Francis is losing his popularity among prelates.

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by Anura Guruge

March 12, 2020  

I Am Outpacing & Out Climbing All Of My Garmin Peers, Again. (SMILE).

by Anura Guruge

>The key here is that this is for my (rather advanced) age group, i.e., 65-69 (as you can see at the top). Garmin does NOT give us any clues as to how big (or more to the point, small) this group might be. For all I know there might just be a handful of us in this bracket — in which case this metric is pretty useless.

I am also mature enough to realize that there will be a larger population of non-Garmin users who walk more STEPS than I do. However, unless they happen to be a professional Sherpa in the Himalayas or a tour guide in the Alps, I doubt there are too many who climb as many floors/day as I do. And in case you are wondering, it averaged 56 floors/day over the last month. That is 560′ elevation gain each day.

As for steps, it was 15,260 steps/day over the last month. Not bad considering that half of that was in February with snow/ice on the ground and rather frigid temps.

It still makes me smile and that alone is reward enough. SMILE.

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by Anura Guruge

March 1, 2020  

The Next Pope: Cardinal Marc Ouellet Was Very Papabile In 2013, He Is Even More So In 2020.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE, read & admire. From page 4 of my 2011 ‘The Next Pope’ book. I picked TEN papabili. Got Francis RIGHT — albeit as last pick! #1 was Ouellet and he was much younger then.

Click to ENLARGE and read. Again from my 2011 ‘Next Pope’ book.

Guruge 2020 Papabili Series — #II

The more I think about it, the more I get convinced that Canadian Marc Ouellet is a (if not ‘the’) prime papabile.

He was young in 2013. At 75 his age is PERFECT.

He has not put a foot wrong with the Church and curia. He is golden.

Pope Francis demonstrated that he thinks highly of him by making him one of the four ‘irregular’ cardinal bishops.

Ouellet, per the leaks from the 2013 conclave, got a decent number of votes at that conclave.

The one big negative against him was said to have been his RESERVED, academic temperament. Well, in 2020, after the theatrics of Francis, that would be a virtue.

He is popular in Rome and among his peers.

He can get votes from around the globe. Put together quite the coalition.

I think he will be the one to beat.

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by Anura Guruge

February 29, 2020  

The Next Pope: Cardinal Leonardo Sandri As A Papabile Has 2.75 Strikes Against Him.

by Anura Guruge

Guruge 2020 Papabili Series — #I 

Argentinian Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (b. Nov. 1943) is definitely papabile. He was papabile in 2013 and got some early votes.

His standing has gone up since. In July 2018, his good friend, Pope Francis, made him one of the four ‘irregular’ cardinal bishops. That was noteworthy, an indubitable vote of confidence by the pope.

Then in December 2019 his fellow cardinal bishops elected him Vice Dean. They elected Cardinal Battista Re (b. Jan. 1934) as Dean. So, Re is already past 80 and as such will not be able to participate in the next conclave. Thus, it would be Sandri who will be the acting ‘Dean’ (the role that Re had in 2013). Being acting ‘Dean’ is certainly not a negative vis-à-vis being a papabile. Benedict XVI (i.e., Cardinal Ratzinger) was the Dean in 2005 when he was elected pope. As ‘Dean’ the electors can never lose sight of you. You are always there in the conclave — center stage, orchestrating proceedings.

But, Sandri has two definite strikes against him:

  1. He is another Latin American — with Francis having been the first. The electors may feel that two Latin American popes, with very similar outlooks and temperament, back-to-back might be a tad too much, particularly so in that Francis was the first from across the Atlantic. So that is Strike #1.
    .…
  2. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the famous Vatican whistleblower, has explicitly implicated Sandri in the sex abuse mire by stating that he was actively involved in the coverup of the egregious sexual misconducts of the Legionary of Christ founder, Marciel Maciel. That should be Strike #2.

His age could start to become a factor. He is currently 76 and getting older.

Francis & John XXIII were elected at 76 and Benedict XVI at 78. So, he is still ‘good’ but his age could be half-a-strike against him.

Then, there is his friendship with Francis. Francis is not as popular among the electors as had been Benedict XVI or John Paul II. So, this could be a negative, quarter-of-a-strike against him.

He, despite these strikes, remains papabile.

So, do not rule him out as yet.

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by Anura Guruge

January 3, 2020  

Pope Francis, I Think, Is Ill & In Considerable Pain — Hence His Uncharacteristic Short-Temper.

by Anura Guruge

The SLAP felt around the World.

This, which happened on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, went viral.
The pope apologized the next day — since his theme for the early part of 2020 ‘preventing violence against women‘!
Yes, it was ironic — as only popes can manage.

Here is a YouTube video of the whole sorry incident.

Christmas Eve Mass December 24, 2019.

Watch around the 8- & 17-minute marks.

As a Vaticanologist (though not full time) I do keep an eye on this pope (who I picked, in 2010, in print, as the possible next pope).

The unfortunate slapping incident, in my opinion, wasn’t just a case of him being a grumpy old, 83-year old man. I think there is more to it than that.

He is getting old.

He has had bad feet since he was a teenager and has worn especially made, corrective/therapeutic shoes all his adult life. He also had a part of one of his lungs removed when he was in his early 20s.

He has always walked with a slight limp but it is significantly more pronounced now. Watch him on the Mass video above. Also notice how one of his feet stick out at an angle. I am sure he has pain issues to do with his leg, back or both. A few weeks ago there was a viral flap that he was wearing a pain-pump. The Vatican denied that and said it was a remote mike!

4-years ago his doctors wanted him to go on a diet. That didn’t work. He is larger now than at any other time in his papacy. That probably doesn’t help his feet.

So, I contend that this pope is in pain and his health may not be that good. I could, as ever, be wrong.

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by Anura Guruge

December 30, 2019  

Will Pope Francis Promote Filipino Cardinal Tagle To Be A Cardinal Bishop?

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE.

Click to ENLARGE. The notion of ‘Suburbicarian Sees’ — i.e., the diocese (the sees) that surround Rome.

Click to access my post from 3-weeks ago.

As a senior curialist Luis Tagle is definitely entitled to now be a Cardinal Bishop. Plus, a pope can promote any one to the order (i.e., to be a Cardinal Bishop) at his whim. Totally his prerogative as are so many things within his Church.

There is a genuine vacancy that has gone unfilled since early September.

Furthermore, now that he got Sodano to ‘resign’ the Deanship is vacant and the Cardinal Bishops, among themselves, will have to elect a new Dean in the next few weeks. The pope will want the vacancy filled before that election.

This does NOT mean that Tagle will be the new Dean. SMILE. He will be the most junior of the Cardinal Bishops.

And even if he is made a Cardinal Bishop he will NOT be the next pope, unless we don’t have a conclave for another 13- to 14-years. SMILE.

Making Tagle a Cardinal Bishop will be quite a statement. One that the pope might be happy to make. It will make a lot of people very happy.

I will tell you who I think will be the next Dean in my next post. SMILE.

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by Anura Guruge

December 28, 2019  

Pope Francis Makes A Dramatic Change To The Tenure Of The Dean Of The ‘College Of Cardinals’.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE and read here. From the Vatican @ http://www.vatican.va

Click to ENLARGE.

With this December 21, 2019, motu proprio (a personal (unilateral) papal edict at the pope’s behest) Pope Francis has finally wrested control over the tenure of the Dean of the ‘College of Cardinals‘).

Prior to this, the Dean, once elected (by his fellow Cardinal Bishops (albeit, this as of, 1965)) — and then approved by the pope — had tenure for life or until he opted to resign (or, as is claimed in the case of Angelo Sodano, forced to resign). This has meant, as can be seen from image #2, that there have been some Deans that held sway well past their 80th year — though this, as of 1971, precluded them from participating in a conclave.

Francis’ goal is to try and have younger Deans — though this is not a given.

Making the tenure 5-years — with the pope reserving the right to renew the term — makes a lot of sense.

This goes, quite nicely, hand-in-hand, with the pope creating irregular Cardinal Bishops in 2018 — again in the hope of having under 80 cardinal bishops if there were to be a conclave.

What the pope is REALLY hoping is that the cardinal bishops will now elect a YOUNG Dean — which means that it will have to be an irregular. More on this in a later post.

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by Anura Guruge

December 11, 2019  

Filipino Cardinal Tagle, Curial Or Not, Will NOT Be The Next Pope UNLESS Francis Stays As Pope For ANOTHER 14-Years!

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE. From Wikipedia.

Way, way too YOUNG. John Allen is smoking something that isn’t good for him, Click image to access the ‘Crux’ original.

There were some, foolishly, who touted Tagle as a papabile in 2013! He was 56-years old. These folks have to be smoking strong dope.

Even at 62 Tagle is way, way too young. Despite his Filipino ancestry he, these days, will have a life expectancy well into his 80s. The cardinals are NOT going to elect a kid who could easily be pope for 20-years without even breaking a sweat.

Forget Benedict XVI’s atypical resignation. There is no guarantee that popes will retire after a ‘suitable time’ in office.

John Paul II was elected young, i.e., 58, and he went onto rule for 26.5-years — the last six of that not that satisfactorily in that he was quite ill.

Since then the trend has been towards older, i.e., 75, popes. This makes sense.

Furthermore, post Francis the next pope will NOT be another exotic. Francis was enough for 20 to 30 years. The next pope will be European or at worst a Canadian who has lived in Rome for the last couple of decades.

So, PLEASE, don’t get ga-ga that Tagle is papabile. He is NOT.

Trust me on this. I did get it right in 2013 didn’t I? John Allen didn’t. I did. SMILE.

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by Anura Guruge

February 15, 2019  

Camerlengo Who Have Become Pope. Extremely Rare & Kevin Farrell Will NOT Be The Next Pope.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE and read here. From my “The Next Pope 2011” book, which contains a ton of useful information such as this. So, rather than rewrite it, I just grabbed this from page 42. Click on image at the end of this post to access this book.

Click to ENLARGE.

First & foremost the Next Pope will not be American. You can take it to the bank.

Anybody who thinks that an American cardinal is a papabile is smoking dope, legally or otherwise. Will NOT happen. Pipe dream.

The world does NOT want the Vatican becoming ‘White House East’. That has always been the issue.

Plus, now we have the Sex Abuse Crimes reaching a new crescendo. The U.S. Catholic hierarchy has been totally discredited. The last thing that the other cardinals want is drawing more attention to the the horrendous problems transpiring in the U.S.

Plus, there is also Trump.

Actually, Kevin Farrell strikes out on three counts (at present).

  1. He is American. That is the BIGGEST disqualifier.
    …..
  2. Camerlengos do not often get elected. They are considered the henchman of the previous pope and Francis is not that popular.
    …..
  3. Currently at 71-years of age he is WAY TOO young. The next pope, like the past two, needs to be at least 75.

P.S., I know that the PLURAL of Camerlengo is Camerlenghi. But, not too many other do. So, there was no point using Camerlenghi because it would just mess up those doing a Google on ‘Camerlengos’.

[I know my SEO.]

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by Anura Guruge

February 14, 2019  

The New Camerlengo — U.S. Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, The 1st Non-European Camerlengo.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia: wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Farrell

It has been 7-months. Click to access my post.

I did foresee the possibility of an American. Click to access my post.

What is MOST significant with Kevin Joseph Farrell’s appointment is that he is a non-European. A first, and as such, of course, the first American Camerlengo.

Do not read too much into this appointment. It does not indicate that a conclave is around the corner. Having a Camerlengo, on tap, is more normal than not having one. The 7-month gap, though possibly a tad long, is not exceptional. Popes like to wait awhile before they fill this post. Not having a Camerlengo, if the pope was to die, is not the end of the world. It happened when Pius XII died in 1958. The Dean of the College of Cardinals deputized on day 1 and then they elected a cardinal to act as the temporary Camerlengo.

We have had non-Italian Camerlenghi. The last Camerlengo, Jean-Louis Tauran, was French. So was Jean Villot, the iconic Camerlengo of the 1970s. We have also had a Spaniard, Eduardo Martínez Somalo, 1993 to 2007. So, these are the recent non-Italians. But, there was also a spate of French ones in the 14th century during the Avignon Papacy.

Choosing Farrell makes sense. At 71 he is of the right age, though one a few years younger would have made more sense. He is also a curialist; i.e., he works at the Vatican. That is a prerequisite. The Camerlengo has to reside in Rome.

So, this is all good.

Just don’t assume that a conclave is around the corner. Just revel in that he is non-European. A most welcome departure from what had been a 2,000-year custom.

Click to access post from Feb. 15, 2019.

Click for details.

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by Anura Guruge

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