What are we looking for in the new pope?
This seems to be the question of the day as the world — or at least a large part of it — awaits the choice of cardinals gathered in Rome. The hope and expectation game is being pushed by news media everywhere and met by cardinals, bishops, historians, ordinary lay Catholics and representatives of other religions and faiths.
The dramatic resignation of Benedict XVI inspired what may be unprecedented interest in who might become the next successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome, and what he might do. Some, like Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., have looked at immediate challenges, such as a revival of faith in modernized, secular societies. More than one bishop has said a priority should be reform of the Roman Curia, with a true international membership replacing Italian dominance in staffing.
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