Letter: Papal ascendancy

I AM not sure I agree with the names put forward by Stephen McGinty (your report, 21 September) as possible successors to Benedict XVI.

The front-runner is the hard-liner Francis Arinze of Nigeria, but as he is approaching 80 his chance has probably gone. He was the favourite last time, but was blind-sided by a late run from Cardinal Ratzinger. This was a huge disappointment to many of my Catholic friends, who valued his long record of good relations with Muslims.

The name of the brilliant polymath, Oscar Maradiaga of Honduras, is close to the top of most lists. Aged only 67, fluent in Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and with a superb grasp of all things financial, the South American star would seem the ideal candidate. However, he is a moderate and while that is attractive to the outside world, it probably renders him unelectable among the old men of Rome.

That leaves the Italian Angelo Scola, 68, the present Patriarch of Venice. After a Polish and German pope, many will feel it is time to go back to Italy. With his long interest in education and youth and the pastoral scene in general, he could be seen as the man to clean up the Augean Stables of child abuse.

REV DR JOHN CAMERON

Howard Place

St Andrews