Archbishop of Esztergom Among Top Successor Candidates to Pope Francis
- 3 Jan 2024 7:53 AM
- Hungary Today
The Holy Father (87) is alive and well and keeps exceptionally busy in the Vatican, still the global Catholic community cannot seem to seize speculating about his future successor.
According to one such prediction, a Hungarian cardinal is among the top candidates who could take over from the current Pope.
According to an Italian news site, Cardinal Péter Erdő (71), Archbishop of Esztergom and Budapest is well placed to be the next head of the global Roman Catholic community. Cardinal Erdő is highly respected in Hungary, and although he is considered to be a thinker on the conservative side, his authority reaches beyond the usual right-left political divide.
According to the report in Italy Start, the Hungarian Cardinal is among those most likely to receive the majority of votes at the next conclave, thus succeeding Pope Francis. His appeal is perhaps strongest among religious and national conservatives, yet he is accepted by most on the “progressive side.”
At the relatively young age of 54 he was elected head of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, a position he was later reelected in, which is a clear sign of confidence from other European catholic bishops.
He is reportedly in some disagreement with Pope Francis over permitting the traditional Latin mass to be celebrated instead of the one in national languages, something the the current head of the Roman Catholic church reportedly opposes.
His clinging to the ecclesiastical and cultural message of Pope John Paul II is also something that could be uncomfortable for some of the more liberal-minded American and European bishops.
Alongside Cardinal Erdő, the blog also mentions the names of Italian Cardinal Pietro, the Vatican’s de facto Secretary of State and Pope Francis’ right-hand-man.
The website also includes the Austrian Archbishop known for his support for LGBTQ issue, Christop Schönborn among the possible candidates. Guinean Cardinal, Robert Sarah is also among the names listed.
The African church leader is clearly on the conservative side, but is known for his strong social agenda and fight against authoritarian ideologies.
MTI Photo: Boglárka Bodnár
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