The New York Post newspaper published a forecast about who could become the next head of the Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis today.
Among the likely successors, the NYT names Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, Italian prelate Pietro Parolin, known for his conservative position and support for cooperation with China, as well as a cardinal from Marcel Jean-Marc Avelin.
Also mentioned as candidates are the Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacob Eyck, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjit from Sri Lanka and the ex-prefect of the Vatican from Of Guinea, Cardinal Robert Sara.
African Robert Sara has repeatedly criticized the practice of blessing same-sex unions, which made him one of the obvious opponents of Pope Francis and secured support among representatives of the conservative wing. If elected, Sarah could become the first pope of African descent in the last 16 centuries.
As EADaily reported, Pope Francis died suddenly last night at the age of 88. Before that, he had been ill for a long time, but the day before he managed to address the faithful with an Easter greeting.