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Dear Amir,
Thanks for your question.
The Pope is the pope by virtue of
the fact that he is elected Bishop
of Rome and therefore the Successor
of St. Peter. For centuries, the
Popes were Italian. Prior to John
Paul II, it had been four hundred
years since the last non-Italian
Pope was elected. There were various
reasons for this:
- Some were obvious
- in some cases, certain human,
political influences were involved
- in other cases, there were practical
reasons
- and some of
it was simply odds.
Most of the
Cardinals were Italians, if
not, they were European.
That's because there were more
dioceses in Italy and Europe
than in South America, Africa
or Asia.
North Africa and Asia (especially
in the Middle East), where
there were more Christians, were
more likely to have Eastern Rite
populations and bishops. That said,
the probability of electing an Eastern
Bishop or Patriarch as Patriarch
of the West were slim, but that's
not to say it didn't happen.
As I stated, the Pope is the Successor
of Peter. Peter was a Jew from Israel.
There were others from North Africa
and the Middle East.
Nevertheless, the election of the
Pope, is about finding the right
person to lead the Church for that
particular period of time. It is
a process that, although not free
from human politics,
is meant to be led by the Holy Spirit.
While it might be nice to see a Pope
from Africa or South America, the
nationalities of the Popes are irrelevant
to their role as Popes. Whether he
is Italian or Lebanese is not important.
What's important is that it's the
Holy Spirit or God's choice, and that
the Pope:
- submit to the
Holy Spirit
- be Holy, and
- act like the universal Pastor
of the Church, while at the same
time pastoring his own flock as
Bishop of Rome.
A Bishop that
cannot speak to his immediate
flock is confronted with serious
difficulties.
So there are many factors which
enter into this decision. The
least important of these factors is the man's race,
nationality or place of birth.
The Cardinals, guided by the Holy
Spirit, are electing a Pope.
This
is not about making a politically-correct choice to appease the
third world.
John
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