Who will be the Pope?
Daniel Williams and Alan Cooperman Rome, March 17 The next pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church could be a Brazilian cardinal who gave refuge to striking workers pursued by police helicopters. It could be a Nigerian whose parents worshipped African gods, a bookish Viennese who speaks five languages, an Italian who speaks only his home tongue, or an Argentine who rides a bus to work in his diocese. No one knows. Penetrating the secrecy around the cardinals who will select the next Pope has been all but impossible. For nine days since the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the 115 voting cardinals have been ensconced in secret deliberations to size up the biographies, positions and personalities of the candidates. Their meetings, following the practice of centuries, ended on Saturday. On Monday, their conclave opens at the Sistine Chapel and they will start to vote for the 265th Pope. According to students of this and past pre-election periods, the conclave is shaping up to be a clash of two
