By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – With Friday's burial of Pope John Paul, the conclave to elect a new Pope is scheduled to meet on Monday, April 18th.
"John Paul the II will be a very hard person to follow," said Fr. Ronald Sajdak, pastor of Saint Martin de Porres on Buffalo's East Side.
Fr. Sajdak says those eligible to become the next Pope starts with the College of Cardinals. But he says the post is not necessarily restricted to just those men.
"It could be someone who is not a Cardinal. And it could be someone who is not even a priest," Sajdak said. "In the history of the church, a deacon was chosen, ordained a priest, ordained a bishop and made Pope. So it is not unusual that it could be some one from outside the College of Cardinals."
Since Pope John Paul's death, there has been speculation and media reports that the Cardinals might consider a pope from Latin America or Africa. But Fr. Sajdak says he believes those are simply rumors.
"The College of Cardinals is highly international, much more than it was at the time of the election of Pope John Paul II," Fr. Sajdak said. "At his election, the thought of having someone who was not Italian was pretty close to nothing. You never would think that would happen. It was a shock that someone who was not Italian was elected."
But Msgr. James Wall, vicar for priests of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, says he would like to see a Pope elected from a Third World country. He says that is where the Roman Catholic Church is experiencing the strongest growth. Msgr. Wall says it would also allow the church to concentrate on the needs of the poor.
"I think it raises the esteem of the people, just as it did for the people of Poland," Msgr. Wahl said. "It made them feel that Poland was recognized, and the people of that country were recognized. To the African people and people of South America, I think you would see the same turn around. It would say even though they are poor, they have dignity before the Lord."
Both priests say there is so much secrecy surrounding the conclave, that they have little insight on the how the Pope is finally selected. But they truly believe it is the Holy Spirit that guides the Cardinals in the process.