The conclave is tomorrow, and Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley has emerged as a possibility to be elected the new leader of the Catholic Church.
With the papal conclave to choose the next Pope beginning Tuesday, speculation has grown over the past weeks that one of Boston’s own could become the Catholic Church’s new leader. Cardinal Sean O’Malley could become the new pontiff following Pope Benedict XVI’s Feb. 11 resignation, according to the National Catholic Reporter. Though it is less likely an American would be elected, it’s not impossible, and O’Malley has as good a chance as any Western papal candidate, according to the Reporter. O’Malley, 68, has been lauded for his efforts in the wake of the church’s sex abuse crisis. However, the Reporter points to O’Malley’s wilting in 2004 while the Archdiocese of Boston suffered parish closings, which have indirectly lead to …
Father Arnold Colletti, pastor of the Sacred Heart and St. Brigid parishes in Lexington, said the resignation opens the door for exciting possibilities.
It’s not often a decision can rightly be considered both “bold” and “humble,” but that’s how Father Arnold Colletti described Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign the papacy at the end of the month. Three months past his own retirement age, Colletti, 78, said he can understand the decision by Benedict, who is 86, to resign the papacy due to his age and diminishing energy. With that being said, the unprecedented move has Colletti—who is appointed for a year at a time to his position as pastor of the Sacred Heart and St. Brigid parishes in Lexington—wishing he was three decades younger. “It’s exciting,” said Colletti. “I told Cardinal Sean O’Malley I wish I was 30 years younger because I feel there is something exciting coming on.” That’s …
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Denise J. Dubé
4:45 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Great story -- and Father Colletti is a great source. It's breaking news here in England too. more ›