I don't imagine we'll know any more about the inner workings of this papal election, than we have about previous ones. All the proceedings take place in secret. The cardinals will gather in Rome on March 1, the day after Benedict's resignation is effective. They'll spend every morning together, discussion about the Catholic Church and where it's going, and they will have lunch and dinner together every day - scoping each other out to evaluate possible candidates. This is supposed to go on for fifteen days, and then the voting begins. Since Benedict's resignation was announced well in advance, the 15-day initial period may be shortened.

I have to say that I don't put a whole lot of stock in people who say that so-and-so shouldn't be Pope because he hasn't said the right words on such-and-such an issue. No candidate will be perfect in the eyes of all. If the candidate is a Catholic bishop (and especially if he's an African bishop), he's not likely to be totally open to all LBGT issues. We also can't expect to find a candidate who is unscarred by the child molestation scandal - there were at least a few instances of child molestation in every diocese in the world, and the scandal was mishandled worldwide. I'm afraid it's very unlikely that the next Pope will be a liberal, or even as moderate as Benedict - there has been a turn to the right in the Catholic Church worldwide, not that I like that fact. The best we can hope for is a generous, tolerant person who is willing to listen.

Then again, nobody expected John XXIII.

-Joe-