Pope Benedict XVI arrives for his weekly general audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday Feb. 13, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI is telling the faithful in his first public appearance since announcing his resignation that he stepping down for "the good of the church." Benedict received a lengthy standing ovation when he entered the packed audience hall Wednesday. He was interrupted by applause by the throngs of people, many of whom had tears in their eyes. At the start of his audience, he repeated in Italian what he had told cardinals Monday in Latin: that he simply didn't have the strength to continue. He said "I did this in full liberty for the good of the church." (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Associated Press
The election of this pope could quite possibly be a turning point for the Catholic Church. A lot hinges on this serious choice.
Meanwhile, at the crazy intersection where the secular world and religion often collide, a British oddsmaker, Paddy Power, has decided to handicap the election of the new pope.
And last week, Paddy Power posted his off-the cuff guesses online.
The choices reflect the latest conventional wisdom. And though conventional wisdom is notoriously unwise, it's interesting to see a glimpse of the thoughts running through people's minds.
At the moment, the front-runner for pope is Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, with Italy's Archbishop Angelo Scola in second. Two Africans — Cardinal Peter Turkson and Cardinal Francis Arinze — are moving up on the outside. Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga from Latin America is also in contention.
American candidates trail very badly.
The odds of famous atheist author, Richard Dawkins, being chosen as the next pope are listed at 666 to 1.
Bono, lead singer for the rock group U2, is a long shot at 1,000 to 1.
Paddy Power puts himself at 500 to 1.
But being the dutiful soul he is, Paddy Power doesn't stop with who the new pope will be. He goes on to list the choices in a dozen other areas.
The pope will choose a new name, of course. And right now the feeling is he will choose the name Peter — the ancient apostle that Catholics believe was their first pope.
The name Pius is second on the list, John is third, John Paul fourth, Paul is fifth with Benedict at sixth.
Actually, I think there's a good chance the new pope will choose the name Benedict as an homage to his predecessor, much the way John Paul I and John Paul II combined the names of previous popes. Perhaps he'll even choose the name Peter Benedict, though that does sound a little like the name of a B-list movie star.
The most likely country of origin for the new pope is Italy.
And — according to conventional wisdom — the conclave is expected to last one day with the pontiff being selected on the fourth ballot.
All of this, of course, is just good cheeky fun.
So, while the gamblers among us are crossing their fingers for luck, the rest of us may want to cross our fingers as well.
Crossed fingers, more than a mere superstition, were also an ancient Christian gesture used in prayer.
EMAIL: jerjohn@deseretnews.com
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Jerry Earl Johnston is a former Deseret News staffer who currently freelances columns for Mormon Times and the Faith page. Hes from Brigham City, Utah, where he and wife Carol still live. They have a blended family of more ..
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I recall as a kid reading the comic where Superman dies. My friend and I spent a long time afterwards discussing who should take over as leader of the Justice League. This was extremely important as the fate of the world could depend on the moral More..