Probably the Next Pope.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 8 July 1887, Page 32

Probably the Next Pope.

The elevation of the Papal Nuncio at Paris, Monsignor di Rende, to the Sacred College constitutes an epoch in the pacific policy of Leo XIII and in the modern history of the Papacy. The power of a Pope to construct the Conclave which will elect his successor is, no doubt, great. Leo XIII, in the eight years of his reign, has- had the opportunity of appointing far the larger portion of the existing Cardinals, for of the 58 eminent wearers of the Red Hats only 16 were created by Pio Nono. But, on the other hand, a Pope's influence does not last long after his death ; that, for instanoe, of the late Pope having already almost entirely disappeared, despite his two-and-thirty years' sway. , The present Holy Father is keenly alive io this and the risks involved in it, and he and his fellow " Perngians " — as M. des Hous would put it — are determined to give as much, permanence as may be to the policy whioh has appeased Prussia. The next Pope is to be a young man — that is well understood — and Monsignor di Rende is, so to say, the favourite. He has been carefully •put to the proof, and the verdict of authority is that he has been found prudent. The same combination which placed Leo XIII in the Chair of Peter, in spite of years of neglect at the hands of Cardinal Antonelli, will place the discreet Paris Nuncio there when the Roman Catholic Church looses the guidance of Leo the Pacific. Should Monsignor di Rende's succession be secured, the effect on English Catholicism will be enormous. He was sent over, years ago, to study England and the English, and he made good use of his time. He is thoroughly behind the scenes, and if his bureau were ransacked at .this moment it would be found to contain an instructive list of all the "episcopable" ecclesiastics in this country. Even now it is no secret that appointments to English bishoprics are influenced quite as much by the verdict of the | Paris Njmciature as by the collective wisdom of their lordships of, the Province of Westminster, who, of course, are always consulted proforma t , .* f * ■,- •i „