To illustrate that life is a journey, one of the Italian cardinals touted as a favorite to be the next pope doesn’t just turn to the Scriptures — but also to Jack Kerouac and Cormac McCarthy.
Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, is seen as Italy‘s best chance at reclaiming the papacy, following back-to-back popes from outside the country that had a lock on the job for centuries.
For one night last month, during the historic week that saw the shock resignation announcement of Pope Benedict XVI, Scola came across as a simple pastor leading a flock of 20-somethings in a discussion about faith. The powerful cardinal displayed not only an ease with youth but also a desire to make himself understood, a vital quality for a church that is bleeding membership. It was a sharp contrast with Benedict, who was almost painfully shy in public.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: As the Roman Catholic Church prepares to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, The Associated Press is profiling key cardinals seen as “papabili” — contenders to the throne. In the secretive world of the Vatican, there is no way to know who is in the running, and history has yielded plenty of surprises. But these are the names that have come up time and again in speculation. Today: Angelo Scola.
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Quoting from Kerouac’s iconic Beat Generation novel “On the Road,” Scola invited his audience of students to reflect on whether they “were going to get somewhere, or just going.” And he cited McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic father-son journey in “The Road,” urging youths to consider the meaning of “destination” — a key theme in McCarthy’s work.
“The destination is a happy life, an accomplished life that doesn’t end with death but with eternal life,” the archbishop said.
Scola, 71, has commanded both the pulpits of Milan’s Duomo as archbishop and Venice’s St. Mark’s Cathedral as patriarch, two extremely prestigious church positions that together gave the world five popes during the 20th century.
Scola was widely viewed as a papal contender when Benedict was elected eight years ago. His promotion to Milan, Italy‘s largest and most influential diocese, has been seen as a tipping point in making him a hot favorite for the papacy. But while Italy has the most …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News