With Pope Francis still in the hospital with double pneumonia, it seems the Vatican is already preparing for the worst. The 88-year-old has had a history of health struggles, including past bouts with bronchitis and surgery, and it could come down to the current Bishop of Rome stepping down in order to preserve his own life. With speculation intensifying over who might step in as the next Pope, let’s take a look at a few wager options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continent of Next Pope<\/strong> Europe +200<\/strong> Asia +500<\/strong> Africa -200<\/strong> Next Pope<\/strong> Pietro Parolin +400<\/strong> Marc Ouellet +450<\/strong> Luis Antonio Tagle +300<\/strong> With Pope Francis still in the hospital with double pneumonia, it seems the Vatican is already preparing for the worst….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":25726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[66,288],"class_list":["post-25725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-politics","tag-pope"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Africa -200<\/strong>
There have been three Bishops of Rome from the continent of Africa in history, but that history is definitely not recent. The last Pope to come out of Africa was Pope Gelasius I, who died in November of 496.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Vatican is already located in Europe itself, it\u2019s tough to not see the home field advantage and like the +200 on Europe. It also coincides with the fact that the Vatican\u2019s Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, is from Italy and is a strong contender to take over the Chair of Saint Peter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the odds-on favorite coming out of Asia in Luis Antonio Tagle and Catholicism growing rapidly in Asia, this is an interesting pick as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Europe +200<\/strong>
North America +500<\/strong>
Asia +500<\/strong>
South America +800<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luis Antonio Tagle +300<\/strong>
At 67 years old, Luis Antonio Tagle\u2019s vision matches closely with his potential predecessor for a more inclusive Church. Coined the \u201cAsian Pope Francis,\u201d Tagle advocates for a softer approach toward marginalized groups, having held a critical stance on how the church has handled the treatment of the LGBT community and divorced Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2013, Pietro Parolin has held the title of the Vatican\u2019s Secretary of State and is seen as a strong contender at 70 years old. He\u2019s a safe choice for continuity within the Vatican after having been a part of diplomatic efforts of the Holy See. He is seen as an extension of the legacy of Pope Francis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has never been a Canadian Pope, let alone a Bishop of Rome from North America. Marc Ouellet could be the exception. He can break the streak. Yes, it\u2019s unlikely, but no one thought there would be a Pope from Argentina, and Pope Francis proved everyone wrong with his selection in 2013. Anything can happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pietro Parolin +400<\/strong>
Marc Ouellet +450<\/strong>
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu +480<\/strong>
Francis Arinze +550<\/strong>
Peter Turkson +600<\/strong>
Wim Eijk +600<\/strong>
Peter Erdo +750<\/strong>
Angelo Scola +800<\/strong>
Pierbattista Pizzaballa +800<\/strong>
Kevin Farrell +800<\/strong>
Wilton Daniel Gregory +800<\/strong>
Christoph Sch\u00f6nborn +1000<\/strong>
Raymond Leo Burke +1000<\/strong>
Angelo De Donatis +1000<\/strong>
Robert Sarah +1000<\/strong>
Konrad Krajewski +1000<\/strong>
Sean Patrick O\u2019Malley +1800<\/strong>
Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga +2000<\/strong>
Timothy Dolan +2000<\/strong>
Malcolm Ranjith +2000<\/strong>
Antonio Canizares Llovera +2200<\/strong>
Blase Joseph Cupich +2200<\/strong>
Lauro Tisi +2200<\/strong>
Bechara Peter Rai +2200<\/strong>
Odilo Pedro Scherer +2500<\/strong>
Gianfranco Ravasi +2500<\/strong>
Mauro Piacenza +2500<\/strong>
Wilfrid Napier +2500<\/strong>
Matteo Zuppi +2800<\/strong>
Joao Braz de Aviz +2800<\/strong>
Dominik Duka +2800<\/strong>
Gerhard Ludwig M\u00fcller +2800<\/strong>
Albert Malcolm Ranjith +2800<\/strong>
Guido Marini +2800<\/strong>
Arthur Roche +2800<\/strong>
Giorgio Marengo +3300<\/strong>
Mario Grech +3300<\/strong>
Angelo Bagnasco +4000<\/strong>
Carlos Aguiar Retes +4000<\/strong>
Fernando Filoni +4000<\/strong>
Charles Maung Bo +4000<\/strong>
Vincent Nichols +4000<\/strong>
Leonardo Sandri +4000<\/strong>
Agostino Vallini +4000<\/strong>
Vinko Puljic +4000<\/strong>
Robert McElroy +4000<\/strong>
Leonardo Steiner +4000<\/strong>
Anders Arborelius +5000<\/strong>
Francisco Robles Ortega +5000<\/strong>
Reinhard Marx +5000<\/strong>
Thomas Collins +5000<\/strong>
William Goh +5000<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"