If states in the United States have open primaries that allow members of different political parties to vote in the opposing party’s primary, here is a way for Protestants to have a say in the selection of the next Pope. (By the way, Timothy George already offered his evangelical criteria for the next pope.)
Another benefit is financial profit. Apparently, betting on the next pope has a long history and bookies in Rome have established the odds:
The probabilities for other cardinals (as of March 8) include:
Gianfranco Ravasi, Italy, 14-1
Christoph Schonborn, Austria, 14-1
Peter Erdo, Hungary, 18-1
Luis Tagle, the Philippines, 20-1
Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Honduras, 33-1
Jao Braz de Aviz, Brazil, 66-1
Gerhard Muller, Germany, 200-1Among American cardinals, Timothy Dolan of New York leads with 20-1 odds, followed by Sean O’Malley of Boston at 33-1. Raymond Burke, current head of the Apostolic Signatura, comes next at 80-1, with Donald Wuerl of Washington (150-1) and Francis George of Chicago (200-1) as the long-shot Americans.
Ever the front-runner, I’m putting my money on Ravasi. With all the intrigue of late in the Vatican, my sense is that the Italians would like to retake control of a historic Italian institution.
Old Life 