I have no preference - the Holy Spirit knows better than I do who is needed at this time.

One thing I would bet on--it won´t be an American. The US Church has not been well led IMHO.

And his name is Peter. (read up on Saint Malichy). He was canonized in 1199. He had many predictions that have come true. He talks about the last Pope #112 being the last Pope before the end of the Earth. His name will be Peter or Pietro. This new Pope will be number 112.

#3, It´s believed the prophecies of St. Malachy are forgeries:. There´s more info at newadvent.org:

They were first published by Arnold de Wyon, and ever since there has been much discussion as to whether they are genuine predictions of St. Malachy or forgeries. The silence of 400 years on the part of so many learned authors who had written about the popes, and the silence of St. Bernard especially, who wrote the "Life of St. Malachy", is a strong argument against their authenticity, but it is not conclusive if we adopt Cucherat´s theory that they were hidden in the Archives during those 400 years.

I wish the media would stop speculating who will be next Pope. It´s like you are trying to influence the Cardinals. This is not a political election and we should stop treating it as such...No one knows!
The Holy Spirit will be the judge who will be elected..and knows what is good for us and what we need in this time. Instead of speculating I would suggest we all pray, that this Pope will be a Holy One and restore order to the church. J.M.J

#3 - I don´t know what your number 112 refers to, but there have already been 266 Popes ... next one will be 267.

The prophecies you refer to as coming true relate to Ireland, and are separate and distinct form the papal prophecies.

Cardinal Turkson is not pope material. Not 24 hours after Pope Benedict announced his intention to resign, Turkson was already prematurely telling The Daily Telegraph about "his biggest challenge, should he be elected". This shows, at minimum, incredible naïveté, and at worst, of openly campaigning. Either reason should be sufficient for disqualifying him, for as it is well known, "He who enters the conclave as pope, leaves it as a cardinal."

Furthermore, he is behind a proposal to create a politically correct Global Public Authority and a Global Bank. Cardinal Francis Arinze was Africa´s best candidate for pope; he was considered papabile before the 2005 conclave, but at 80 years old, his time is past.

Not so clear, #3. Malachi referred to "the last pope" and "the black pope", but not to the specific number. And he didn´t specify whether ´black´ referred to the man´s ethnicity or the color of his ordinary vestments (used to be black cassock, switched centuries ago to white dalmatic... could switch back again).

So leave plenty of room for creative interpretations -- we really aren´t sure (a) how authoritative Malachi´s predictions were, or (b) exactly what he is predicting. The wording is almost as vague as we find in Nostradamus...

I know the MSM is rooting for "diversity" but that is not a consideration. If he is the one selected, it will be because the Holy Spirit decided that he will lead.

PS #7 -- was Turkson´s statement out of the blue, or did some clueless secular reporter prod him to reflect on what his biggest challenges might be if he were elected?

These days it´s no longer enough to guard the conclave at the door -- prying eyes, ears, and devices should be kept at least 100 yards clear from Vatican City´s walls until the chimney belches white smoke.

#10, it makes no difference whether he was prompted or not - Cardinal Turkson should have replied with "no comment", or at least talked about what the biggest challenges might be to "whoever" was elected and not if "he" were elected.

Turkson, given his socialist leanings, will probably not be under consideration at the conclave. But he is a darling of the leftist press, which is always trying to recreate the Church in its own apostate image.

So, I guess the media thinks the Cardinals should vote for skin color, over qualification? s/

All is in the hands of the Holy Spirit, but as the Body of Christ it is the duty of the laity to pray for our cardinals.

Go to adoptacardinal and you will be assigned a particular cardinal to pray for before and during the conclave. I found the link on the Church Militant website.

It should be a black woman from Ghana. Just for diversity, maybe a married one.

Keep this i mind:

Oulette: Catholic.

Turkson Catholic.

Scola: Catholic.

Burke: Catholic.

Dolan: Catholic.

Tagle: Catholic.

Ranjith: Catholic.

All the rest of ´em: Catholic.

Chance that they will change any Catholic doctrine: Zero.

I think that abbout covers it.

I could care less who becomes pope. And,I can almost guarantee that any new pope will continue the tradition of touchy feely cant we all get along foreign policies. Show me a pope with the stones to stand against Islam, and I might pay attention.