Who will be the next pope? Why an atheist says America needs Christianity
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 24 April 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
The death of Pope Francis continues to dominate the news, but commentators are beginning to turn their attention to what comes next as well. Of the twelve cardinals thought to be frontrunners to become the next pope, many are considered more conservative than Francis. The person who becomes the next pope will obviously be vitally significant to America’s seventy-two million Catholics (comprising the largest denomination in the US). But three values Francis emphasized during his pontificate transcend denominations and are crucial to the future of American democracy as well.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Greetings. It's Thursday, April 24th, 2025. Welcome. I'm Chris Elkins with the Denison |
| 0:09.1 | Forum, narrating today's daily article written by our co-founder and CEO, Dr. Jim Denison. |
| 0:17.1 | The death of Pope Francis continues to dominate the news, but commentators are beginning to turn their attention to what comes next as well. |
| 0:25.8 | Of the 12 cardinals thought to be frontrunners to become the next Pope, many are considered more conservative than Francis. |
| 0:33.4 | On the other hand, Pope Francis appointed 108 of the 135 cardinals eligible to vote for the next Pope. |
| 0:42.3 | Since four out of five votes in the coming conclave will be cast by cardinals elevated by Francis, |
| 0:48.2 | some believe they will appoint a successor who will follow his pastoral priorities. |
| 0:53.8 | For more, see my new Denison Forum website article, |
| 0:57.4 | The Funeral of Pope Francis, and the papal conclave to follow, |
| 1:00.9 | who might be the next pope and what else you need to know. |
| 1:04.7 | Find a link to it in today's podcast episode notes. |
| 1:08.2 | The person who becomes the next pope will obviously be vitally significant to |
| 1:12.8 | America's 72 million Catholics, comprising the largest denomination in the U.S. |
| 1:18.2 | But three values Francis emphasized during his pontificate transcend denominations and are |
| 1:25.0 | crucial to the future of American democracy as well. |
| 1:28.4 | Jonathan Rauch describes himself as an atheist, homosexual Jew. |
| 1:32.7 | Nonetheless, his conversation this week with Barry Weiss of the free press |
| 1:37.2 | makes a point every American Christian needs to understand. |
| 1:41.1 | Rouch, a Yale-educated author, journalist, and senior fellow at the Brookings |
| 1:45.9 | institution, claims that our democracy depends on three pillars, resist fear-mongering, |
| 1:52.4 | care for the rights of the marginalized, and forgive your political opponents. He asserts |
| 1:58.1 | that they are, quote, the three things America needs most right now. |
... |
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