The future of Westminster… what are the odds?

I am very pleased to report that my friend His Hermeneuticality Fr. Tim Finigan is still in the running to be the next Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

As a matter of fact, there are now odds being offered on his appointment at Paddy Power, which some of you might remember from "Papal April" of 2005.

If Fr. Finigan isn’t being considered in some serious way, some of you in the Congregation for Bishops reading this (and I know a couple of you who are) ought to start talking about this fellow. 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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20 Comments

  1. Donald says:

    Kinda funny how Paddy Power has Fr. Finigan getting better odds than some of the auxillaries of Westminster, eh? Good luck Fr. Finigan.

  2. Fr Ó Buaidhe says:

    Possibly caused by betting trends more than any inside info Paddy Power might have access to; Fr Finnigan is well known and loved in the London area and beyond. Here’s hoping (and praying) for him!

    I’m a bit worried about the Dom Hugh Gilbert rating. Pluscarden has sent a lot of its finest out to help dependent houses in the last few years. To decapitate the house might not be in the best interests of the abbey.

  3. Jon says:

    Hmm…and I know somebody who lives between the Mississippi and the Wisconsin whom the Congregation should relocate to the Hudson.

    Odds?…

  4. Marty says:

    I think George Cardinal Pell is a chance at this posting.
    What are the odds on that? I’ll have 100 each way…

  5. wayne says:

    Bono ?? What does a running dog lackey of rightist capitalistic exploiters of the proletariat want with a job reaching out in a very real sense to the marginalised and downtrodden. Unless of course he wants them to pay top dollar for duplicates of his greatest hits, that they have been blasting out through the various “Diocesan Youth Bands” and “Parish Revival Combos” for the last 40 years.
    He’s an astute little capitalistic running dog exploitative leprechaun Bono, to be shure, to be shure. Happy St Patrick’s day to all the downtrodden.

  6. Beau says:

    Bono? Too funny. But at 500 to 1, might be worth risking a dollar/euro :)

    Good luck to Fr. Finigan!

  7. LCB says:

    The Pope could make a FORTUNE off this website!

  8. Boko says:

    Is it an excommunicable offense to wager on the appointment of a bishop? I think I read that it was such an offense to bet money on who the next pope would be. Sadly, I read that after I entered a pool.

  9. Boko: Now that you mention it, I believe there was a censure, once upon a time, for betting on Popes. However, that censure would no longer apply and I don’t think it was for bishops. This tugs at the back of my mind from “Papal April” 2005.

  10. Janice says:

    Can someone tell me WHY Timothy Radcliffe is still on the list?

  11. Can someone tell me WHY Timothy Radcliffe is still on the list?

    Because punters are willing to put money on him. It’s important to note that betting odds are influenced by two things – the bookmaker’s educated guess concerning the outcome of the event and (more crucially) what monies gamblers are willing to place on particular bets.

  12. Jonathan Bennett says:

    They left Msgr. Antony Conlon off the list! I demand he be added!

  13. The Abbot says:

    My money’s on Fr. Aidan Nichols, O.P.

  14. Tom says:

    Re Timothy Radcliffe

    Some punters are a blessing to bookies – such as as those so divorced from the reality in Rome as still not to realize that Timothy Radcliffe burnt his boats regarding appointment to bishop years ago. I didn’t know so many aging, and no doubt wistful, Tablet readers were into betting!

  15. Looks to be all Irish. Are there no good recusant candidates? We all know about the Irish style of Catholicism here in the States (no offense intended)…

  16. Kiran says:

    I think the chances of Cardinal Pell of Sydney being named as Archbishop of Westminster are a lot less than the odds cited. He was already moved once (from Melbourne) and that caused one of the biggest fusses in recent history.

    I didn’t know that Tablet readers believed in gambling. Or maybe they just put their faith, such as it is, in the stars. Fr. Timothy would be awful, probably the worse thing since the Episcopal appointment of one Rembert Weakland OSB.

    Fr. Aidan Nichols OP is an interesting likelihood, though I don’t think he is going to be Archbishop, more’s the pity. We need more Dominican Cardinals, I think. Dom Gilbert for me!

    I do hope Bishop Roche does not get translated to Westminster as some kind of reward for disobedience.

  17. Kiran says:

    The last comment wasn’t an attack on Cardinal Pell, by the way.

  18. John Hudson says:

    I am reading Fr Aidan Nichol’s _The Realm_, and I pray that he might be elevated to the See of Westminster. He has a programme for the restoration of the Church and for the cultural conversion of England that is thoughtful and practical and very necessary.

  19. John Hudson: I am reading Fr Aidan Nichol’s _The Realm_, and I pray that he might be elevated to the See of Westminster. He has a programme …

    It is one thing to have a program… it is another thing to be able to carry it through.

    I think Pope Benedict has a “Marshall Plan”. I hope he can carry it through.

    What people must remember, is that having a plan is great, but you have to be able to execute it positively. If you fail in your plan, you can weaken yourself so much that you can’t get another plan through. So, planning is essential, but so are the people to carry it out and the timing! The timing!

  20. Kiran says:

    While we are speaking of people being translated (or elevated) from outside England, I wonder why nobody has mentioned Fr. Augustine DiNoia, OP.

    Okay. I’ll stop mischief-making. Fr. Aidan and Fr. Augustine are good, holy Dominicans, and they would probably like to remain priests in the Order, rather than be elevated to the episcopacy.

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