The Next Bishop of Rome?

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The Catholic Church may seek a successor to Pope John Paul 11 from Europe rather than further afield over perceived problems on its ancient home front.

Speculation about a Pontiff from the Global South, where two-thirds of world's 1.1billion Catholics live, has waned as the Church feels increasingly on the defensive on the contnent once known simply as Christendom, Vatican watchers report.

The Internationalisation of the College of Cardinals, the ''princes of the church'', who elect the Pope, has spawned talk also about an African pontiff or one from Latin America.

But the succession rumour mill, revived by the sudden hospitalisation of the 84-year old Polish-born Pontiff, now sees an Italian or other European as more likely to win.

Elected in 1978, John Paul is the third longest-serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.

"The Cardinals are very concerned about the secularisation in Europe, espescially in the cities," said one informed Church offical, who asked not to be idenrified.

''You have to look after Mother first, if you lose Europe, you lose the world."

The European Union ignored Vatican calls to mention the continent's Holy Roman Empire's roots in its new constitution, and rejected a conservative Italian Catholic nominated to be its Justice Minister.

Secularism made important strides in once deeply Catholic Spain, where a new Socialist government has eased divorce laws and now plans to allow gay marriage, while indifference if not complete ignorance of religion is advancing across Europe.

The shifting focus of attention has thrown German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (77), the Vatican's stern doctrinal watchdog. Ratzinger is the most Powerful man in the Vatican today. Whoever is going into conclave as Cardinal's to elect the new Pope, must go through Ratziner first.

It's business as usual in the Vatican.

Who runs the Vatican when the Pope is ill?

With Pope John Paul 11 hospitalised with flu and breathing problems, most of the Vatican's dayto-day operations are handled by the Curia, a well oiled bureaucracy with centuries-old roots.

The life of the Church goes on. Masses are said everywhere around the world. Bishops run their dioceses.

And life goes on.



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