The Four Cardinal Horsemen of Modernistic Doom - Conciliarist "prophets" of the Conclave

Radcliffe: An influential theologian, he studied at Oxford and Paris, participated in peace movements, and worked with AIDS patients before being appointed Master General of the Dominican Order, a position he held from 1992 to 2001. Pope Francis entrusted him with the meditations prior to the Synod.

Cristóbal López (Vélez-Rubio, Almería, 1952) is the big surprise, at least for the media, of this pre-conclave. The Spanish cardinal, trained in Paraguay, is now shepherding a small flock in Rabat, a country with very little Catholic presence.

Steiner: A philosopher and educator, he believes that the entire Church is missionary and must learn and inculturate itself in a world where it no longer has all the answers. His charisma is undeniable, as is his desire to return to the Amazon to continue making the dream of mercy a reality. Will he be able to do so? 

David: He was one of the thorns in the side of the war on drugs launched by former President Duterte, and promoted rehabilitation programs for drug addicts instead of prison, deportation, or the extrajudicial killings promoted by the government.

They are four of the few "prophets" present at the conclave, capable of moving crowds with their passion, their speeches, and their example. One from each continent: Steiner (Brazil) in the Americas; López Romero (a Spaniard from Rabat) in Africa; David (Philippines) in Asia; and Radcliffe (Europe). Some of them are even rumored to be among the "papa candidates." But, much more so, among people with judgment, capable of carrying Francis's dream for the Church to completion. In a Church of public officials, in a conclave where the profile of an organizer seems to prevail, is there room for prophecy?

The 'Gandalf' of the Synod, and the only 'white' cardinal.

He surprised everyone at the last consistory by wearing the Dominican habit, confirming himself as the only cardinal not to wear the full purple. The Irishman Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, O.P., one of the last cardinals appointed by Francis, participates in the Conclave for months (he will turn 80 in August). An influential theologian, he studied at Oxford and Paris, participated in peace movements, and worked with AIDS patients before being appointed Master General of the Dominican Order, a position he held from 1992 to 2001. Pope Francis entrusted him with the meditations prior to the Synod.

Favorable to married priests, he wouldn't mind seeing a woman become a Cardinal. He is not a Bishop—he asked to be dispensed from that honour, because one can be a cardinal without being consecrated a prelate—and he has a fight: against polarization. In society, and in the Church.

Cathcon:  It is the progressives who have polarised the Church in their attempt to form "a new way of doing church" - which they also call church generation or ecclesiogenesis.

The surprise of the pre-conclave

Cristóbal López (Vélez-Rubio, Málaga, 1952) is proving to be the big surprise, at least for the media, of this pre-conclave. The Spanish cardinal, trained in Paraguay, now shepherds a small flock in Rabat, a country with very little Catholic presence. The least-known Salesian to date (Artime was making all the headlines, although he is the career journalist) advocates for a Church that is “open and reaches out to other religions in dialogue with the world, in service to the world.”

An advocate for migrants, he harshly attacks self-referentiality and, until he decided to cut off the flow of interviews, has proven to be a beacon of conscience for those convinced of an outgoing Church and interreligious dialogue, without needing to convince anyone. The shepherd of a small flock that could shepherd 1.4 billion faithful.

Cardinal Steiner

The 'Francis' of the Amazon

He has been 'consecrated' by Leonardo Boff himself: "Who knows if the only bishop of the Amazon, Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, a Franciscan, might not be the great surprise, named Pope with the name Francis II?" The words of the Brazilian theologian define the Archbishop of Manaus, a free man who, at 74, has brought Francis's project of an outgoing Church to life in the lungs of the planet.

A philosopher and educator, he believes that the entire Church is missionary and must learn and inculturate itself in a world in which it no longer has all the answers. His charisma is undeniable, as is his desire to return to the Amazon to continue making the dream of mercy a reality. Will he be able to do so?

Cardinal David

David: The Bishop Who Stood Up to Duterte

The great unknown on this list, the "other" Filipino in the conclave. President of his country's Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio Siongco David (65) is a bishop who looks out for the least. He was one of the thorns in the side of the war on drugs launched by former President Duterte, and promoted rehabilitation programs for drug addicts instead of prison, deportation, or extrajudicial killings promoted by the government, which earned him the occasional threat. David buried the dead whose relatives were unable to do so.

"Love can only generate justice and peace, mercy and compassion, healing and reconciliation in our wounded world," he said after learning of Francis's death. He is the bishop of a diocese home to 1.3 million people, most of them Catholics. Poor Catholics, many of them internal migrants. The "urban poor" for whom he has launched a specific ministry. "If the poor don't come to the Church, the Church must come to them," he said last year. A phrase that could sum up a papal motto.

Super-synodalist.

NB Let this not imply I am sympathetic to Duterte's extrajudicial methods.  He is also fiercely anti-Catholic.

Source