Key points
- I would like to be pope and that would be my No 1 choice: Trump
- Trump, Melania have attended funeral of first pontiff from Latin America last week
- Catholic cardinals will soon be tasked with entering a secret conclave to choose next pope
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday joked that he would like to succeed Pope Francis, who died last week at the age of 88.
Reuters reported Trump, asked about whom he’d like to see become the next Catholic pontiff, told media persons: “I’d like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice.”
“No preference”
Trump noted he actually had no preference, saying, “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, is not on the short list of possible contenders for the top spot, but it does include another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, Reuters reported. There has never been a pope from the US.
I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.” – President Donald Trump
Trump and his wife Melania visited Rome last weekend to attend the funeral of the first pontiff from Latin America.
Secret conclave
Around 135 Catholic cardinals will soon be tasked with entering a secret conclave to choose the next pope, with no clear frontrunner in sight. Turkish media reported that there is no official timetable for how long the conclave may last, though the previous two papal elections, in 2005 and 2013, were each concluded within two days.
