It is the daily newspaper Le Figaro that speculates in an article about the time after the current Pope Francis. The first two names are the Italian Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s “foreign minister”, and the Hungarian Archbishop Péter Erdö.
But Arborelius is the third person who “returns in the talks about possible successors”, writes Le Figaro, and states that the Swede “figures in both conservative and progressive circles”.
“A man of prayer”
The newspaper writes that Arborelius is “first and foremost a man of prayer but also a noted theologian, committed to ecumenism”. The fact that he comes from “a very secularized country where Catholicism is in the minority” is described as an advantage.
“This cardinal, who is not yet very well known, also enjoys a clear charisma, which is something indispensable for a pope,” writes the newspaper.
Arborelius’ bishop’s assistant Agnes Eggertz tells SVT Nyheter that he does not want to comment on the speculation in Le Figaro.
– There is nothing to comment on, the Pope is alive.
