Austrian cardinal's mom hopes he doesn't become pope

Eleonore Schoenborn fears she won't see her son often if he is chosen as the pontiff

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn’s elderly mother hopes he won’t become pope because she fears she would never see him and that he would be overwhelmed by Vatican intrigues.

“The whole family is afraid that Christoph will be elected pope,” Eleonore Schoenborn, (92), told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper in an interview as 115 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered in Rome to pick the new head of the Church.

Papal contender: Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn. Pic/AFP

Recalling Pope Benedict’s farewell speech, which made clear that the pope belonged entirely to the Church, she said her son’s elevation would mean “it is over for me. Then I will not see Christoph ever again because I no longer have the strength to travel to Rome”.

Schoenborn (68) has often been mentioned as a possible papal candidate. A former student of Benedict’s with a pastoral touch the retired pontiff lacked, the archbishop of Vienna has been a rising star since editing the Church’s catechism in the 1990s.

But some cautious stands on reform and strong dissent by some Austrian priests could hurt him. He and his mother meet in Vienna for a couple weeks every year and Christoph calls her every Saturday, said Eleonore, who lives at the other end of the country in Vorarlberg province.

He has a firm grip on the Vienna archdiocese, but leading the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics would be too much of a challenge for Schoenborn, she said. “Christoph would not be up to the bitchiness in the Vatican. The intrigues in Vienna are enough for him,” she said, adding that he got really annoyed when people were dishonest.

But the paper said Schoenborn had told his family before the conclave: “Don’t get worked up. I certainly won’t become pope.”

Spoof job ad for Pope posted on LinkedIn
As speculation builds over who will be the world's next Pope, the prestigious, holy position has been posted in a spoof job advertisement on LinkedIn. The spoof job advertisement found on the social networking site, lists infallibility, celibacy and strong problem solving skills as part of the job’s requirements. Not to mention that the person applying will need to work Sundays. The ad has since been taken off from LinkedIn, but a screen grab of the listing states the Catholic Church is looking for someone who is a born leader, frequent flyer and a steadier of ships.

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