Panelists discuss future of church over next 20 years

Published: 2004-05-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A pope different from the current pope is likely to come out of the next conclave whenever it is held, according to John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter newspaper. Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor of the journal First Things, said he hoped for a pope who would "implement the teaching ministry of this pontificate." Both Allen and Father Neuhaus were invited to offer their perspectives in a May 27 forum on "The Future of the Church: Challenges and Opportunities in the Next Quarter-Century" during the Catholic Press Association convention in Washington. Allen, who estimated he has interviewed about 60 of the 125 eligible cardinal-electors in the next conclave, said the three overriding issues that have surfaced in those interviews are collegiality, evangelization and Islam.

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