Successor to the See of Westminster; Who shall it be?

The Independent has suggested that the Vatican is due to announce Cardinal Cormac's Murphy-O'Connor's successor to the See of Westminster this week and perhaps, as they suggest, as early as today! The three front runners still seem to be Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff and Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP of Nottingham. The Independent then lists numerous other possible outside candidates who the Vatican may be more in favour of.

Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham:
Nichols, a football-mad 64-year-old, was passed over by the Vatican last time around, largely because Rome considered him too liberal. Since then, he has emerged as a more orthodox defender of the Church, regularly appearing on TV to answer criticism of clerical paedophile abuse, as well as supporting adoption agencies that refuse to place children with same-sex couples. Some suggest he is the obvious front-runner but he is not the bookies favourite.

Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff: Formerly the bookies' favourite, Battersea-born Smith was the Papal nuncio's first choice but many in the Vatican may regard him as being too liberal. Pope John Paul II made Smith the Bishop of East Anglia in 1995. The 65-year-old was sent to Cardiff in 2001 following the resignation of his predecessor amid a controversy about paedophile priests in the archdiocese. He is widely thought to have done a good job there.

Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of Nottingham: A left-wing Dominican in favour of the Latin Mass, McMahon was recently summoned to Rome and, alongside Smith and Nichols, is thought to be one of the three names on the "terna" list drawn up for the Papal nuncio. Courted controversy last year when he suggested there was no doctrinal reason why Catholic priests should not marry. In January Paddy Power suspended betting on McMahon after a surge of late bets.