Cardinal Peter Turkson...

...of Ghana now leads the betting on Intrade, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes. Could the next pope really be from Africa? What would my father say? (I know what he said about the first African American president, and I can't print it here.)

But, no matter; from what I've read about Cardinal Turkson, he's just another old, reactionary Catholic priest. According to Vatican watcher John Allen (my emphasis):

"Theologically, he's seen as a moderate: for example, Turkson has signalled openness to the argument that condoms might be appropriate for couples where one partner is HIV-positive and the other isn't, on the logic that the intent in that case is not to prevent pregnancy but to prevent disease."

Might be appropriate? Is that what passes for a moderate in today's Catholic Church? (Reminds me a little of Sen. Marco Rubio -- a fresh face on stale, old ideas.)

Black, white, whatever; don't expect the Catholic Church to end its slow, steady slide into irrelevance any time soon.