What Qualities Would You Like to See in the Next Pope?

At 8 p.m. Thursday in Rome (2 p.m. in Clinton Township), Pope Benedict XVI will become the first pope in more than 600 years to retire. 

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic church are currently meeting in Rome this week to bid farewell to Pope Benedict as well as to decide when the conclave will begin to elect the next pope.

The church has said it plans to have a new pope in place before Easter on March 31.

Speculation has already started on who might be the next pope, but most sources say an American pope is unlikely, despite approximately one-fourth of the U.S. population describing itself as Catholic, according to a recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

In Clinton Township there is a large Catholic community with eight parishes and communities total, including:

Monastery of St. Therese
35750 Moravian Dr.

San Francesco Community
22870 South Nunneley Rd.

St. Claude Chapel St Thecla Parish
St. Claude Chapel of St. Thecla Parish
33826 Beaconsfield

St. Louis Parish
24415 Crocker Blvd.

St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church
23300 King Dr.

St. Paul of Tarsus Parish
41300 Romeo Plank Rd.

St. Ronald Catholic Church
17701 15 Mile

St. Thecla Parish
20740 South Nunneley Rd.

What issues in the Roman Catholic Church would you like to see the next pope address? What qualities would you like to see in the next pope? Let us know in the comments section.