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

At 8 p.m. Thursday in Rome (2 p.m. in Shelby Township and Utica), 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 Shelby Township and Utica there is a fairly large Catholic community with four parishes, including:

St. Kieran Church
53600 Mound Rd.

St. Therese of Lisieux
48115 Schoenherr Rd.

St. John Vianney Church
54045 Schoenherr Rd.

St. Lawrence Parish
44633 Utica 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.