DOCSLIB.ORG

Face the Facts: Researchers Predict Selection of the Next Pope 12 March 2013

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Face the Facts: Researchers Predict Selection of the Next Pope 12 March 2013 Face the facts: Researchers predict selection of the next pope 12 March 2013 spiritual principles," Stevens said. "But participants didn't seem to have a problem making the judgments we asked of them. No one wrote in stating that they couldn't possibly decide on who might be the next pope just by looking at the face." Stevens and Vishton started with a list of 20 leading candidates, based on names reported by various media sources. Photos of the candidates' faces were gathered from freely available online sources. Participants rated the attractiveness, health, and trustworthiness of each face, as well as judging the likelihood that each individual would be selected as Psychology Professors Jennifer A. Stevens (l) and Peter the next pope. M. Vishton (R) are the authors of the study, "Predicting the Selection of the Next Pope Based on Face Photos." O'Malley was rated highest on a composite scale of They are seen surrounded by images of Archbishop these ratings. Sean O’Malley (courtesy of George Martell/Pilot New Media)the cardinal predicted by the survey to be selected the next pope. Credit: Stephen Salpukas Could you pick the next pope out of a lineup just by looking at his face? Two William & Mary professors say "yes." A study conducted by psychologists Jennifer A. Stevens and Peter M. Vishton predicts that American Cardinal Sean O'Malley, 69, the archbishop of Boston, will be selected as the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church when the conclave of cardinals meets in Rome later this month. When humans make decisions about others, they may consider a wide range of information—experience, training, beliefs, etc.—Stevens noted. Prior research, however, makes it clear that people are also strongly, unconsciously influenced by other simple factors, The study was based on an online survey of over such as the appearance of the face, she said. 500 people. The participants in the six-minute survey were recruited via the Amazon Mechanical "The pope is a figurehead with specific ethical and Turk system, which pays participants a small fee in 1 / 3 return for their participation, in this case 20 cents individual will be selected as the next pope, the each. The participants responded from all over the ratings were most strongly correlated with ratings of world. About half of the survey responses came attractiveness, Vishton said. from North America and half from Asia. About half of the data came from participants who reported "It's almost as if participants were rating the same that they were Christians, and about half reported thing twice, even though the two questions were that they were Hindus. very different. Of course, being charismatic and attractive may impact the performance of a pope in While these groups of participants were very inspiring Catholics around the world, but it is different from one another in many ways, they were surprising that the two are so strongly correlated." remarkably similar in terms of their ratings of the faces. The overall ranking of the cardinals was "If we were going to hedge our predictions, Erdo essentially the same across these two groups, the would be our next choice," said Vishton. "He and researchers said. O'Malley were nearly tied in our survey. Sandri was close behind in third, and Scola was judged the Prior research has suggested that characteristics of most likely to be named Pope. If none of these four faces greatly influence human decisions about is selected—O'Malley, Erdo, Sandri, or Scola—then hiring, voting and assessment of others in general, perhaps face appearance doesn't play as big a role Vishton noted. If these face-based processes in this selection process as in others." influence the conclave of cardinals the same way that they influence others, it is likely that one of the For Stevens, the experimental approach exposes top-rated candidates in the survey will be selected human's intuitive and automatic biases. as the next pope. "We make split-second judgments about a person Most of this data, however, have come from based on how she or he looks all of the time," she laboratory studies of simulated decision-making said. "The interesting part is that these decisions processes, he said. are often the same as those made after we've gathered lots of information about a person." "We wanted to test the limits of these theories in a real-world decision process with real faces. We More information: also wanted to make a point of predicting some pmvish.people.wm.edu/PopeFaces.pdf event before it actually occurred, rather than after the fact." The study found clear front-runners in each of the Provided by The College of William & Mary four ratings categories (see figure 1). The most attractive candidate, according to the survey respondents, was O'Malley. He was also rated as the most trustworthy. The leader in the health category was Cardinal Luis Tagle, 56, of the Philippines. Cardinal Angelo Scola, 72, of Italy scored highest on the stand-alone question of who is likely to be the next pope. But overall, O'Malley was rated highest on average, with Cardinal Peter Erdo, 61, of Hungary close behind. Also close behind was Argentinian Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 70, who scored third overall, while not winning any particular category. When asking people to rate the likelihood that an 2 / 3 APA citation: Face the facts: Researchers predict selection of the next pope (2013, March 12) retrieved 1 October 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2013-03-facts-pope.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. 3 / 3 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Holy See
    The Holy See POPE FRANCIS MORNING MEDITATION IN THE CHAPEL OF THE DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE The salt that gives flavour Thursday, 23 May 2013 (by L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly ed. in English, n. 22, 29 May 2013) The Christian, according to the Gospel metaphor in Matthew (5:13-14), is called to be the salt of the earth. But if the Christian does not transmit the flavour which the Lord has given to him then he becomes “tasteless salt” and the person becomes “a museum-piece Christian”. Pope Francis spoke about this at Thursday morning's Mass on 23 May in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. The day's Gospel (Mk 9:41-50) inspired the Holy Father to reflect on one characterizing peculiarity of Christians: they must be for the world what salt is for the homemaker and for those who have good taste and appreciate the flavour of things. “Salt is something good... which the Lord created”, said the Pontiff; but, “if the salt has lost its flavour, how shall its saltiness be restored?”. This refers to the salt of faith, hope and charity. “The Lord gives us this salt”, the Holy Father clarified. He then posed the problem: “What can we do to prevent salt from losing its power?”. The savour of Christian salt, he explained, comes from the certainty of the faith, hope and charity that springs from the awareness “that Jesus rose for us” and saved us. But this certainty was not given to us so that we might simply keep it. If that were so, the salt would end up being kept in a bottle: “it doesn't do anything, it doesn't serve any purpose”.
    [Show full text]
  • Charting the Roles of Women in the Catholic Church
    FutureChurch Charting the roles of women in the Catholic Church Current breakdown of male/female leadership in Vatican dicasteries Pope Francis has called for “a more incisive presence for women” in the Catholic Church. At the most recent Consistory of cardinals on February 12 and 13, 2015, Fr. Federico Lombardi reported that the cardinals expressed the hope of “an increasingly active role” for women. Although Pope Francis stated the door is closed on the question of ordination for women to the priesthood, he has been emphatic in his call for a stronger presence of women elsewhere. He recently appointed Sr. Mary Melone, the first women to date, to head a Pontifical University; Sr. Luzia Premoli, the first women to be appointed as a member of the Congregation on Evangelizat ion of Peoples, and has stated that women should take up positions of greater leadership within the Vatican. So how many women are in positions of leadership within the Curia? How many assert real influence? While it is difficult to accurately measure the level of influence women exercise, the chart below has been generated to further that discussion by showing the current roles women play now in Vatican congregations, pontifical councils, and other commissions, committees and offices. Secretariats, Congregations, and Pontifical Councils There are two secretariats, nine congregations and twelve pontifical councils. Below is a chart indicating the number of Vatican officials broken out in terms of male/female roles from undersecretary and above. FutureChurch 2 Vatican Males in Females in Secretariat leadership and titles leadership Congregations Pontifical Council Secretariat of Secretary of State: Cardinal Pietro 3 0 State Parolin Secretary: Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher Undersecretary: Msgr.
    [Show full text]
  • Pope Francis Begins the Most Important Year of His Pontificate
    Pope Francis begins the most important year of his pontificate Curia reform, new cardinals and trips to unexpected places will shape pope's 2020 Robert Mickens, Rome Vatican City January 2, 2020 • (Photo: Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Wire/MaxPPP) Anno Domini MMXX. When the history of Pope Francis' time as Bishop of Rome is finally written, there is a good chance that the Year of Our Lord 2020 will be recorded as the most important of his entire pontificate. Some are wondering whether it may actually be his last. The pope's recent decisions to "retire" the powerful Italian churchman Angelo Sodano as dean of the College of Cardinals and to make Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines head one of the most powerful Vatican offices – Propaganda Fide – are being read as signs that Francis is beginning to prepare for the election of his successor on the Chair of Peter. The 83-year-old Jesuit pope will also be issuing two major documents in 2020, and probably a few others. He'll continue to travel the globe, possibly going to places where his predecessors had hoped to visit but were denied entry. And there's no doubt he will add more men to the illustrious red-hatted group from which will emerge the next Bishop of Rome. So any way one looks at this new calendar year, it will almost certainly prove to be pivotal. The Synod paves the way to reform Pope Francis is to publish at least two extremely important documents already in the initial weeks of 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Cardinal William H. Keeler 1931-2017
    The CatholicWitness The Newspaper of the Diocese of Harrisburg March 31, 2017 Vol. 51 No. 6 Cardinal William H. Keeler 1931-2017 CHRIS HEISEY, THE CATHOLIC WITNESS Cardinal William H. Keeler is pictured during a Mass at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, Md., in October 2005 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his priesthood ordination and the 25th anniversary of his episcopacy. See the tribute to Cardinal Keeler, the Seventh Bishop of Harrisburg, on pages 7-11. The 2 - Catholic Witness • March 31, 2017 Conference Connects Faith Communities in Rediscovering the Family CHRIS HEISEY, THE CATHOLIC WITNESS Bishop Ronald Gainer delivers his plenary address on the centrality of the family in the New Evangelization during the ecumenical Fresh Expressions Conference hosted by the Diocese of Harrisburg at the Cardinal Keeler Center March 16 and 17. By Jen Reed the re-appropriation, the correct under- the Amore Project – which trains mar- In the early Church, families formed The Catholic Witness standing of freedom. That freedom is a ried couples to minister and evangelize little Churches in the home, and members sincere gift of oneself to another, and in in their own homes – and of Fresh Ex- grew in faith and love in these domestic n a society where many consider so doing, one discovers one’s own iden- pressions – an international ecumenical Churches as they shared their lives and Imarriage vows to be contrary to hu- tity as a son or daughter of God,” Bishop project that helps develop new forms of their relationships with Christ. man freedom, the “self-aholic” lifestyle Gainer remarked.
    [Show full text]
  • NTC 2-18-11.Indd
    Newsmagazine Bringing the Good News to the Diocese of Fort Worth Vol. 27 No. 2 March 2011 Pure Reality Rally off ers a Christian vision for relationships between men and women And the T-shirts off er a challenge (NTC photo/Joan Kurkowski-Gillen) Story and Photos by Joan Kurkowski-Gillen Rally speakers offer a Christian take on the holiness of marital love, the integrity of body, mind, and spirit Christine Aubert played a testimony with 1,100 young people Evert; Stephanie Balser, a member part of the pro-life movement attending the Pure Reality Rally of the Texas-based Th eology of before she was ever born. Her held Feb. 12 at the Metro Center in the Body Evangelization Team; ultrasound image, taken at eight Arlington. Sponsored by the Youth Steve Pokorny, associate director weeks gestation, became a pivotal for Life offi ces of the dioceses of of the Offi ce of Family Life for moment in her father’s conversion. Fort Worth and Dallas, the event the Archdiocese of San Antonio; (CNS photo/Lisa A. Johnston) As a young man, Chris Aubert is an opportunity to help young and Aubert who lectures on the believed abortion was a woman’s people strengthen their moral abortion issue from the male The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, March 9 choice and stood by as two former convictions in regard to chastity perspective. Fort Worth Bishop Msgr. John Shamleff er places ashes on the forehead of a child during Ash Wednesday girlfriends terminated pregnancies. and the Culture of Life.
    [Show full text]
  • Apostolic Trip of Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates (3 to 5 February 2019) – Farewell to the United Arab Emirates, Tele
    N. 190205a Tuesday 05.02.2019 Apostolic Trip of Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates (3 to 5 February 2019) – Farewell to the United Arab Emirates, Telegram to the President of the United Arab Emirates and Telegrams to Heads of State Farewell ceremony at the Presidential Airport of Abu Dhabi and return to Rome Telegram to the President of the United Arab Emirates Telegrams to Heads of State Farewell ceremony at the Presidential Airport of Abu Dhabi and return to Rome At 12.50 local time (9.50 in Rome), the Holy Father Francis arrived at the Presidential Airport of Abu Dhabi where the farewell ceremony took place prior to leaving the United Arab Emirates. Upon arrival, the Pope was received by the Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Holy Father and the Crown Prince were then greeted by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin; His Eminence Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; H.E. Msgr. Edgar Peña Parra, substitute of the Secretariat of State; H.E. Msgr. Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; the United Arab Emirates delegation and the local entourage. Pope Francis then boarded an Etihad B787 to return to Italy. The aircraft carrying the Holy Father on the return trip of his apostolic journey to the United Arab Emirates left Abu Dhabi at 13.23 local time (10.23 in Rome) and landed at Rome-Ciampino Airport at 16.15.
    [Show full text]
  • June 5, 2009 Vol
    Inside Teaching life lessons Oldenburg Academy duo celebrates 20 years of coaching, Criterion page 7. Serving the Church in Central and Southern Indiana Since 1960 CriterionOnline.com June 5, 2009 Vol. XLIX, No. 34 75¢ Pro-life leaders condemn murder of abortion doctor WASHINGTON (CNS)—Pro-life advocates universally condemned the SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral photo by Sean Gallagher by photo Cathedral and Paul Peter SS. May 31 murder of a Kansas abortion doctor, with officials from several U.S. right-to-life groups saying such an extreme act only hurts the pro-life cause. Dr. George Tiller, 67, of Wichita, Kan., was fatally shot Cardinal Justin F. Rigali while serving as an usher at the city’s Reformation Lutheran Church during morning services, according to The Associated Press. Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Justin F. Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed profound Deacon Jeremy Gries Deacon John Hollowell Deacon Peter Marshall regret upon learning of Tiller’s shooting death. “Our bishops’ conference and all its members have repeatedly and publicly denounced all forms of violence in our society, including abortion as well as the misguided resort to violence by anyone opposed to abortion,” Cardinal Rigali said in a June 1 statement. “Such killing is the opposite of everything we stand for, and everything we want our culture to stand for: respect for the life of each and every human being from its beginning to its natural end. We pray for Dr. Tiller and his family,” he said.
    [Show full text]
  • Charting the Roles of Women in the Catholic Church C Urrent Breakdown of Male/Female Leadership in Vatican D Icasteries
    FutureChurch Charting the roles of women in the Catholic Church C urrent breakdown of male/female leadership in Vatican d icasteries Pope Francis has called for “a more incisive presence for women” in the Catholic Church. At the most recent Consistory of cardinals on February 12 and 13, 2015, Fr. Federico Lombardi reported that the cardinals expressed the hope of “an increasingly active role” for women. Although Pope Francis stated the door is closed on the question of ordination for women to the priesthood, he has been emphatic in his call for a stronger presence of women elsewhere. He recently appointed Sr. Mary Melone, the first women to date, to head a Pontifical University; Sr. Luzia Premoli, the first women to be appointed as a member of the Congregation on Evangelizat ion of Peoples, and has stated that women should take up positions of greater leadership within the Vatican. So how many women are in positions of leadership within the Curia? How many assert real influence? While it is difficult to accurately measure the level of influence women exercise, the chart below has been generated to further that discussion by showing the current roles women play now in Vatican congregations, pontifical councils, and other commissions, committees and offices. Secretariats, Congregations, and Pontifical Councils There are two secretariats, nine congregations and twelve pontifical councils. Below is a chart indicating the number of Vatican officials broken out in terms of male/female roles from undersecretary and above. While women have slowly gained certain leadership roles in the Vatican, you still need just one hand to count those who hold top- level positions in the secretariats, congregations and pontifical councils.
    [Show full text]
  • Pope Francis Begins the Most Important Year of His Pontificate
    ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis begins the most important year of his pontificate. When the history of Pope Francis’ time as Bishop of Rome is finally written, there is a good chance that the Year of Our Lord 2020 will be recorded as the most important of his entire pontificate. Some are wondering whether it may actually be his last. The pope’s recent decisions to “retire” the powerful Italian churchman Angelo Sodano as dean of the College of Cardinals and to make Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines head one of the most powerful Vatican offices – Propaganda Fide – are being read as signs that Francis is beginning to prepare for the election of his successor on the Chair of Peter. The 83-year-old Jesuit pope will also be issuing two major documents in 2020, and probably a few others. He’ll continue to travel the globe, possibly going to places where his predecessors had hoped to visit but were denied entry. And there’s no doubt he will add more men to the illustrious red-hatted group from which will emerge the next Bishop of Rome. So any way one looks at this new calendar year, it will almost certainly prove to be pivotal. The Synod paves the way to reform Pope Francis is to publish at least two extremely important documents already in the initial weeks of 2020. The first of these texts is an apostolic exhortation on last October’s special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region. Francis has already hinted that he will endorse a number of changes in pastoral practice that the Synod participants proposed to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Page 1 of 3 the Tablet
    The Tablet - Conclave contenders Page 1 of 3 Search Latest issue: 9 February 2013 Last updated: 11 February 2013 Feature Article Conclave contenders In this week’s issue Potential papabili Still far to go Robert Mickens - 31 December 2011 First things first One of the talking points in Rome in recent months has been the growing In their own words frailty of Pope Benedict. Inevitably, speculation has turned to his likely successor. Our Rome correspondent offers an insider’s guide to those One year on: verdict on the new considered papabile Mass translation Free In just a few months from now, Pope Benedict XVI will officially surpass Blessed When the tide turned John Paul II and become the oldest man in more than 100 years to serve as Bishop Stronger together of Rome. The Polish Pope died just 16 days shy of his eighty-fifth birthday, a milestone Pope Benedict is set to reach on 16 April. Only four other popes since the Lent meditation: Solitary flight of end of the thirteenth century have made it to 86 years of age, of which the most the pilgrim recent was Pope Leo XIII, who died aged 93 in 1903. Years to remember Although Pope Benedict’s general health appears to be good, he has begun to show The Tablet Blog signs of fatigue and increasing frailty. History and prudence would suggest that the cardinals of the Church should seriously start thinking about suitable candidates to Can Christians and Muslims pray succeed him. Casting a vote for the Successor of Peter is the main and gravest together? purpose for which they are given a red hat.
    [Show full text]
  • Vatican Asks Bishops to Help Faithful Celebrate Holy Week, Easter at Home
    Vatican asks bishops to help faithful celebrate Holy Week, Easter at home VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican has asked Catholic bishops around the world, both in the Latin rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches, to provide their faithful with resources to support personal and family prayer during Holy Week and at Easter, especially where COVID-19 restrictions prevent them from going to church. The Congregation for Eastern Churches, publishing “indications” March 25 for the Paschal celebrations in the churches it supports, urged the heads of the churches to issue concrete, specific norms for the celebrations “in accordance with the measures established by the civil authorities for the containment of the contagion.” The statement was signed by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, congregation prefect, and asked the Eastern churches to “arrange, and distribute through the means of social communication, aids that allow an adult of the family to explain to the little ones the ‘mystagogy’ (religious meaning) of the rites that under normal conditions would be celebrated in the church with the assembly present.” The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, updating a note originally published March 20, also asked that bishops’ conferences and dioceses “see to it that resources are provided to support family and personal prayer” during Holy Week and Easter where they cannot go to Mass. The Congregation for Eastern Churches’ suggestions for celebrating the liturgies in the midst of the pandemic were not as specific as those issued for Latin-rite Catholics because the Eastern Catholic churches have a variety of liturgical traditions and may follow the Julian calendar, with Palm Sunday and Easter a week later this year than on the Gregorian calendar used by most Catholics.
    [Show full text]
  • How to Cover the Catholic Church Contents
    How to Cover the Catholic Church Jerry Filteau with Benedicta Cipolla A resource of the Office of Media Relations United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Executive Editor: Sister Mary Ann Walsh, Director USCCB Office of Media Relations Scripture texts used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, copyright © 1991, 1986, and 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC 20017 and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. Excerpt from The Documents of Vatican II, Walter M. Abbott, SJ, General Editor, copyright © 1966 by America Press, Inc. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2008, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. Contents Covering the Vatican Covering the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Covering the Local Church Glossary of Church Terms Resources on the Church Covering the Vatican If you’re reading this, your editor probably just (a) assigned you to cover a papal trip or an event at the Vatican, or (b) asked you to get comments from Rome regarding a local issue in which Holy See policy might come into play. Headed by the pope, the Holy See is the central authority of the Catholic Church. Technically it differs from the Vatican, which refers to the independent state established by the Lateran Pact with Italy in 1929 as Vatican City State, the smallest sovereign nation in the world.
    [Show full text]