Voltaire would be spinning in his grave at the thought of the papacy as a defender of the "rights of man;" and I rather doubt that Huxley imagined the papacy as a counterweight to the evolution of the brave new world. Yet precisely such hopes-- and fears--may be found throughout the world today, in this twenty-seventh year of the pontificate of John Paul II.
He sees three big issues the next pope will face, as indicated by present discussions among the College of Cardinals:
The first of these is the virtual collapse of Christianity in its historic heartland--western Europe. The second great issue is the Church's response to the multi-faceted challenge posed by the rise of militant Islam. And the third involves the questions posed by the biotech revolution.
Read the whole thing to see how he develops these.
