As Pope Benedict XVI steps down from his public role in the Vatican, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan has spoken about how hard it will be to replace the retiring head of the Catholic Church. The Irish American Cardinal made it clear that he did not believe he was the man for the job saying he it would be more likely for him to replace third baseman for the New York Yankees, Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, than be voted in as Pope.

News from  Rome that Boston Cardinal Sean P O’Malley is under consideration  to replace Pope Benedict as leader of the Catholic Church is no surprise to supporters of the Irish American reformer who have come out in favor of the Boston cleric.

Whilst the American press sings the praises of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, there are many respected observers who think that Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston, might stand a better chance of being elected pope.

The crowds were larger than usual at Pope Benedict’s penultimate address on Sunday, and the crowd heard him ask the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope.

For the first time since 1415, we are going  to have a conclave or papal election with no Pope to bury beforehand.  But the procedures for the election are not affected by this ‘novelty.’ Dan Brown might seem an unlikely source for information on a Papal election but the detailed description in Angels and Demons was apparently taken from a book by a Jesuit scholar and is quite accurate.

In what some are calling a display of divine displeasure at the pope’s decision to resign, a bolt of lightening struck the Cross atop the dome of Peter’s Basilica in Rome only hours after the Pope’s shocking announcement. The pope’s decision left Catholics confused and bewildered as to the direction in which the Church is now headed.

Pope Benedict XVI has said he plans to be “hidden from the world” after he resigns from his position of leader of the Catholic Church in two weeks time.

Although the Irish bookies Paddy Power are only giving Cardinal Timothy Dolan odds of 40/1 to be chosen as Pope Benedict’s replacement and the man himself is playing the suggestion down, the residents of New York are backing him to be the new leader of the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Roger Mahony will still help to elect a new pope, although he was barred from performing any public duties in his Los Angeles archdiocese by the current archbishop because of his handling of multiple sex abuse cases involving pedophile clergy.

Irish leader Enda Kenny and President Michael D Higgins led tributes to Pope Benedict XVI after he announced his retirement on Monday.

Read more: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio named Pope Francis - the new leader of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has been rocked by the shock announcement that Pope Benedict XVI will resign at the end of February.

The Irish Prime Minister has made clear that the recent intervention by Pope Benedict in the Irish abortion debate was not helpful.

The Pope has slammed proposals to change Ireland’s anti-abortion laws and expressed his ‘dismay’ at the moves.

Pope Benedict XVI brought his already staunch opposition to gay marriage to a whole new level on Friday, claiming that gay people willingly ignore their God-given gender identities to pursue their sexual choices.