As things stand, if Pope John Paul II dies we will be without a voice at the conclave to elect his successor as Cardinal Cathal Daly, now writing his memoirs, is 80 and no longer eligible to vote and Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh failed to get the red hat at the recent consistory. A matter of such seriousness has not escaped the notice of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and canny politician he is, he has arranged for us to have a proxy vote. In Glasgow last weekend for the big soccer match won by Celtic, he discussed the situation over dinner, hosted by businessman Brian Dempsey, with Cardinal Thomas Winning. The Scottish cardinal ended up agreeing to be Ireland's representative at the conclave. But Winning, known among clergy as Christus Vincit (Christ is winning), is being mentioned as a candidate for the papal throne himself so Bertie could have made a very good political move. And, they wondered, would we have a Pope Andrew or a Pope Patrick?