USA Today's Mark Pinsky has a column today dedicated to Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, the current Archbishop of Havana.  Though there's no shortage of cardinalatial news today, Pinsky's piece caught my eye because it suggests that the 74-year-old prelate might himself have a new post...as a political leader after the Castros:

[P]ost-Castro Cuba will need someone trusted by all segments of society to help shepherd this nation into a new era, without bloodshed or upheaval. [The cardinal] is that man. The son of a sugar mill worker, Ortega is uniquely equipped to fill any power vacuum.

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It's an interesting (if unlikely) idea.  As Pinsky notes in passing, though, the Vatican has shied away from allowing Catholic clergy and religious from playing a role in politics in an official capacity -- such as elected office or a senior government position.