Irish Betting Site Gives Tagle 25-to-1 Odds as Pope

Irish bookmakers as of Thursday were giving Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle 25-to-1 odds of succeeding Pope Benedict XVI when he steps down on February 28, reports Interaksyon.com. Betting site PaddyPower.com places the Philippine Catholic leader just outside of its Top 10 bets for the papacy. The site’s odds makers in previous days had given Tagle as high as 16-to-1 odds, according to Reuters. PaddyPower's favorites, however, are Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana (5-to-2), Archbishop Angelo Scola of Italy (3-to-1) and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertoni, also of Italy (7-to-2). The Catholics of Argentina, Brazil, and Honduras were also well represented in the Top 10. As of Thursday, Tagle was ranked No. 12.