While the world's cardinals have been in prayer preparing to cast their votes for a new pope, Catholic and Christian theologians also are giving thought to the qualities of leadership they hope to see in a new Catholic Church leader.

"A future pope will doubtless need to continue Pope John Paul II's visible role in global affairs as a tireless spokesperson for human rights and the dignity of all persons," said Dr. Richard Gaillardetz of the University of Toledo in Ohio and a theological consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher, a Quaker who directs Peace Studies at Loyola Marymount University and teaches the Old Testament, said he hoped a new pope would echo Pope John Paul's message of hope.

The pope, he said, "represents the reassuring word of hope, and trust and faith. He becomes a visible spokesperson in a unique way to remind the Christian world of God's continued care in a hurting, broken and pained world."

Dr. Diana Hayes, systematic theologian at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., said she hoped the pope would be a man of compassion. "He should be a person who can feel the pain and suffering of others and respond to it," she said.

Religious of the Sacred Heart Sister Mary Milligan, Scripture professor at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, said she was praying for a pope who values humility and discernment. "He has to be a person who's clear on what his direction is, but not so clear that he doesn't listen to others," said Sister Milligan.

The quality of discernment, she said, allows one "to tell when the Spirit is calling in a new direction."

A new pope will face a daunting number of critical global and internal challenges, beginning with whether relations between Christians and Muslims continues to foster a clash of civilizations or a family of nations.

"I deeply appreciated Pope John Paul II's emphasis on peace and his continued attempt to speak the sometimes difficult word of peace in extremely violent circumstances," said Smith-Christopher.

Added Gaillardetz: "Indeed, even more than his predecessor, the next pope will have to give considerable energy to a positive engagement with Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world."

Hayes said the church will need to continue to challenge secular globalization. "The church needs to model equality among races, genders, socially, politically, economically and every way possible, because that's what Jesus taught," she said.

Bioethics will continue to raise new complex questions about when life begins and ends. The recent controversial case of Terri Schiavo raised issues about the human rights of the dying, said Sister Milligan, including the right to a dignified death.

Evangelization, beginning with fallen-away Catholics, is often mentioned as another key issue for the Catholic Church internally. Many non-practicing adult Catholics left the faith of their childhood because of divorce, remarriage without an annulment, cohabitation, the decision to use artificial birth control, an abortion, a homosexual orientation, lack of outreach to young adults, or participation in another Christian tradition they felt better responded to their pastoral needs.

Religious education leader Bill Huebsch, author of "Handbook for Success in Whole Community Catechesis," said he hopes a new pope is a "deeply pastoral leader" who warmly invites fallen-away Catholics to return to the practice of their faith.

"I hope the pastors of the church, the servants of God's people, from the pope on up, will see how much people desire to 'come home,' and will offer them bread, and not a stone," said Huebsch.

The role of women in the church is also a vital ongoing question, said theologians. The church needs to continue to involve women in meaningful and public roles, said Sister Milligan. There are positions at the Vatican that do not require priestly ordination and could be held by women, she said.

"Women have gifts of leadership, intelligence and skills," added Hayes. "Those gifts shouldn't be squandered or ignored, because they come from God."

In a globally diverse church of one billion Catholics, the pope will face the challenging task of advancing unity of faith and communion primarily within the Roman Catholic Church and also among all Christians, said Gaillardetz, a Vatican II scholar.

He pointed to an ancient maxim, quoted by both Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, to guide a new pontiff: "Unity in essentials, liberty in doubtful matters, and in all things charity."

"This means having the courage to act decisively when genuine church unity is at risk, but it also means having the foresight to know when not to act, that is, when to allow for creative diversity and even lively disagreement, both of which can become the engines for new ecclesial insight, said Gaillardetz.

A new pope will need to acknowledge doctrinal positions that are not infallible and could be open to continued theological reflection, he said.

A concrete example might be the lifting of mandatory celibacy for Roman Catholic priests in areas with a severe priest shortage and pressing pastoral needs.

The larger Roman Catholic communion already allows for married clergy in the Eastern Churches and among Protestant clergy who become Catholic priests.

Among Christians of diverse traditions, Smith-Christopher said he hoped a new pope would continue the spirit of openness and dialogue developing between Catholics and Protestants.

"We are generally in a new day in ecumenical relations," he said. "There is a profoundly new sense of theology of being in the same boat. And the boat needs the whole crew."