150 cardinals converge on Vatican

Cardinals meet ahead of conclave to elect a new pope after Benedict XVI’s resignation,  AFP PHOTO

Talks by Catholic cardinals to choose a successor to Pope Benedict began, Monday, at the Vatican but the choice of a date when they would shut themselves into the Sistine Chapel to start voting for the new pontiff was delayed to allow more priests to arrive.
The conclave is expected to commence March 11. However, 12 of the 115 eligible cardinals expected to vote have not shown up at press time.
Meanwhile, those expecting a new Catholic Pontiff to be elected urgently may have to wait for couple of days longer as the issue is one of the last items on the agenda of 150 cardinals, who converged on the Vatican, yesterday, for the first pre-conclave meeting since Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI stepped down last Thursday.

Faced with a heap of scandals, including sexual misconduct and child abuse among the clergy, the cardinals have a lot of issues on their plate aside electing a new pope.

While all cardinals are expected to partake in deliberating on the challenges facing the church, only 115 cardinals, who are under 80 years, will elect Benedict’s successor.
During the pre-conclave meetings, the cardinals will set a date for their conclave to choose a new pope but before they get to that, there are plenty of other businesses to discuss.
The cardinals said they have so much hard talking to do, many say these discussions could take a week or longer before they are ready to move to the Sistine Chapel to begin voting on a new pope.
The meeting is coming as Cardinal Keith O’Brien, a top Scottish cardinal who  amid sexual abuse allegations, issued an apology yesterday and said there had been times his sexual conduct “has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.”

 At the appointed hour yesterday, the cardinals began to emerge from the nooks and crannies of the Vatican for the pre-conclave meeting. Some came in groups, some came by taxi and others by private car and minibuses.
They are not in Vatican City at this stage to vote on a new pope, but to discuss the many problems facing the1.2 billion Catholic faithful, from the ongoing child abuse scandal to financial mismanagement.
Chicago Cardinal, Francis George, said the church has obvious troubles it cannot avoid. There are questions on how much of a role the scandals will play in the discussions now and whether or not they have essentially usurped the intended aim of these initial meetings.
‘Scandals won’t affect deliberations’
But Cardinal George insists the intended aims have not been usurped. “I don’t think they’ve been usurped, but they do create context for our discussion. We follow the press, sometimes happily and sometimes no,” he said.
With the papal election so wide open this time, people hang on every word of the cardinals— and there are few words. The unwritten rule in the Vatican is, “never say you want the job.” And if you find your name circulating on lists of potential candidates, say you’re unworthy.
Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet is seen by many as a compromise contender, but he knows what often happens to favourites in the conclave.

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