Vatican Announces Start Date For Conclave To Elect New Pope | rssama.com

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic cardinals connected Monday group May 7 arsenic nan commencement day for nan conclave to elite Pope Francis’ successor, delaying nan concealed voting for 2 days to thief them get to cognize 1 different amended and find statement connected a campaigner earlier they are sequestered successful nan Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals group nan day aft arriving for nan first time of informal meetings pursuing Pope Francis’ ceremonial Saturday. In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted retired questions to nan cardinals astir nan temper inside, whether location was unity, and erstwhile nan conclave would begin. A newsman for a satirical Italian tv programme many times asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by nan Vatican criminal tribunal connected finance-related charges would beryllium allowed to vote.

“There is nan dream of unity,” said Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, nan 66-year-old archbishop of Cordoba who was made a cardinal by Francis successful 2023.

Many cardinals cited nan desire to proceed Francis’ pastoral attraction connected group who are marginalized and against war. But conservatives successful nan ranks whitethorn beryllium much focused connected forging unity and refocusing nan religion backmost to halfway doctrines emphasized by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, alternatively than continuing Francis’ societal justness attraction and outreach to women and gays.

British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, nan 79-year-old archbishop of Westminster, was adamant that nan religion must strive for unity, and he downplayed divisions.

“The domiciled of nan pope is to fundamentally clasp america together and that’s nan grace we’ve been fixed from God,” said Nichols.

Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo expressed assurance that erstwhile nan conclave begins, a determination would beryllium quick, “between 2 and 3 days.”

Cardinal electors

The College of Cardinals that will elite a caller pope includes members from far-flung corners of nan globe whom Francis named complete his 12-year papacy to bring successful caller points of views of nan Catholic Church hierarchy. Many person spent small aliases nary clip successful Rome getting to cognize their colleagues, injecting immoderate uncertainty into a process that requires two-thirds of nan voting-age cardinals to coalesce down a azygous candidate.

Nichols acknowledged that nan 135 cardinal electors — 108 of whom were appointed by Francis — don’t cognize each different very well. The past 20 were appointed successful early December.

“We’ve sewage each week,” Nichols said arsenic he arrived Monday.

Only cardinals nether 80 are eligible to vote, and it is not clear really galore of nan 135 will participate. A Spanish cardinal has already said he won’t travel to Rome for wellness reasons.

A large uncertainty is whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu, erstwhile 1 of nan astir powerful cardinals successful nan Vatican, will beryllium allowed successful nan Sistine Chapel. Francis successful 2020 forced Becciu to resign arsenic caput of nan Vatican’s saint-making agency and renounce his authorities arsenic a cardinal because of allegations of embezzlement and financial fraud. Becciu denied immoderate wrongdoing but was put connected proceedings successful nan Vatican criminal tribunal and convicted of finance-related charges successful December, 2023.

He is appealing nan condemnation and has participated successful nan pre-conclave meetings, but location is simply a lingering mobility astir whether he is entitled to vote. The Vatican’s charismatic statistic database him arsenic a “non-elector.” When he was ousted successful 2020, Becciu told a hastily arranged property convention that he wouldn’t beryllium voting successful immoderate early conclave, but recently, he has insisted he is entitled to ballot and canon lawyers person been poring complete nan Vatican archive regulating nan conclave to find if he’s right.

Papal candidates

While Francis stacked nan ranks pinch his cardinals, it is not needfully nan lawsuit that each of them will want to spot nan religion proceed successful his image.

On Monday morning, immoderate glimpse of a reddish headdress appearing on St. Peter’s Square’s stately colonnade group journalists moving pinch cameras and sound recorders aloft to seizure nan temper inside, nevertheless fleeting.

Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, considered a contender to beryllium nan adjacent pope, navigated nan scrum of converging journalists pinch humor, but didn’t springiness thing away. He joked that he was “holding his breath” arsenic nan microphones and cameras surrounded him each nan measurement to nan Vatican gate.

African voices

Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, nan emeritus archbishop of Abuja, was asked if nan African cardinals were coalescing astir a peculiar candidate.

African bishops had made a remarkably agreed guidelines past twelvemonth against Francis’ outreach to LGBTQ+ people, refusing to instrumentality his declaration allowing priests to connection blessings to same-sex couples. Given specified a stand, location is immoderate speculation that nan 18 African cardinal electors could thief artifact a progressive campaigner from emerging.

“We person not travel present for a governmental rally. We person travel to get a pope out,” said Onaiyekan, who astatine 81 is excessively aged to ballot but tin person a domiciled successful influencing really younger electors might.

Asian and Latin American voices

Indian Cardinal Anthony Poola, nan 61-year-old archbishop of Hyderabad, said he had knowledgeable a consciousness of unity among his chap cardinals but allowed that “anything could happen.” As a comparatively young cardinal, Poola is 1 of 4 Indian electors who will participate successful nan conclave, 3 of whom, including Poola, were named by Francis.

“Anyone who is coming up must beryllium nan successor of St. Peter, and we each dream that he will beryllium a bully pope,” he said.

Rossi, nan Argentine cardinal, said he hoped that Francis’ connection of “mercy, closeness, charity, tenderness and faith,” would travel them successful uncovering a successor.

But he acknowledged nan occupation was daunting. Asked really he felt astir participating successful his first conclave, he responded pinch a laugh: “Afraid.″

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Associated Press belief sum receives support done nan AP’s collaboration pinch The Conversation US, pinch backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.