Catholic cardinals on Monday set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor, delaying the secret voting for two days so they can get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.
The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday. In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted questions about the mood inside and whether there was unity. A reporter for a satirical Italian television program asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on finance-related charges would be allowed to vote.
The conclave could have opened as early as May 5, but the cardinals gave themselves extra time to speak in more informal sessions that include cardinals over age 80, who will not be allowed into the Sistine Chapel once the conclave begins. They will next meet on Tuesday morning,
“There is the hope of unity,” said Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, the 66-year-old archbishop of Cordoba who Francis made a cardinal in 2023.
Many cardinals cited the desire to continue Francis’ pastoral focus on people who are marginalized and against war. But conservatives may be more focused on forging unity and refocusing the church back on core doctrines emphasized by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, rather than continuing Francis’ social justice focus and outreach to women and gays.
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, in a homily in St. Peter’s Basilica on the third day of official mourning for Francis’ death, urged fellow cardinals to continue the Argentine pope’s reforms and avoid “power alliances” and “retaliation” as they choose his successor.
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the 79-year-old archbishop of Westminster, was adamant that the church must strive for unity, and he downplayed divisions.
“The role of the pope is to essentially hold us together and that’s the grace we’ve been given from God,” Nichols said.
Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo expressed confidence that once the conclave begins, a decision would be quick, “between two and three days.”
Cardinal electors
The College of Cardinals that will elect a new pope includes members from far-flung corners of the globe whom Francis named over his 12-year papacy to bring in new points of view often at the expense of traditional centers of Catholicism.
Many have spent little or no time in Rome getting to know colleagues, injecting some uncertainty into a process that requires two-thirds of the voting-age cardinals to coalesce behind a single candidate.
Nichols acknowledged that the 135 cardinal electors 108 of whom were appointed by Francis don’t know each other very well. The last 20 were appointed in early December.
“We’ve got all week,” Nichols said as he arrived.
Only cardinals under 80 are eligible to vote, and it is not clear how many of the 135 will participate. A Spanish cardinal has said he won’t come to Rome for health reasons.By APF
