You're reading: Conclave to elect pope expected to start early next week

VATICAN CITY - Roman Catholic cardinals will decide later on Friday when to start their conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict and the secret gathering will most likely begin early next week, the Vatican said.

Benedict’s surprise abdication last month has drawn most of
the world’s cardinals to Vatican City for discussions on the
problems facing the 1.2 billion-member Church, and to decide on
the profile of the man they want to take charge.

There is no clear favourite to take the helm of the Church,
which faces an array of problems following Benedict’s rocky,
eight-year reign, ranging from sexual abuse scandals to internal
strife at the heart of the Vatican administration.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said cardinals
would vote later in the day on when to seclude themselves in the
Sistine Chapel for the conclave balloting, with a decision
expected soon after 7 p.m. local time (1800 GMT/1 p.m. ET).

“I believe that it will start in the first few days of next
week. They certainly won’t decide to start tomorrow or on
Sunday, but they could choose Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday,”
Lombardi told reporters at a daily news briefing.

A total of 115 elector-cardinals, all aged under 80, are
expected to take part in the elaborate Sistine Chapel ritual,
which will continue until one man receives at least a two-thirds
majority, put at 77 votes.

Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man was the last of the
elector-cardinals to come to the Vatican, arriving on Thursday.
He joined about 150 cardinals of all ages who are discussing the
state of the church before the conclave, in preliminary meetings
known as general congregations.

Vatican officials have put pressure on those present not to
divulge the content of those discussions, but leaks continue to
appear in the Italian press, with La Stampa daily reporting that
criticism of the Vatican bureaucracy continued to surface.

Lombardi said about 100 cardinals had taken the floor since
the formal meetings started on Monday, adding that important
informal conversations were also being held on the sidelines.

QUICK VOTE

The cardinals have made it clear they want a quick conclave
to make sure that they can all return to their dioceses in time
to lead Easter celebrations – the most important event in the
Roman Catholic calendar.

Vatican insiders say the longer the general pre-discussions
go on, the easier it should be to establish the best candidates
to take the helm, possibly shortening the eventual vote.

Pope Benedict was elected in little over a day after just
four rounds of voting, while his predecessor, Pope John Paul,
was elected after eight ballots spaced out over three days.

Cardinals were traditionally locked into areas around the
Sistine Chapel, famed for its Michelangelo frescoes, and not
allowed out until they chose a new pontiff.

But the rules changed before the 2005 conclave and the
red-capped prelates now get to reside in a comfortable Vatican
hotel while they are not voting in the Sistine Chapel.

Father Lombardi said the cardinal electors would draw lots
to see which rooms they would get to sleep in, with all external
contact, including emails and telephone calls, forbidden.

Special jamming devices would also be set up in and around
the Sistine Chapel and the residence to stop any outsiders from
trying to eavesdrop and to prevent any mobile phone usage in the
vicinity.

One senior prelate is believed to have let slip to friends
in Germany that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected pope
in 2005 before the crowds waiting in the nearby St. Peter’s
Square had been informed.