Cardinals announce start date for conclave
(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Cardinals have set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor, delaying the secret voting 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 Monday 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.
The conclave could have opened earlier, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A big uncertainty is whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once one of the most powerful Cardinals in the Vatican, will be allowed in the Sistine Chapel.
In 2020, Francis forced Becciu to resign as head of the Vatican's Saint-Making Office and renounce his rights as a Cardinal because of allegations of embezzlement and financial fraud.
Becciu denied any wrongdoing, but was put on trial in the Vatican Criminal Court and convicted of finance-related charges in December of 2023.
