- Conclave to choose the new Pope begins on Wednesday in the Sistine Chapel
- The cardinals discuss the divisions of the Church, the profile of Future Pope
- The majority of continuity favorites with Francis, says a cardinal
Vatican City: All 133 Cardinals expected to participate in the secret conclave to choose a new Pope who arrived in Rome, the Vatican said Monday, with the race to succeed Pope Francis seen as open.
The conclave will begin behind the closed wooden doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday afternoon, with all cardinals under 80 years of age with the right to participate in the choice of a Francis successor, who died last month.
Some cardinals are looking for a new Pope to continue with Francis’s impulse for a more transparent and cozy church, while others seek reduction of more traditional roots that put a premium in the doctrine.
Conclascos are often extended for several days, with multiple votes in votes before a contender wins the necessary majority of three quarters to become a potato.
The Catholic cardinals in the world have met almost up to date after the day of Francis’s death on April 21 to discuss the state of the Church of 1.4 billion members, with the number of participating clergymen who gradually swell.
The Vatican said that 180 cardinals, including 132 voters, participated in a meeting on Monday morning. The elector 133 is also in Rome, but did not participate in the discussions.
Two cardinals, one from Spain and another from Kenya, will not join the conclave for health reasons, said the Vatican.
Among the questions addressed on Monday were “strong concerns” about divisions within the Church, said Vatican spokesman, a possible reference to divisions about Francisco’s decision to allow blessings for same -sex couples and open a discussion about the role of women in the church.
The cardinals also talked about the profile of a future Pope: “A figure that must be present, close, capable of being a bridge and a guide … A shepherd near the real life of the people,” said the spokesman.
Change of lists
While there are some cardinals seen as main potentials to happen to Francis, two often mentioned are the Italian cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, many of the voters’ clergy have not decided.
“My list is changing, and I think it will continue to change in the next few days,” said British cardinal Vincent Nichols, participating in his first conclave Reuters. “It is a process that is far from concluding, far from concluding.”
The cardinals will hold a second session of conversations on Monday afternoon, and a final round is expected on Tuesday. Two guest houses of the Vatican will house the cardinals during the conclave, when contact with the outside world will be banned.
The German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is 92 years old and cannot participate in the vote, said he was sure that voters would choose someone to pursue Francisco’s progressive agenda.
“I think there is a very clear expectation. People want a Pope to follow Francis. A shepherd who knows the language of the heart, which does not close in the palaces,” Kasper told The Stampa newspaper.
