Catholic cardinals from around the world will begin voting for a new pope on Wednesday. This will be done under Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
The 133 voting cardinals form the largest and perhaps most unpredictable conclave in Catholic history.
It follows the death of Pope Francis last month at 88.
Francis leaves behind a College of Cardinals split between progressives and conservatives.
Since 28 April, they’ve held daily meetings, but unity has been difficult.
“There’s a lot of confusion. We have heard many voices, it’s not easy to draw conclusions,” said Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, archbishop of Jakarta.
On Tuesday, the cardinals moved into seclusion at Casa Santa Maria.
They surrendered phones and will stay isolated, leaving only to vote in the Sistine Chapel.
All involved, from cardinals to staff, have sworn secrecy.
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Two votes take place each day. Smoke from the chapel chimney signals results: black for no decision, white for a new pope. After three days without a result, a day of reflection is taken.
Speculation over the next pope has been ongoing, with over 20 papabile candidates mentioned.
One is US cardinal Robert Prevost, described by Crux as having “solid judgment and a keen capacity to listen.”
His rise has eclipsed Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin, seen as a strong diplomat but possibly too dull to inspire the church’s 1.4 billion followers.
Another contender is Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, often called “the Asian Francis.” Both he and Parolin have faced criticism over abuse cases.
Other progressive names include Matteo Zuppi, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Jean-Claude Hollerich, Timothy Radcliffe, and Michael Czerny.
Traditionalist figures include Péter Erdő and Robert Sarah.
US cardinal, Raymond Burke and Germany’s Gerhard Müller, though not frontrunners, are pushing for a conservative direction. Müller warned of a potential schism if no orthodox pope is chosen.
But frontrunners don’t always win—Jorge Mario Bergoglio wasn’t one in 2013 and became Pope Francis.
As the saying goes, “he who enters the conclave as pope, leaves it as a cardinal.”
Despite ideological divides, cardinals agree the next pope must be a “bridge and a guide for a disorientated humanity,” according to a Vatican official. They pledged to “support the new pope.”
Andrea Vreede of Dutch broadcaster NOS said, “These men of faith are entering [the conclave] believing that God has already chosen the next pope.
“It is unpredictable because there are many new electors who do not know each other very well… So the one thing they can agree on, whether they are far left or far right, is that they all want more involvement in the government of the next pope.”
“I think they already have someone in mind,” said Severina Bartonitschek of Germany’s KNA.
“And the main job for the new pope will be unifying the church… Yes, he will have to handle evangelisation but also issues like the abuse cases. We need to have a pope who is not afraid to fight against this issue,” he further said.
(The Guardian)
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