São Paulo, SP (Folhapress)-The Cardinal College decided to start the conclave next Wednesday (7), said the Vatican spokesman on Monday (28). The announcement took place after debates under the fifth general congregation, part of a series of cardinals since last week, when Pope Francis died.
The event will start with a solemn mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, which will be followed by a secret process that can last several days. Although more than a week is missing for the beginning of this assembly, the Sistine Chapel, where the conclaves are held, was closed to tourists on Monday to allow preparations for voting.
The last two conclaves, in 2005 and 2013 -that elected Benedict 16 and Francis, respectively -lasted only two days -the longer, on the other hand, lasted almost three years and resulted in the choice of Gregory 10, in 1268. The Swedish cardinal Anders Arborelius said on Monday that this time expects a longer assembly than the last two, as many of the cardinals named by Francisco have never met before.
The leader killed a week ago named 80% of the cardinals who should choose a new Pope – that is, those under 80 – and made a point of nominating people from unpublished places such as Myanmar, Haiti and Rwanda. The increase in the representation of Latin America, Asia and Africa is strategic, as these are the regions to which the Church goes and grows. In this year’s process, 134 leaders will vote, representatives from 71 countries.
During the congregations, novices will not only know their peers, but also bringing questions from their archdiocese, probably foreign to ears of the most traditional regions of the Church.
There are many speculation about the profile of the next Pope. The funeral of Francisco and the procession for Rome to his place of burial, in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maior, attracted estimated crowds to more than 400,000 people, which was seen as an approval to his papacy -which lasted just over 12 years.
German Cardinal Walter Kasper, for example, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the large number of people mourning Francisco indicated that Catholics want the next Pope to continue with their reformer style. “The people of God voted with their feet,” said Kasper, who is 92 years old and will not participate in the conclave. “I am convinced that we should move on in the footsteps of Francis.”
First Pope in Latin America, Francis allowed the debate on issues such as the ordering of women as clerics and the approach with LGBTQia+Catholics. These issues, however, are sensitive, and a block of conservative cardinals will certainly seek a Pope who restricts the vision of a more inclusive church.
Fridolin Ambongo, 65, Archbishop of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, is on the list of favorites for being a conservative bet, a profile that prevails in the Catholic leadership of the continent that has the most seminarians on the planet. He opposed Francisco’s decision to allow the blessing to homosexual couples in 2023.
Something similar occurs with Mayor Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the discipline of the sacraments, Robert Sarah, 79, of Guinea, with more friction in the curriculum.
In practice, in just over a week, cardinals will be insulated in the Sistine Chapel, where they should make the votes until two thirds elevate the next pontiff. As long as they do not reach consensus, the religious are removed from the outer world, moving only from the chapel to the Santa Marta house, where they should spend the nights
