Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The conclave for the election of the successor to Benedict XVI will begin next Tuesday, 12 March. The first step will be a Missa pro eligendo Pontifice in the morning; later, in the afternoon, the cardinals will enter in conclave.
The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals decided the date this afternoon. During the seventh congregation in the morning, the College of Cardinal took two steps that opened the way for selecting the start of the conclave.
First, all 153 cardinals accepted the motivations given by two cardinal electors who are not going to take part in the conclave, namely Mgr Riyadi Darmaatmadja, cardinal emeritus of Jakarta, for health reasons; and Mgr Keith O'Brien, for personal reasons. All 115 cardinal electors were present at this meeting, and that included Card Pham Minh Man, the last to arrive.
Then, Dean of Cardinals Angelo Sodano, told the cardinals that under the circumstances the College could invoke N. 37 of the Universi Dominici gregis, as modified by Benedict XVI, to move up the conclave if all electors are present. This was done this afternoon.
Noting that today is International Women's Day, the congregation this morning issued a statement expressing their best wishes to all the women of the world.
Vatican Press Office director Fr Lombardi, also this morning, expressed his best wishes, "especially for our female colleagues who come to work here every day."
During their meeting, the cardinals were told about a website called Adopt a cardinal, set up to encourage the faithful to pray. So far, at least 220,000 people have signed for it.
Card Sodano called on people to pray for all the cardinals, not only for cardinal electors.
During the morning congregation, 18 prelates addressed their colleagues, bringing the total number of cardinals to address the assembly to more than one hundred, with only a few speaking more than once. Interfaith dialogue, bioethics and justice in the world were the main issues discussed this morning.
Fr Padre Lombardi said that the prelates also spoke about positive ways of proclaiming Christianity, from love to mercy, something very dear to Pope John Paul II.
The cardinals also discussed collegiality, an issue that often comes up when the issue of Church governance came up. The role of women in the Church was equally addressed.
In addition, Fr Lombardi explained that the congregations are not the only venues for discussion. Although congregations have focused on the future of the Church and on the next pope, cardinals have also had an opportunity to talk tête-à-tête, and exchange information on specific issues. Ultimately, dialogue is a crucial part of the ongoing process.
