No clear front-runner as cardinals meet for final talks to elect pope
Source: Agencies |
March 12, 2013, Tuesday
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CARDINALS gathered for their final day of talks yesterday before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid debate over whether the Catholic Church needs more of a manager pope to clean up the Vatican or a pastoral pope who can inspire the faithful at a time of crisis.
There were indications that plenty of questions remained about the state of the church and the best man to lead it heading into today's conclave: Not all the cardinals who wanted to speak were able to yesterday and they were forced to take a vote about continuing the discussion into the afternoon.
In the end, a majority of cardinals chose to cut short the formal discussion, and the cardinals who did speak shortened their comments, according to the Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
One of the main presentations came from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican No. 2 who heads the commission of cardinals overseeing the scandal-marred Vatican bank. He outlined the bank's activities and the Holy See's efforts to clean up its reputation in international financial circles, Lombardi said.
The Holy See's finances, and particularly the work of the Vatican bank have been under the spotlight during these pre-conclave meetings as cardinals seek to investigate allegations of corruption in the Vatican administration and get to the bottom of the bank's long history of scandal and secrecy.
Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto, Canada, acknowledged the importance of the task at hand, telling reporters: "Yes, tomorrow is a very important day in the history of the church."
There's no clear front-runner for a job most cardinals say they would never want, but a handful of names are circulating as top candidates to lead the 1.2 billion-strong church at a critical time in its history.
Cardinal Angelo Scola has serious management credentials, running the archdiocese of Milan - Italy's largest and most important - and before that Venice, both of which have produced several popes in the past.
He's affable and Italian, but not from the Italian-centric Vatican bureaucracy. That makes him attractive perhaps to those seeking reform of the nerve center of the Catholic Church, which was exposed as corrupt and full of petty turf battles by the leaks of papal documents last year.
Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer seems to be favored by the Vatican Curia, or bureaucracy. Scherer has a solid handle on the Vatican's finances, sitting on the governing commission of the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works, as well as the Holy See's main budget committee.
As a non-Italian, the archbishop of Sao Paolo would be expected to name an Italian insider as secretary of state - the Vatican No. 2 who runs day-to-day affairs at the Holy See - another plus for Vatican-based cardinals who would want one of their own running the shop.
There were indications that plenty of questions remained about the state of the church and the best man to lead it heading into today's conclave: Not all the cardinals who wanted to speak were able to yesterday and they were forced to take a vote about continuing the discussion into the afternoon.
In the end, a majority of cardinals chose to cut short the formal discussion, and the cardinals who did speak shortened their comments, according to the Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
One of the main presentations came from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican No. 2 who heads the commission of cardinals overseeing the scandal-marred Vatican bank. He outlined the bank's activities and the Holy See's efforts to clean up its reputation in international financial circles, Lombardi said.
The Holy See's finances, and particularly the work of the Vatican bank have been under the spotlight during these pre-conclave meetings as cardinals seek to investigate allegations of corruption in the Vatican administration and get to the bottom of the bank's long history of scandal and secrecy.
Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto, Canada, acknowledged the importance of the task at hand, telling reporters: "Yes, tomorrow is a very important day in the history of the church."
There's no clear front-runner for a job most cardinals say they would never want, but a handful of names are circulating as top candidates to lead the 1.2 billion-strong church at a critical time in its history.
Cardinal Angelo Scola has serious management credentials, running the archdiocese of Milan - Italy's largest and most important - and before that Venice, both of which have produced several popes in the past.
He's affable and Italian, but not from the Italian-centric Vatican bureaucracy. That makes him attractive perhaps to those seeking reform of the nerve center of the Catholic Church, which was exposed as corrupt and full of petty turf battles by the leaks of papal documents last year.
Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer seems to be favored by the Vatican Curia, or bureaucracy. Scherer has a solid handle on the Vatican's finances, sitting on the governing commission of the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works, as well as the Holy See's main budget committee.
As a non-Italian, the archbishop of Sao Paolo would be expected to name an Italian insider as secretary of state - the Vatican No. 2 who runs day-to-day affairs at the Holy See - another plus for Vatican-based cardinals who would want one of their own running the shop.
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