More than 100 cardinals from throughout the world arrived at Paul VI Hall in Rome on Monday to prepare for the conclave, the process used to select the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who stepped down last week. Not all of the cardinals have yet arrived in Rome, officials said, so the date for the start of the conclave is not expected to immediately be set.
According to The National Catholic Reporter, most of the cardinals remained silent as they walked into their first meeting, which began with several prayers, including the “Veni Sanctus Spiritus.†The cardinals took an oath on the Bible “to keep the contents of the meetings secret at pain of excommunication.â€
The Reporter said that “three cardinals â€" Giovanni Battista Re, Crescenzio Sepe and Franc Rode â€" were chosen by lot to help assist in the general functioning of the church in the tim! e before the election of the new pope.â€
As Benedict, 85, retires to a life of prayer and study as the pope emeritus, the decision on the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church is being made amid scandals and intrigue in the Vatican and criticism that he did not do enough during his eight-year papacy to address the cover-ups of sexual abuse cases involving Catholic clerics and children.
Vatican officials acknowledged last week that wiretaps had been placed on the phones of some officials.
On Sunday, as our colleague, John Burns reports, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, head of the church of Scotland, acknowledged that he had been guilty of sexual misconduct a week after he announced that he was resigning and would not be attending the conclave to choose the next ppe. His statement came after three current and one former priest reported that he had made inappropriate sexual moves toward them 30 years ago.
In the full text of the statement, he said:
In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them.
However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.
To those I have offended, I apologize and ask forgiveness.
To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland, I also apologize.
I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland.
The Reporter explained that the term! “concl! ave†comes from “two Latin words meaning “with a key,†referring to the fact that once the cardinals process into the Sistine Chapel and the phrase extra omnes has been intoned by the master of ceremonies, meaning “everybody out,†the doors are locked and the voting begins.â€
