A Few Thoughts On Days Gone By

Pope Bergoglio has been elected and it is now the middle of the night in Rome.  I can't help feeling a sense of letdown now that it's all over.  This is my second conclave and as I compare this experience to 2005, the differences are making themselves known as I think back.

Eight years ago we had the moving experience of the last days of John Paul II taking place on the stage of Holy Week and Easter.  There was the sorrowful period of mourning with the procession of the body and the funeral Mass celebrated by Cardinal Ratzinger.  Then a time of waiting as the cardinals met before the conclave finally arrived.  Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope Ratzinger, Benedict XVI, and the rest is now history.

This time around though feels much different as I think back.  It seems like Benedict announced his stepping down only the other day.  There was his final public Mass, his final audiences, the flight over Rome, and his final words at Castel Gandolfo before the Swiss Guards marched away.  That was it.  Then the conclave began and boom, "Habemus Papum!"

We'll see what happens with our new Holy Father.

We have a pope!

Conclave '13 - Day Two

Yesterday the cardinals entered the conclave.  There was black smoke at the end of the first day.

Today after the morning session, there was black smoke.

Morning - after 2 ballots - 11 to12 noon Rome time - 6 to 7 am EDT
Afternoon - after 2 ballots - 6 to 7 pm Rome time - 1 to 2 pm EDT

There are two ballots in each session.  If a pope is chosen on the first ballot of the session, the white smoke will be seen at either 6 am or 1 pm.

UPDATED to reflect earlier possible times for smoke to be seen.  VIS: "The “fumata”, again black, issued forth at 11:40 this morning, around 20 minutes earlier then expected."

On the Eve of the Conclave

Be sure to keep handy this calendar created by the people at Rorate Caeli.  Remember, Rome is five hours ahead of US Eastern Daylight Time.

I had a post set to go last week with a list of the most commonly mentioned papabili and my comments, but it didn't seem worth it.  A lot of them (Scherer of Brazil, the Americans, Turkson) are either putting themselves forward via subtle and not so subtle means or are being sold by the media.  Some of the other names being mentioned are simply warmed-over leftovers from 2005.  As the saying goes, he who goes in as pope comes out as a cardinal, so I will be surprised if any of the names getting press actually gets elected.

There will be more to come as events progress.  Godspeed, cardinals.

Conclave '13 - Date

There are reports the Conclave is set for 12 March.  More information when I can find it.

Update: CNN

Rome (CNN) -- The Catholic cardinals gathered in Rome voted Friday to begin the secret election, or conclave, to elect a new pope next Tuesday afternoon, the Vatican said.

The 115 cardinal-electors taking part in the conclave will enter the closed-door process after a morning Mass, the Vatican said. Only those younger than 80 are eligible to vote.

Conclave '13 - Clues

BBC

The last of the 115 cardinals who will chose the new Pope has arrived in Rome.

Vietnamese Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man joined his colleagues in closed-door discussions at the Vatican.

His presence means a date can now be set for the conclave to choose a successor to Benedict XVI as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

And

Since Monday the elector cardinals have been holding preparatory meetings and prayers known as "general congregations" before the conclave begins.

The discussions are held under an oath of secrecy, but Italian newspapers have published what they say are leaked details of the debate on problems faced by the church.

Reform of the Vatican's bureaucracy - known as the Curia - and the Vatican bank have both been on the agenda, the reports say.

Last year European regulators said the bank was not doing enough to combat money laundering, while intrigue in the Vatican was revealed by documents leaked by Pope Benedict's butler.

A reformer?  An outsider?  Someone young?  Someone with great personal charisma?

Conclave '13 - Preliminaries

BBC

Roman Catholic cardinals from around the world have gathered in Rome to begin the process of electing the next Pope.

Cardinals held prayers and swore oaths of secrecy at their first meeting, held by the College of Cardinals.

There will be a series of daily meetings leading up to a conclave, expected to begin next week, in which a new Pope will be chosen.

And

The first pre-conclave meeting on Monday morning was headed by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

The Vatican said 101 of the 115 cardinals involved in the conclave have arrived in Rome. A further 12 are due to arrive either today or tomorrow, while two are not attending.

They are the UK's Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who is standing down amid allegations of improper behaviour, and Indonesia's Julius Darmaatmadja, who is ill.

At the pre-conclave meetings, cardinals - known as the "princes" of the Church - will discuss future challenges and discreetly weigh up possible papal candidates.

The conclave - to be held in the Sistine Chapel - is expected to take place next week, though the exact date will be agreed on in the coming days.

Just some good information from our friends at the BBC, getting us up to speed on the program leading up to the Conclave.

A Step Closer to Conclave '13

BBC

Pope Benedict XVI has amended Roman Catholic church law so that the conclave selecting his successor can be brought forward, the Vatican says.

The change to the constitution means cardinals will no longer have to wait 15 days after the papacy becomes vacant before beginning the conclave.

As a result, the conclave can now start before 15 March.

And

The decision on the date of the beginning of the conclave will be taken by the cardinals but will not happen earlier than 1 March, officials said.

No surprises here.  I assume Conclave '13 will start as soon as possible now.  I see no reason why next week isn't probable.

What Has Been Going On

The flurry of news has died down.  Most of what is floating around has to do with the conclave possibly being moved up since mourning for a dead pope and hasty travel arrangements are in this case not necessary.  There is also a lot of talk of an American pope out there.  John Allen of NCReporter is doing a "Papabile of the Day" with Angelo Cardinal Scola being the first to be profiled.

Tomorrow, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, is the final deadline for the Society of St. Pius X to reply to the latest offer and final from Benedict XVI to reconcile.

Sandro Magister: Who Will Take Up the Keys of Peter

In this article, his first online since the announcement of the abdication, Magister talks a bit about the circumstances and then launches into the brief resumes of the cardinals (and one biship) he thinks are likely contenders in the coming conclave.

Among the Italian candidates, [Angelo] Scola, 71, appears the most solid. He was trained as a theologian in the cenacle of “Communio,” the international magazine that had Ratzinger among its founders. He was the disciple of Fr. Luigi Giussani, the founder of Communion and Liberation. He was rector of the Lateranense, the university of the Church of Rome. He was the patriarch of Venice, where he demonstrated effective managerial abilities and created a theological and cultural center, the Marcianum, reaching out with the magazine “Oasis” toward the confrontation between the West and the East, Christian and Islamic. For almost two years he has been archbishop of Milan. And here he has introduced a pastoral style very attentive to the “far away,” with invitations to the Masses in the cathedral distributed on street corners and in subway stations, and with special care for the divorced and remarried, who are encouraged to approach the altar to receive not communion but a special blessing.

Scola has often been a subject of Magister's writing and one gets the sense after reading all that that Magister has his own favorite.

In addition to Scola, another entry for the list of candidates could be Cardinal Bagnasco, 70, archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian episcopal conference.

Not to mention the current patriarch of Venice, Francesco Moraglia, 60, a rising star of the Italian episcopate, a pastor of strong spiritual life and very much beloved by the faithful. His limitation is that he is not a cardinal. Nothing prohibits the election of someone who is not part of the sacred college, but even the highly credentialed Giovanni Battista Montini, although projected as pope in1958 after the death of Pius XII, had to wait until he received the scarlet before he was elected in 1963 with the name of Paul VI.
[,,,]

Here one candidate who could meet the expectations is the Canadian Marc Ouellet, 69, multilingual, he as well trained theologically in the cenacle of “Communion,” for many years a missionary in Latin America, then archbishop of Québec, one of the most secularized regions of the planet, and today the prefect of the Vatican congregation that selects the new bishops all over the world.

Apart from Ouellet, two North Americans who elicit appreciation in the college of cardinals are Timothy Dolan, 63, the dynamic archbishop of New York and president of the episcopal conference of the United States, and Sean O'Malley, 69, the archbishop of Boston.
[...]

If from Latin America and Africa, where indeed the majority of the world's Catholics live, there do not seem to emerge prominent personalities capable of attracting votes, the same is not true of Asia.

Note well Magister's opinion of the cardinals of Africa.  He fails to mention the perennial favorite Arinze or the oft-mentioned Turkson.  The same goes for Latin America.  Interesting.

[...] In the Philippines, which is the only nation in Asia where Catholics are in the majority, there shines a young and cultured cardinal, archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle [56], the focus of growing attention.

As a theologian and Church historian, Tagle was one of the authors of the monumental history of Vatican Council II published by the progressive “school of Bologna.” But as a pastor, he has demonstrated a balance of vision and a doctrinal correctness that Benedict XVI himself has highly appreciated. Especially striking is the style with which the bishop acts, living simply and mingling among the humblest people, with a great passion for mission and for charity.

One of his limitations could be the fact that he is 56, one year younger than the age at which pope Wojtyla was elected. But here the novelty of Benedict XVI's resignation again comes into play. After this action of his, youth will no longer be an obstacle to being elected pope.

My bolding.  Magister has other things including links to and translations of the pope's statements and a brief look at the motivations of John Paul II and Benedict.

Conclave 2013: First Thoughts

Catholic Hierarchy has the full list of cardinal-electors and people have begun looking at papabili.  I agree with the general sentiment that there are no names jumping out at the moment.  Certainly, aside from the thought that the will of the Holy Ghost will be done, a lot of people familiar with the college have their favorites.

On the conservative and/or traditional side, names like Burke, Ranjith, and Bagnasco (due to his being a disciple of Cardinal Siri) have been mentioned along with non-cardinal outsider Athanasius Schneider (known for his defense of Communion on the tongue and calling for a new Syllabus to clarify Vatican II).

On the "progressive" side, I can't think of any names off the top of my head.  Looking at the cardinals on the progressive side listed in Samuel's bookmakers' odds post, none of them are young enough to qualify. 

After the election of Cardinal Ratzinger in 2005, it's pointless to try to decide just what the college will look for as far as "conservative" or "progressive".  I really think it will come down to age: anyone over the age of seventy-five is in my mind not a serious papabile.

Samuel: I agree with Jacob's last point here.  In the "BREAKING" post, the link in the third update goes on about how Benedict never had a chance because he is the pope who followed John Paul.  I would think maybe the next pope would be chosen young enough to really put his stamp on things and not just administer. 

The Bookmakers' Papabile

Daily Mail

9/4 Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, 64
Country: Ghana Cardinal in the Ghanaian Catholic Church
Elevated to cardlinalate by Pope John Paul II
Significant views: Would like to see a black pope. Believes condoms should be used in marriage if one partner is infected with Aids.
Wikipedia

5/2 Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68
Country: Canada
Elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John Paul II
Significant views: Belief that abortion is unjustifiable, even in cases of rape
Wikipedia

7/2 Cardinal Francis Arinze, 80
Country: Nigeria
Elevated to cardlinalate by Pope John Paul II
Significant views: Extreme conservatism on birth control and abortion
Wikipedia

7/1 Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71
Country: Italy
Elevated to become Archbishop of Milan by Benedict XVI
Significant views: Wants to work more closely with Islam and support Christians in the Middle East
Wikipedia 

10/1 Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, 70
Country: Honduras
Elevated to cardinalate by Pope John Paul II
Significant views: A moderate but is anti-abortion and criticised Ricky Martin for using a surrogate mother
Wikipedia

12/1 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, 78
Country: Italy
Elevated to cardinalate by Pope John Paul II
Significant views: Blamed homosexual infiltration of the clergy for Catholic child sex scandals
Wikipedia

14/1 Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, 70
Country: Italy
Elevated to cardinalate by Pope Benedict XVI
Significant views: Strongly against abortion and expressed anger towards same-sex unions
Wikipedia

16/1 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 77
Country: Argentina
Elevated to cardinalate by John Paul II
Significant views: Against abortion and euthanasia, is against same-sex marriage but calls for respect of gay people. Washed the feet of 12 Aids patients in 2001.
Wikipedia 

20/1 Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69
Country: Argentina
Elevated to cardinalate by Benedict XVI
Significant views: Said Christians in Iraq under Saddam Hussein were more free than they are now
Wikipedia

25/1 Cardinal Christoph von Schonborn, 68
Country: Austria
Elevated to cardinalate by John Paul II
Significant views: Said use of a condom by an Aids sufferer could be seen as a 'lesser evil'.
Wikipedia