Who leads the conclave? And what does the new Pope expect? – Diepresse.com
On May 7th, more than 130 cardinals move to the Sistine Chapel to choose Pope. The process is precisely regulated, also who is in charge. It is also clear: the church faces enormous tasks. Who could have grown?
At the Farewell to Pope Francis last weekend They both stood in the spotlight: the cardinals Giovanni Battista Re and Pietro Parolin. At the funeral service on Saturday on St. Peter’s Square, the 91-year-old Re once again grew the message of the deceased of peace and human dignity-in the presence of states of states and in front of countless TV cameras, the 70-year-old slogan reminded of the legacy of Francis in the usual factual manner a day later at the fair in front of 200,000 people. Cardinal state secretary and thus served as a chief diplomat and « second man at the top of the church ».
The two Italians now have different key roles in the Sedis vacancy. RE has been a cardinal dean since 2020 and thus a protocol director of the 252 cardinals. According to his task, he called the cardinals to Rome on Easter Monday after the Pope’s death and leads the « transition government » of the Catholic World Church. He currently heads the gatherings of cardinals before the pope election, the so -called pre -concrete. These meetings, for example, have been determined in the Vatican Synodenaula for a week for a week.
« /> Possible pope successors (c) APA / Margret Schmitt
However, RE will not fulfill one of the most distinguished tasks in the cardinal decree, namely the management of the pope election. Because only those 135 cardinals that are younger than 80 are allowed to take part in the election at all – so not. His deputy, Vicedkan Leonardo Sandri (81), is also out of the question for the task for reasons of age. Therefore, the line is now the ranking of the under 80 years of cardinal bishops; And that is currently Cardinal.
Already in the twelve years, in which the Northern Italian, as Secretary of Cardinal State, pulled the diplomatic threads for Francis, he noticed his sober-long-aware species. Since Francis brought him to his side shortly after his election in March 2013, he has won success on difficult terrain, including in Vietnam, Israel or China, in Ukraine or Lebanon. At the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro or the UN climate summit in Baku, the man from Schiavon in the province of Vicenza was the face of the Vatican.
Number two in the Vatican
When Francis failed from mid -February because of his weekly hospital stay, Parolin, who speaks in addition to Italian, also speaks Spanish, French and English. Among them was US Vice President JD Vance, who made a short visit to the Pope on Easter Sunday. The cardinals are not only very well known, but should also have the necessary authority in order to tame the unique election assembly.
Of the currently 135 eligible voters who go to the « closed space » on May 7, 53 of them come from Italy alone. Asia provides 23 voters, Latin America (with Mexico) 21, Africa 18, North America 16 and Oceania 4. Two participants have already canceled for health reasons.
Controversial cardinal is missing in the case of pope election
The causa Angelo Becciu showed that re and parolin work together despite very different temperaments. The Sardinian cardinal was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in 2023 for involvement in a lost real estate investment in London, but appealed. Francis had already withdrawn his cardinal rights because of the same cause in 2020, but both the legal basis and the scope of this punishment remained unclear.
The 76-year-old had not been counted for the upcoming election. Nevertheless, he loudly announced that he was innocent and therefore also entitled to vote. But then Becciu explained his waiver last Tuesday – probably after talks with his two powerful brothers: According to a report by the Roman daily newspaper « IL Messaggero », the cardinals re -moved him and slogans together.
« /> Hierarchy of the Catholic Church (c) APA / Margret Schmitt
One thing is certain: there are big challenges that are waiting for the new Pope: the lack of priests is burdening everyday life because municipalities no longer have pastors. Loosening the celibacy seems to be the answer for many. The women’s question is unsolved because Francis has postponed the topic of the possibility of consecration from women to deacons. Dealing with homosexuals is heavily controversial. And the synodal exchange, which Francis introduced newly, is also controversial. This exchange means that the problems are discussed in a broad dialogue – but conservative Catholics are subject to the idea that a Pope or Bishop decides and the word then applies without further debate.
There are already camps under the cardinals. The German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller is one of the sharpest critics of the Francis Pontificate. In interviews after the death of Francis, he positioned himself against church blessings for homosexual relationships and the gender – topics in which Francis loosened the church.
Debates about the continuation of Francis’ line
In contrast, the majority seem to be voices that demand that the church should continue on the way of the Argentine. The previous number two in the Vatican, the Italian cardinal Piedro parolin, praised in one of the nine mourning services for Francis his « great teaching » that only mercy. And the Pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, called on the cardinals in another funeral service to continue Francis’ heir. Even the respected German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who was no longer eligible to vote in the conclave because of his age of 92, sided with the offensive Franziskus supporters. He would personally want the new Pope to continue the basic lines set by Francis, said Kasper to Cologne Domradio. « Francis has taken many initiatives, opened many doors, also allowed many questions. »
However, Kasper also describes one of the biggest current problems in the World Church, in which opposites show « that shouldn’t actually exist ». In the western churches it is about whether a Pope allows the consecration of women or abolish celibacy – in the southern hemisphere, topics such as poverty, wars and injustice are central. The new Pope should be able to talk to both sides.
Sexual abuse remains an issue
It seems completely incalculable how the topic of sexual abuse develops. Refurbishment seems to be largely completed in countries such as Austria, Germany or France. In the countries of Asia or Africa, however, it is still a taboo, even in Italy there was still no independent processing. And also on the diplomatic parquet, in view of many conflicts from Ukraine to Sudan to Gaza, challenges with numerous stumbling blocks that want to be a worldwide moral authority await a new Pope.
The Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, which belongs to the possible candidates for the Papstamt, just said to journalists: « A Pope is always a number. » However, this agreement cannot be reached by « backwards » the church.
(APA/AFP/Cap.)
