Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio elected pope, takes name Francis

St. Peter holding the keys. (CNS/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, was elected the 266th pope and took the name Francis.

The election March 13 came on the second day of voting, on the fifth ballot. It was a surprisingly quick conclusion to a conclave that began with many plausible candidates and no clear favorite.

The new pope was chosen by at least two-thirds of the 115 cardinal-electors from 48 countries, who cast their ballots in secret in the Sistine Chapel.

His election was announced in Latin from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to a massive crowd under the rain in the square below, and to millions watching around the world.

White smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 7:05 p.m., signaling that the cardinals had chosen a successor to retired Pope Benedict XVI. Two minutes later, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began pealing to confirm the election.

At 8:12 p.m., French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the senior cardinal in the order of deacons, appeared at the basilica balcony and read out in Latin: “I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope! The most eminent and most reverend lord, Lord Jorge Maria, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Bergoglio, who has taken for himself the name Francis.”

The crowd in the square responded with cheers, applause and the waving of rain-soaked national flags.

MORE TO COME ON catholicnews.com

In pre-conclave sermon, cardinal dean calls for unity

Cardinal Angelo Sodano in St. Peter’s Basilica, March 12, 2013 (screen grab from Vatican television)

VATICAN CITY — Hours before the start of the conclave that will choose the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals celebrated the papacy as a source of unity among Catholics and of evangelization and charitable service to the world.

Christ “has established his apostles and among them Peter, who takes the lead, as the visible foundation of the unity of the church,” said Cardinal Angelo Sodano in his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica March 12. “Each of us is therefore called to cooperate with the successor of Peter, the visible foundation of such an ecclesial unity.”

Cardinal Sodano, 85, concelebrated the Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” (for the election of the Roman pontiff) with some 170 other cardinals, including 115 under 80 who will be entering the conclave in the Sistine Chapel this afternoon.

At the start of the Mass, as a choir and the congregation chanted verses from the psalms, the cardinals processed up the main aisle of the basilica, wearing vestments in the red of Pentecost, signifying their invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide the papal election.

Cardinal Sodano’s homily included words of thanks for the “brilliant pontificate” of Pope Benedict XVI, which prompted over 30 seconds of applause.

The cardinal quoted the retired pope’s description of charity as a “constitutive element of the church’s mission and an indispensable expression of her being,” and his warning that charity must not be reduced to “solidarity or simply humanitarian aid,” since the “greatest work of charity is evangelization, which is the ‘ministry of the word.’”

Christ’s “mission of mercy,” Cardinal Sodano said, “is especially entrusted to the bishop of Rome, shepherd of the universal church.”

“The last popes have been builders of so many good initiatives for people and for the international community, tirelessly promoting justice and peace,” the cardinal said. “Let us pray that the future pope may continue this unceasing work on the world level.”

Given its timing, the homily at the cardinals’ last Mass before a conclave is commonly interpreted as an exhortation to the cardinal-electors on the priorities they should follow in choosing the next pope.

On the same occasion in 2005, the cardinal dean gave a now-famous sermon that warned believers against trends in contemporary culture, particularly a “dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.” He emerged from the Sistine Chapel the next day as Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Sodano’s words could also prove influential, but he is too old to vote in this conclave, and while the cardinal-electors are permitted to choose someone from outside their number, the last time they did so was in 1378.

11 U.S. cardinals to enter conclave

Eleven U.S. cardinals will take part in the conclave beginning tomorrow to elect a new pope. (CNS graphic/Paul Haring and Nancy Phelan Wiechec)

Alphabetical list of cardinal electors’ first names in Latin

Balcony where the name of the cardinal elected pope will be announced in Latin. (CNS/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY — Here is an alphabetical list of the cardinal electors’ first names in Latin, in the accusative case, which is likely to be that used when announcing the name of the new pope.

Several cardinals are listed twice because they may be referred to by their baptismal name, given name or religious name. For instance, Indian Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, is listed twice because the “Acta Apostolicae Sedis,” (The Official Acts of the Holy See) has used both versions. U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada and Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht are listed twice because “Gulielmum” and “Villelmum” are both acceptable versions of their name.

Albertum
– Albert Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Aloisium
– Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines.
– Lluis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona, Spain.

Andream
– Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris.

Angelum
– Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.
– Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa, Italy.
– Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.
– Angelo Scola of Milan.

Ansgarium
– Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Antonium
– Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
– Antonios Naguib, former Coptic Catholic patriarch, Egypt.
- Anthony Olubunmi Okogie of Lagos, Nigeria.

Antonium Mariam
– Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid.
– Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.

Attilium
– Attilio Nicora, president emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

Audrys
– Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Augustinum
– Agostino Vallini, papal vicar for Rome.

Bachara or Becharam
– Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch.

Basilium Clementem
Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Carolum
– Carlos Amigo Vallejo of Seville, Spain.
– Carlo Caffarra, of Bologna, Italy.
– Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Germany.

Casimirum
– Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, Poland.

Christophorum
– Christoph Schonborn of Vienna.

Claudium
– Claudio Hummes, retired prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.

Conradum
– Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Crescentium
– Crescenzio Sepe of Naples, Italy.

Daniel or Danielem
– Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.

Dionigium
– Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan.

Dominicum
– Domenico Calcagno, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
– Dominik Duka of Prague, Czech Republic.

Donaldum
– Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.

Eduinum
– Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Emmanuelem
– Manuel Monteiro de Castro, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Ennium
– Ennio Antonelli, retired president of Pontifical Council for the Family.

Ferdinandum
– Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Franciscum
– Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.
– Francis E. George of Chicago.
– Francesco Monterisi, retired secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.
– Francisco Robles Ortega of Guadalajara, Mexico.
– Franc Rode, retired prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Franciscum Xaverium
– Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago de Chile.

Georgium
– George Alencherry of Ernakulam-Angamaly, major archbishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
– Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
– George Pell of Sydney.
– Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas, Venezuela.

Gabrielem
– Gabriel Zubeir Wako of Khartoum, Sudan.

Gerardum
– Geraldo Majella Agnelo of Sao Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Godefridum
– Godfried Danneels of Mechelen-Brussels.

Gulielmum
– Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands.
– William Joseph Levada, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Iacobum
– James M. Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
– Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana.

Ioachim
– Joachim Meisner of Cologne, Germany.

Ioannem
– Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland.
– Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
– Juan Cipriani Thorne of Lima, Peru.
– Giovanni Lajolo, retired president of the commission governing Vatican City State.
– John Njue of Nairobi, Kenya.
– John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria.
– Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.
– Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Guadalajara, Mexico.
– John Tong Hon of Hong Kong.

Ioannem Baptistam
– Giovanni Battista Re, retired prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
– Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Ioannem Claudium
– Jean-Claude Turcotte of Montreal.

Ioannem Ludovicum
– Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Ioannem Franciscum
– Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Ioannem Patricium
– Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.

Ioannem Petrum
– Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux, France.

Iosephum
– Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State.
– Giuseppe Betori of Florence, Italy.
– Josip Bozanic of Zagreb, Croatia.
– Jose da Cruz Policarpo, Lisbon, Portugal.
– Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

Iulium
– Julio Terrazas Sandoval of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

Iustinum
– Justin Rigali of Philadelphia.

Isaac
– Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Laurentium
– Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo.

Ivanum
– Ivan Dias, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Leonardum
– Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

Marcum
– Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Maurum
– Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.

Nicolaum
– Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Norbertum
– Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City.

Odilonem
– Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo.

Osvaldum
– Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India.

Patricium
– Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.

Paulum
– Paolo Sardi, a former official in the Vatican Secretariat of State.
– Paul Josef Cordes, retired president of Pontifical Council Cor Unum.
– Paolo Romeo of Palermo, Italy.

Petrum
– Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary.
– Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Philippum
– Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France.

Polycarpum
– Polycarp Pengo of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Radulfum
– Raul Vela Chiriboga, retired archbishop of Quito, Ecuador.

Raimundum
– Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature.
– Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, Brazil.

Rainardum
– Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany.

Rainerium
– Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin.

Raphaelem
– Raffaele Farina, retired head of the Vatican Secret Archives and the Vatican Library.

Robertum
– Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

Rogerium
– Roger Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles.

Ruben
– Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Colombia.

Sanctum
– Santos Abril Castello, archpriest of Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Severium
– Severino Poletto of Turin, Italy.

Stanislaum
– Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland.
– Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Telesphorum
– Telesphore Toppo, of Ranchi, India.

Tharsicium
– Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state.

Theodorum
– Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal.

Thomam
– Thomas C. Collins of Toronto.

Timotheum
– Timothy M. Dolan of New York.

Valtherum
– Walter Kasper, retired president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Velasium
– Velasio De Paolis, papal delegate overseeing reform of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi.

Vilfridum
– Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban, South Africa.

Villelmum
– Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands.
– William Joseph Levada, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Vincentium
– Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Zenonem
– Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Twelve to watch as cardinals gather in Rome

UPDATES: Here are more names we’ve added to our list of influential cardinals after we published the article below:

– Boston prelate known for humility, humor, crisis management (Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley)

– Italian cardinal sees holiness, prayer as key to vocations (Cardinal Mauro Piacenza)

– Pastor, educator: Genoa’s Cardinal Bagnasco promotes traditional family (Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco)

– Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio was second on each ballot in last conclave (Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio)

——————–

(Originally posted on catholicnews.com)

Editor’s Note: For more on each cardinal, click on the boldface links below.

By Cindy Wooden and Francis X. Rocca
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Wherever journalists and bookmakers may be getting the names on their lists of top candidates for the next pope, it’s not from the cardinals who will actually vote in the election. Both custom and canon law forbid the cardinals to discuss the matter in such detail with outsiders.

Moreover, the true “papabili” — literally, pope-ables — were likely to emerge only after all the worlds’ cardinals began their pre-conclave meetings at the Vatican last week.

One thing is already clear, however: because of their experience and the esteem they enjoy among their peers, certain cardinals are likely to serve as trusted advisers to the rest in the discussions and election.

Here, in alphabetical order, are 12 cardinals expected to have a major voice in the deliberations:

Cardinal Dolan arrives for a general congregation meeting March 7. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Conventional wisdom has long held that the cardinals will never elect an American pope, lest the leadership of the church appear to be linked with the United States’ economic and geopolitical dominance. But the extroverted and jocular Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 63, charmed and impressed many in the College of Cardinals in February 2012 when he delivered the main presentation at a meeting Pope Benedict XVI had called to discuss the new evangelization. The pope himself praised the New York archbishop’s presentation on how to revive the faith in increasingly secular societies as “enthusiastic, joyful and profound.”

– Although not a familiar name in the press, Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, 60, is a major figure among his peers in Europe, the church’s traditional heartland and the region of more than half the cardinal electors. He was elected to a second five-year term as president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences in 2011.

Cardinal Ouellet arrives for a general congregation meeting March 8. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, is a member of the Society of St. Sulpice, whose members are, strictly speaking, diocesan priests but which is normally considered a religious order. Hence he is one of only 19 members of religious orders among the cardinal electors, who are overwhelmingly diocesan clergy. He is prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the nomination of bishops in Latin-rite dioceses around the world, so his work has brought him into frequent contact with most of his fellow cardinal-electors. As president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, he is well acquainted with one of the church’s largest and fastest-growing regions. The former archbishop of Quebec, who taught at the John Paul II Institute at Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, is also a well-respected theologian.

– Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, was the prelate chosen by Pope Benedict to lead his 2013 Lenten retreat, which will make him a prominent voice at the Vatican in the run-up to the election. The cardinal, a scholar with little direct pastoral experience, has been leading the universal church’s efforts to develop a nonconfrontational dialogue with nonbelievers, trying to make Christianity intelligible to the modern mind and build a reason-based consensus on key moral issues.

Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga (CNS file/Paul Haring)

– Another religious, a Salesian, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, 70, is president of Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella group of national Catholic charities around the world. As a result, many of his peers have come to know the multilingual cardinal as the person spearheading assistance to the neediest of their people. He aroused controversy in 2002 with remarks about clergy sex abuse that struck some as overly defensive of accused priests and the church’s past policies. But he was already widely mentioned as a possible pope before the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict.

– Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, was born to parents of Italian descent and has maintained strong ties with both Italy and Argentina. As prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, he is familiar with the challenges facing Eastern Catholics and the pastoral concerns of the church in the Middle East. He has worked in the Vatican for more than a dozen years, and previously served as nuncio to Venezuela and then Mexico. His only experience in a parish was a brief assignment shortly after his ordination as a priest.

Cardinal Sarah  (CNS file/Paul Haring)

– Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, 67, is president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes Catholic charitable giving. He has used his leadership to emphasize Pope Benedict’s teaching that Catholic charitable activity must not be simple philanthropy, but an expression of faith, rooted in prayer and Catholic identity. A scripture scholar and former diocesan bishop, he served nine years as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

– Another leading voice of the South American church is 63-year-old Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest diocese. The son of German immigrants, he also has strong ties to Rome. He studied philosophy and theology at Rome’s Pontifical Brazilian College and Pontifical Gregorian University and worked as an official of the Congregation for Bishops from 1994 to 2001.

Cardinal Schonborn arrives for a general congregation meeting March 7. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, 68, has known Pope Benedict for almost 40 years, having studied under him at the University of Regensburg, Germany. Even before his former professor became pope, the cardinal was well known at the Vatican and in wider church circles. He was invited in 1996 to preach Blessed John Paul II’s Lenten retreat and was the main editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1992. As the church in Austria has struggled with declining attendance and calls for change in some of its most basic disciplines, Cardinal Schonborn’s response has received increasing attention, with some praising his prudence and pastoral sensitivity, and others calling for more decisive action.

– Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71, is the archbishop of Milan, the archdiocese led by both Popes Pius XI and Paul VI when they were elected. He previously served as patriarch of Venice, once the see of Blessed John XXIII. The cardinal, a respected academic theologian rather than a popular preacher, has longstanding ties to one of the new church movements, Communion and Liberation, which is based in his archdiocese.

Cardinal Tagle after being made a cardinal last November. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, 55, is one of the youngest and newest members of the College of Cardinals. Although he did not receive his red hat until November 2012, he had already made a name for himself at the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in 2008. This leader of one of the world’s fastest-growing churches is a popular speaker with a doctorate in systematic theology and has served on the International Theological Commission, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

– Cardinal Peter Turkson is the 64-year-old former archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, and current president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The cardinal, a biblical scholar who was active in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, has frequently appeared on lists of possible popes. He aroused controversy in 2011 with a proposal for a “world central bank” to regulate the global financial industry, and then in October 2012 when he showed bishops at the Vatican a video warning about the growth of Muslim populations in Europe.

Boston cardinal draws blockbuster crowd of fans to tiny church

ROME (CNS) — It took a “papabile” American cardinal as guest celebrant one Sunday to fill the pews of a small Roman church, which is normally trafficked only by hordes of backpack-slinging tourists.

Instead of dog-eared guidebooks in hand, people were actually looking for hymnals, extra copies of which had to be fetched from the sacristy by parish assistants.

The narrow church, which holds about 100 people, was packed standing-room only on the Fourth Sunday of Lent with both Italians and Americans, and dozens of journalists.

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston visited his titular church of Santa Maria della Vittoria March 10 with the no-nonsense, businesslike air of a pastor who was there simply to preside over a liturgy.

U.S. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston visits his titular church, Santa Maria della Vittoria, a tiny church more often teeming with tourists than parishioners. (CNS photo/Carol Glatz) (March 10, 2013)

Wearing his bright scarlet cardinal robes, he alighted from a dark sedan with Vatican City State license plates and strode straight up the steps: no waving or fanfare as he moved confidently through the crowd of cameramen.

Once inside, he put on his cornered-biretta hat and sprinkled holy water as he marched down the center aisle to the sacristy.

Little did he know that, while he was there to celebrate Mass for the local community, the people in the pews and the Discalced Carmelites who run the church were there to unabashedly cheer him on as the next pope.

“Eminence, we wish, and I say this with great hope, that this will be your last visit as titular cardinal,” Discalced Carmelite Father Stefano Guernelli, the church’s rector and former provincial superior, told the cardinal in his opening remarks.

He said they were praying for him to be the next pontiff, “however, without trying to push or overturn the Lord’s plans.”

“But you must promise that if our prayers are answered, your first visit as pope” will be back to “our church and yours, Santa Maria della Vittoria,” he said to rousing applause.

The priest said he had been telling journalists that “Cardinal Sean” is a “kind and friendly pastor, humble yet decisive in his actions because he truly loves the church.”

The only thing going against him “perhaps is that you are a friar and a Capuchin at that,” he said tongue-in-cheek, as the bearded Capuchin cardinal smiled.

Speaking with his deep, measured voice, Cardinal O’Malley said Mass and his homily in near perfect Italian, stumbling just a few times on the language’s tricky polysyllabic terms.

Cardinal O’Malley gave his homily in Italian. He asked for prayers the Holy Spirit would help the cardinal electors choose a pope “who will confirm us in the faith and do the utmost possible to make visible the love of the Good Shepherd.” (CNS photo/Carol Glatz) (March 10, 2013)

He began his homily thanking everyone for coming to pray “for our church in these days that are so important for us.”

Known for a sharp wit delivered with a poker face, the cardinal continued off-the-cuff, talking about the time he took possession of the Roman church in 2006 and teased the Carmelites that he was thinking of taking the church’s famed statue of St. Teresa of Avila, sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, back to Boston.

But he said the friars told him Napoleon had tried and, like the emperor, he, too, would fail.

“So it seems to me that (the friars) have never forgiven me” because the church rector wants him to become pope, the cardinal said.

“I want to assure him that after the conclave I will come back as your cardinal and perhaps I will take St. Teresa back to Boston,” he insisted with a wry smile.

He imperceptibly then switched gears to his serious side and gave a homily based on the day’s Gospel reading of the Prodigal Son, noting how many children of God today leave their father’s house — the church — because of “ignorance, a lack of feeling welcome, negative experiences, scandals, spiritual mediocrity” and other reasons.

Just like the father in Jesus’ parable, the church too must demonstrate a welcoming evangelical joy toward its lost sheep “without creating a difficult life toward those who have drifted and who ask to return.”

Because often they have suffered a lot after being far from God and they, like all people, are looking for real joy, the kind only God can give, he said.

Lent is the perfect time to return to one’s family “and feel that joy of being at home,” he said.

He ended his 13-minute homily by praying the Holy Spirit would help him and the other cardinal electors choose a new pope “who will confirm us in the faith, do the utmost possible to make visible the love of the Good Shepherd who goes looking for his lost sheep, to heal the sick and to embrace the prodigal son.”

Giulia Varrasso of Rome, who belongs to a nearby parish, said she had come to Santa Maria della Vittoria because she greatly admired the cardinal and wanted “to know him better.”

Cardinal O’Malley was her pick for pope, she said “because he’s a Franciscan” and she loves his humility, witty and laid-back style, and the religious order’s attention to the “weak and vulnerable.”

“I also like that he’s an American,” who can lead the Vatican out of its old ways of doing things and leave behind “the old mechanisms of power,” she said.

He also can renew the church “because he really understands these scandals” and has fought for more transparency, she said.

“I’m cheering for Cardinal Sean,” said Luigi Segoloni, who is originally from near Assisi, the home of St. Francis.

“We need fresh air, enough with these Italians and Europeans, for goodness sake,” said the Roman resident.

The U.S. cardinal is “very good, he made a very good impression with his homily; he has energy and he’s very fatherly,” said Segoloni.

Daughter of St. Paul Sister Germana Santos, who lived in Boston many years, praised the “very courageous measures” the cardinal took after he arrived at an archdiocese that was reeling from the spiritual and financial fallout of the sex abuse crisis.

“He sold all the prelates’ big residences and moved into the cathedral rectory” — a simple residence where he lived among his own priests “giving them an example of humility” and fraternity, she said.

An Italian woman, who asked her name not be used, said she wanted an American for pope.

Cardinal O’Malley “speaks from the heart.” While there are many good homilists out there, “you can feel his sincerity,” she said.

Hurry up and wait

Worker prepares Sistine Chapel for conclave. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano)

VATICAN CITY — There were plenty of mixed feelings at the Vatican in recent days.

Tweeting cardinals are no longer talking to the media

The sense of urgency in starting the conclave was going against the idea that choosing a new pope requires ample time for discernment, contemplation, prayer and also conversation.

But Rome itself seems a contradiction. The recent days have been both sunny and rainy. Fast cars and motorcycles zoom across the ancient cobblestone streets. Litugical vestment stores bump up against high-end fashion stores and tourist shops sell postcards, T-shirts, magnets and snow globes along with rosaries, holy cards, crosses and images of Pope John Paul II and retired Pope Benedict XVI.

The interregnum by its very nature also produces mixed feelings, as Father Gustavo Castillo, a priest from the Los Angeles Archdiocese pointed out. Father Castillo, currently studying in Rome at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas, known as the Angelicum, said he still feels an “emptiness” after the resignation of Pope Benedict but at the same time he has hope that a young pope will be elected who will “have the strength to deal with the things the church has to face.”

Like it or not, the Vatican has entered the digital age

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, in a recent photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY — The news yesterday that cardinals preparing for the upcoming papal election had agreed to a gag order — after two days of increasingly popular press briefings by U.S. cardinals — immediately aroused protests that the Vatican had stifled a salutary move toward greater openness.

But the very manner in which the news broke illustrates why church leaders (like any other person or group under media scrutiny today) can no longer hope to manage news coverage by 20th-century means.

Hundreds of reporters were sitting in the Vatican press hall for the regular mid-day briefing led by the director, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, when many of us received a brief email message on our smart-phones. Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, had written to announce that a press briefing with two U.S. cardinals scheduled for one hour later had been canceled.

As soon as Father Lombardi began taking questions, one of our colleagues, Philip Pullella of Reuters, asked if the cancellation had been requested by the Vatican or discussed by the assembled cardinals at their meeting that morning.

Father Lombardi, who had not mentioned the matter in his presentation, was obviously prepared for the question, which he answered with a careful explanation of the need for increasing levels of privacy as a conclave draws nearer. But he did not specify whether a new policy had been established, or if so by whom.

Reporters were still in the press hall when Sister Walsh sent another email, 19 minutes after her first, in reply to a query from Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times, explaining that the assembled cardinals had agreed to stop giving interviews as a precaution prompted by “leaks of confidential proceedings reported in Italian newspapers.”

This message arrived in time for John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter to ask the penultimate question of the briefing, a request for confirmation and clarification of Sister Walsh’s statement. Father Lombardi demurred, essentially confining himself to repeating his earlier remarks.

The U.S. bishops’ spokeswoman was clearly not seeking to disrupt or distract from the work of her counterpart at the Holy See, but needed to act quickly to prevent a stampede of quote-hungry journalists from arriving at an empty dais.

Nevertheless, thanks to 21st-century information technology, the result was that a Vatican press briefing had been taken over by the simultaneous back and forth between reporters and Sister Walsh. Just a small incident, but one that epitomizes the communications challenge the church faces in an age of merciless transparency and vanishing privacy.

Prophecy of the popes

By Lauren Colegrove

Catholic News Service

Medallion of future pope to be placed in slot next to retired Pope Benedict XVI.
An empty slot indicates where a medallion of the future pope will be placed next to retired Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor Blessed John Paul II in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The upper basilica walls contain medallions of all 265 popes (CNS photo/ Paul Haring).

VATICAN CITY– While many people are making conjectures about the future in order to anticipate who will be the next pope, others are looking back to the writings of a 12th century Irish bishop to see if the prediction has already been made.

Saint Malachy O’Morgair, whose biography was written by his contemporary St. Bernard of Clairvaux, became a priest and eventual archbishop in Ireland during the early 1100s. Described as a strong promoter of morality and religious zeal, Malachy is said to have had “the spirit of prophecy” and has had numerous miracles attributed to him, including the healing of the son of a Scottish king.

In 1139 Malachy traveled to Rome to meet with Pope Innocent II, and according to writer Abbe Cucherat it is there that he had his visions of the papal prophecies. Legend has it that the pope was given the writings of Malachy’s revelations and placed the record in the Vatican archives, where it was “discovered” four centuries later by Benedictine historian Arnold de Wyon.

The prophecy describes 112 popes and antipopes in cryptic verses, beginning with the phrase “from a castle of the Tiber” which is attributed to the birthplace of Pope Celestine II. Verse 111 depicts the “glory of the olive,” which is usually connected to Pope Benedict XVI since his papal name refers to the founder of the Benedictine Order, which has a monastic branch called the Olivetans.

The end of the prophecy portrays “Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people.”

Because of the placement of the last few lines of text, interpreters of the prophecy are uncertain whether there are supposed to be other popes between the “prophecy of the olive” and the reign of “Peter the Roman,” and analyses of the text widely vary. Although no pope has been called by the  name Peter since the time of the disciples, there is speculation that the prophecy could be referring to Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, who gained the nickname “Peter the Roman” because of his studies in Rome.

Because St. Bernard’s biography of Malachy does not mention the specific prophecy and there is no documentation of it prior to its publication in 1595, many historians believe that the prophecy is a forgery from the late 16th century. Some people claim that the prophecy was created in order to influence a 16th century conclave, while others believe that even if Malachy did not write the prophecy the predictions are still compelling.

While the authenticity of the “Prophecy of the Popes” may be uncertain, it is undeniable that centuries later the trend of predicting who will be next in the long line of successors of Peter has not lost its appeal.

Lauren Colegrove is an intern in the CNS Rome bureau while she attends Villanova University’s Rome program.

Cardinal Mahony says Vatican told him to attend conclave

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles, waits for the start of Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Feb. 27. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

UPDATED WITH VATICAN REACTION

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Roger M. Mahony expressed “amazement” at calls that he withdraw from the upcoming papal conclave because of his record on clergy sex abuse, and said that the Vatican, acting through its ambassador to the United States, had instructed him to take part in the election of the next pope.

“I’m here because the Holy Father appointed me a cardinal in 1991, and the primary job of a cardinal, the number one job, is actually the election of a new pope should a vacancy occur,” the cardinal told Catholic News Service Feb. 28, two days after arriving in Rome.

“Without my even having to inquire, the nuncio in Washington phoned me a week or so ago and said, ‘I have had word from the highest folks in the Vatican: you are to come to Rome and you are to participate in the conclave’,” the cardinal said.

The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, replied to a request for comment that the cardinal’s statement “can be understood in light of the communique of the Secretariat of State that insisted on the importance of not giving in to external pressures that might limit the freedom of the electors and the conclave.”

The communique in question, issued Feb. 23, defended the electors’ freedom as a “guarantee of a choice … based on evaluations addressed solely for the good of the church,” and condemned attempts to influence the papal election “through public opinion that is often based on judgements that do not typically capture the spiritual aspect of the moment that the church is living.”

Advocates for sex-abuse victims have urged Cardinal Mahony, 77, to abstain from voting in the election of a successor to Pope Benedict XVI because of evidence that he mishandled cases of pedophile priests during his time as archbishop of Los Angeles.

Acting under court order Jan. 31, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles released thousands of pages of personnel files which suggest that Cardinal Mahony, who retired as archbishop in 2011, worked to protect accused priests from criminal investigation beginning in the 1980s.

The cardinal’s successor, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, cited the files when he announced that Cardinal Mahony would “no longer have any administrative or public duties” in the archdiocese. Archbishop Gomez later added that the cardinal remains a bishop in “good standing,” with “full rights to celebrate the holy sacraments of the church and to minister to the faithful without restriction.”

Cardinal Mahony said he was “amazed” at the controversy over the Los Angeles files, claiming that the salient information about sex abuse in them could be found in a 22-page report available on the archdiocese’s website since 2004.

“There are some new things in the files that came out, but as far as I know I don’t find anything in there disqualifying,” he said.

The cardinal said that criticisms of his record on sex abuse unfairly applied latter-day standards to what was normal practice at the time.

“People say, ‘well, why didn’t you call the police?’ In those days no one reported these things to the police, usually at the request of families,” he said. “What I did in those years was consistent with what everybody did, in the Boy Scouts, in public schools, private schools, across the country.”

Cardinal Mahony arrived in Rome the day after Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, 74, announced he would not participate in the conclave because he did not want media attention focused on him, following reports that three priests and a former priest had accused him of “inappropriate conduct” with them going back to the 1980s.

(On March 3, Cardinal O’Brien publicly asked forgiveness for “times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal,” and announced that he would “play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland.”)