Cardinals have entered the Vatican's Sistine
Chapel, where they will begin voting to elect a new Pope. The
115 cardinal-electors will be locked in the chapel after swearing an oath of
secrecy. They
will vote four times daily until two-thirds can agree on a candidate. The
election was prompted by the surprise abdication of Benedict XVI. There is no
clear frontrunner to take over from him as head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The
85-year-old Benedict stepped down last month saying he was no longer strong
enough to lead the Church, which is beset by problems ranging from a worldwide
scandal over child sex abuse to allegations of corruption at the Vatican bank.
His
resignation and the recent damage to the Church's reputation make the choice of
the cardinal-electors especially hard to predict. They
will weigh pressure for a powerful manager to reform the Vatican against calls
for a new Pope able to inspire the faithful, our correspondent adds.
Strict secrecy
On
Tuesday morning's, the cardinals attended a "Mass for the Election of the
Supreme Pontiff" in St Peter's Basilica. They filed in wearing bright red
vestments to the sound of Gregorian chanting.
In
his homily, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano,
praised the "brilliant pontificate" of Pope Benedict and implored God
to grant another "Good Shepherd" to lead the church.
He
outlined the mission Catholics believe was given by Jesus Christ to St Peter -
the first Pope - emphasizing love and sacrifice, evangelization and the unity
of the church.
The speech was more measured in tone than the
address given in 2005 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope
Benedict, which featured a fiery attack on the "dictatorship of
relativism".
A
few hundred people watched the Mass from St Peter's Square on giant screens in
thunderstorms and pouring rain.
At
16:30 local time (15:30 GMT), 115 cardinal-electors - all under 80, as those
over 80 are excluded - entered the Sistine Chapel for the secret conclave to
select Benedict's successor, chanting the traditional Litany of the Saints.
Once
they have taken an oath of secrecy, Msgr Guido Marini, papal master of
ceremonies, will call out the words "Extra omnes" - "Everybody
out" - and the chapel doors will be locked to outsiders.
"Last
tweet before the conclave: May Our Father hear and answer with love and mercy
all prayers and sacrifices offered for a fruitful outcome," South African
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier tweeted.
Jamming
devices in the Sistine Chapel should block all electronic communication and
anyone tweeting would in any case risk being excommunicated. Benedict
- now known as Pope emeritus - resigned on 28 February after eight years in
office, citing ill health. He was the first Pope in six centuries to do so.
As
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2005, he was the marked favourite ahead of the
conclave and was elected pope after just four rounds of voting. The
vote for his successor is expected to take much longer. After
10 general congregations open to all cardinals, regardless of age - at which
160 cardinals spoke of the issues facing the Church and the qualities needed by
its next leader - no clear frontrunner has emerged.
"Last
time around there was a man of stature, three or four times that of any other
cardinal," French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin told reporters.
"That
is not the case this time around. Therefore, the choice has to be made among
one, two, three, four... a dozen candidates.
"We
still don't really know anything. We will have to wait for the results of the
first ballot."
New
York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan told his priests there was hope that a
new Pope could be chosen by Thursday. Candidates
named as contenders include Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Brazil's Odilo
Scherer, and Cardinal Dolan himself - though he told one interviewer anyone who
thought he was in with a chance might be "smoking marijuana".
Conclave in numbers
- 115 cardinal-electors
- Two-thirds - or 77 - need to agree on papal candidate
- Four votes per day, two in the morning and two in the evening
- Chosen candidate will be 266th Pope
- He will lead world's 1.2 billion Catholics
Once inside the Sistine Chapel,
cardinals will listen to a meditation by elderly Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech
before holding a first vote, after which their ballot papers will be burned. The
smoke that will drift out of the chapel's chimney early in the evening is
likely to be black - meaning no Pope has been elected.
From
Wednesday, two votes will be held each morning and afternoon - with ballots
burned after each session - until one candidate attains a two-thirds majority
(77 votes). Then
the smoke will be white, meaning the 266th bishop of Rome will have been
chosen.
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