Roman Catholic leaders have called on the faithful to pray for the cardinals gathered in Rome on the eve of the conclave to elect a new pope.

No clear front-runner has emerged as a successor to Pope Benedict XVI who formally resigns today as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

A Vatican cardinal said today the faithful should listen to what secular modern science has to offer, warning that religion risks becoming “fundamentalist” if it ignores scientific reason.

The Vatican weighed in on the New Age movement today, saying some aspects of the search for inner peace were positive but warning that they can’t replace true Christian religion.