Cardinals electing the new pope will be looking for a charismatic but tenacious man capable of reuniting a fractious Church, stamping down on scandals, and reigniting faith among the young.

Pope Benedict XVI has named six new cardinals, adding prelates from Lebanon, the Philippines, Nigeria, Colombia, India and the United States to the ranks of cardinals who will elect his successor.

The organisers of the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin have defended the absence of a senior member of the Irish hierarchy from making a speech on clerical sexual abuse during the event.