Papal conclave to begin on Tuesday

Cardinals have set Tuesday as the start date for the conclave to elect the next pope.

The decision was taken during a vote by the senior clerics yesterday.

Tuesday will begin with a Mass, followed by the first ballot in the afternoon.

There is no frontrunner in this election, and the past week of deliberations has exposed divisions among cardinals about some of the problems facing the Catholic Church.

Early in the week, the Americans were pressing for more time to get to the bottom of the level of dysfunction and corruption exposed by the leaks of papal documents last year.

But by yesterday, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles tweeted that the discussions were “reaching a conclusion” and that a mood of “excitement” was taking hold.

Vatican-based cardinals had been angling for a speedy end to discussions, perhaps to limit the amount of dirty laundry being aired.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) said it welcomed “the present period of reflection in the Church” following the resignation of Pope Benedict.

In a statement, it said: “We also welcome the growing realisation at all levels in the Church of the need for reform and re-newal, in the Church all over the world, but not least in the Vatican itself.”

The ACP said it hoped the new pope would bring in “new people with fresh ideas and attitudes”.

“Secondly we hope that he will dispel the climate of fear and repression that has dogged the Church for some decades, and replace it with a climate of openness and tolerance. Thirdly, we hope that the new pope will put the full implementation of the renewal outlined by the Second Vatican Council at the top of his agenda, and that he will pursue it with courage and conviction.”

Meanwhile, the first ever meeting of the Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI) in Limerick was held last week at Mount St Alphonsus Redemptorist Monastery. Strong support was expressed at the meeting for ACP founder, Fr Tony Flannery, who has been threatened by the Vatican with excommunication.

One of the ACI’s founders and steering committee member, Noel McCann, outlined the association’s vision of the future of the Church, and those in attendance discussed themes such as the standing of the Church in Irish Society.

A summary of the comments printed on the ACP website revealed that the Church was variously described as “a Church that does not listen” and “a Church that is unable to respond to change”.

Strong support was voiced for the Church at local level but not at institutional level, and the wording of the new missal was criticised as awkward.