Cardinals enter Sistine Chapel to start centuries-old secret ritual to elect a pope
AP File Photo
VATICAN CITY: With all pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, 133 cardinals Wednesday began the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis, opening the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith's 2,000-year history.Two by two, the cardinals entered Sistine Chapel chanting 'Litany of the Saints' as Swiss Guards stood at attention. The hymn implores the saints to help the cardinals find a new leader of the 1.4 billionstrong Catholic Church. They bowed before the altar and took their places before taking an oath of secrecy and shutting Sistine Chapel doors to start the conclave.Earlier, the dean of the College of Cardinals, cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, presided over a morning mass urging voters to set aside all personal interests and find a pope who prizes unity. The world today needs a leader who can awaken consciences, he said.Hailing from 70 countries, the cardinals have been sequestered from the outside world until they find a new leader. Francis named 108 of the 133 'princes of the church', choosing many pastors from farflung countries that had never had a cardinal before.His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the 'global south' — often marginalised countries with lower economic clout — has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is full of suspense, with smoke signals telling the world if a pope has been elected or not.Many cardinals hadn't met one another until last week and lamented they needed more time to get to know each another, raising questions about how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority needed to become the 267th pope. While cardinals are supposed to resist any 'secular' influences in their choice, such lobbying abounded in Rome in recent days .Many challenges face the new pope and weigh on the cardinals — above all whether to continue Francis' progressive legacy on several issues or roll it back to try to unify a polarised church. Since Francis chose 80% of the voters, continuity is likely, but the form it might take is uncertain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Musk deletes controversial post targeting Trump in online feud
Musk said on Thursday that the Republican leader is named in classified government papers on former Epstein associates. Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges read more US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, May 30, 2025, in Washington. File Photo/AP Tech billionaire Elon Musk has deleted a controversial social media post that alleged a connection between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, shared amid a heated exchange with the US president this week. Musk, who left his position as a key White House advisor last week, said on Thursday that the Republican leader is named in classified government papers on former Epstein associates. Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Trump administration has stated that it is evaluating tens of thousands of documents, recordings, other investigation materials, which his 'MAGA' campaign claims will reveal prominent people involved in Epstein's crimes. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files,' Musk posted on his social media platform, X as his growing feud with the president boiled over into a spectacularly public row on Thursday. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public.' Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim. He initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' However, he appeared to have deleted both tweets by Saturday morning. Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others. They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Trump himself. No official source has ever confirmed that the president appears in any of the material. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump knew and socialized with Epstein but has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex. 'Terrific guy,' Trump, who was Epstein's neighbour in both Florida and New York, said in an early 2000s profile of the financier. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' Just last week Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship imploded within days as Musk described as an 'abomination' a spending bill that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington and riveted social media users alike stunned by the blistering break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With real political and economic risks to their row, both then appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, but the White House denied reports they would talk.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
How The Vatican Manages Money And Where Pope Leo XIV Might Find More
Vatican City: The world's smallest country has a big budget problem. The Vatican doesn't tax its residents or issue bonds. It primarily finances the Catholic Church's central government through donations that have been plunging, ticket sales for the Vatican Museums, as well as income from investments and an underperforming real estate portfolio. The last year the Holy See published a consolidated budget, in 2022, it projected 770 million euros ($878 million), with the bulk paying for embassies around the world and Vatican media operations. In recent years, it hasn't been able to cover costs. That leaves Pope Leo XIV facing challenges to drum up the funds needed to pull his city-state out of the red. Withering Donations Anyone can donate money to the Vatican, but the regular sources come in two main forms. Canon law requires bishops around the world to pay an annual fee, with amounts varying and at bishops' discretion "according to the resources of their dioceses." U.S. bishops contributed over one-third of the $22 million (19.3 million euros) collected annually under the provision from 2021-2023, according to Vatican data. The other main source of annual donations is more well-known to ordinary Catholics: Peter's Pence, a special collection usually taken on the last Sunday of June. From 2021-2023, individual Catholics in the U.S. gave an average $27 million (23.7 million euros) to Peter's Pence, more than half the global total. American generosity hasn't prevented overall Peter's Pence contributions from cratering. After hitting a high of $101 million (88.6 million euros) in 2006, contributions hovered around $75 million (66.8 million euros) during the 2010's then tanked to $47 million (41.2 million euros) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many churches were closed. Donations remained low in the following years, amid revelations of the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property, a former Harrod's warehouse that it hoped to develop into luxury apartments. The scandal and ensuing trial confirmed that the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. Peter's Pence donations rose slightly in 2023 and Vatican officials expect more growth going forward, in part because there has traditionally been a bump immediately after papal elections. New Donors The Vatican bank and the city state's governorate, which controls the museums, also make annual contributions to the pope. As recently as a decade ago, the bank gave the pope around 55 million euros ($62.7 million) a year to help with the budget. But the amounts have dwindled; the bank gave nothing specifically to the pope in 2023, despite registering a net profit of 30 million euros ($34.2 million), according to its financial statements. The governorate's giving has likewise dropped off. Some Vatican officials ask how the Holy See can credibly ask donors to be more generous when its own institutions are holding back. Leo will need to attract donations from outside the U.S., no small task given the different culture of philanthropy, said the Rev. Robert Gahl, director of the Church Management Program at Catholic University of America's business school. He noted that in Europe there is much less of a tradition (and tax advantage) of individual philanthropy, with corporations and government entities doing most of the donating or allocating designated tax dollars. Even more important is leaving behind the "mendicant mentality" of fundraising to address a particular problem, and instead encouraging Catholics to invest in the church as a project, he said. Speaking right after Leo's installation ceremony in St. Peter's Square, which drew around 200,000 people, Gahl asked: "Don't you think there were a lot of people there that would have loved to contribute to that and to the pontificate?" In the U.S., donation baskets are passed around at every Sunday Mass. Not so at the Vatican. Untapped Real Estate The Vatican has 4,249 properties in Italy and 1,200 more in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland. Only about one-fifth are rented at fair market value, according to the annual report from the APSA patrimony office, which manages them. Some 70% generate no income because they house Vatican or other church offices; the remaining 10% are rented at reduced rents to Vatican employees. In 2023, these properties only generated 35 million euros ($39.9 million) in profit. Financial analysts have long identified such undervalued real estate as a source of potential revenue. But Ward Fitzgerald, the president of the U.S.-based Papal Foundation, which finances papal charities, said the Vatican should also be willing to sell properties, especially those too expensive to maintain. Many bishops are wrestling with similar downsizing questions as the number of church-going Catholics in parts of the U.S. and Europe shrinks and once-full churches stand empty. Toward that end, the Vatican recently sold the property housing its embassy in Tokyo's high-end Sanbancho neighborhood, near the Imperial Palace, to a developer building a 13-story apartment complex, according to the Kensetsu News trade journal. Yet there has long been institutional reluctance to part with even money-losing properties. Witness the Vatican announcement in 2021 that the cash-strapped Fatebenefratelli Catholic hospital in Rome, run by a religious order, would not be sold. Pope Francis simultaneously created a Vatican fundraising foundation to keep it and other Catholic hospitals afloat. "They have to come to grips with the fact that they own so much real estate that is not serving the mission of the church," said Fitzgerald, who built a career in real estate private equity.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Can Qatari jet gifted to Trump take a nuclear hit? What it needs to be Air Force One
Donald Trump recently received a luxury jet as a gift by the Qatari Royal family and is now reportedly planning to use the aircraft as a temporary Air Force One, the official air traffic control-designated call sign for the plane that carries carrying the US president. But converting the jet gifted by the Qatari royal family as a temporary Air Force One for presidential use may come at the cost of national security, officials cited in an Associated Press report said. As the White House navigates legal questions over accepting the plane, military and national security leaders are quietly debating how much to modify the aircraft — and how fast — to make it fit for a commander in chief. Installing the full suite of security and communications tech typical of Air Force One could cost upwards of $1.5 billion and take years, according to US officials, cited in the AP report, which added that the time it would take to do all of that would dash Trump's hopes of flying in the aircraft before the end of his term. The US Air Force is working on replacing the current aging 747s with highly customised presidential aircraft — a project plagued by delays and budget overruns. Experts have warned that retrofitting the Qatari plane to the same standard risks the same fate. Air Force secretary Troy Meink told Congress the core security upgrades for the Qatari jet would be 'less than $400 million' but did not elaborate. However, lawmakers and defense officials remain skeptical that a safe and fully equipped plane can be delivered in such a short window. Donald Trump, however, has made clear he wants the Qatari plane operational 'as soon as possible' while still 'adhering to security standards,' a White House official said, speaking anonymously. But experts caution that transforming the Qatari aircraft into a reliable Air Force One is no quick task. 'You'd have to break that whole thing wide open and almost start from scratch,' AP quoted Deborah Lee James, former Air Force Secretary, referring to the extensive rewiring needed to match Air Force One's security protocols. The list of required upgrades is not a short one: -Anti-missile defense,-EMP shielding,-Classified communications,-and command systems robust enough to survive a nuclear blast. 'The point is, it remains in flight no matter what,' James said. While cutting corners might be tempting for a president on the clock, experts say Secret Service can plan for and mitigate risk but can never eliminate it. Trump, as commander in chief, has the authority to waive some requirements. Still, James warned, waiving certain features should remain classified: 'You don't want to advertise to your potential adversaries what the vulnerabilities of this new aircraft might be.' Cosmetic changes, however, are almost certain as Trump famously prefers a darker paint scheme modeled after his personal jet, and a model of the design reportedly still sits in his office. Trump personally toured the Qatari jet in February near Mar-a-Lago, accompanied by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin. While the jet reportedly needs maintenance, officials say it's not beyond what's expected for an aircraft of its size and complexity.
