Cardinals wrap up pre-conclave meetings unsure about who should follow Francis
Cardinals have wrapped up their pre-conclave meetings, trying to identify a possible new pope who could follow Pope Francis and make the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church credible and relevant today, especially to young people.
Although they come from 70 different countries, the 133 cardinal electors seem fundamentally united in insisting that the question before them is not so much whether the church gets its first Asian or African pontiff, or a conservative or progressive.
Rather, they say the primary task facing them when the conclave opens on Wednesday is to find a pope who can be both a pastor and a teacher, a bridge who can unite the church and preach peace.
Cardinals leave at the end of a Mass on the eighth of nine days of mourning for Pope Francis in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)
'We need a superman!' said Cardinal William Seng Chye Goh, the 67-year-old archbishop of Singapore.
ADVERTISEMENT
It is indeed a tall task, given the sexual abuse and financials scandals that have harmed the church's reputation and the secularising trends in many parts of the world that are turning people away from organised religion.
Add to that the Holy See's dire financial state and often dysfunctional bureaucracy, and the job of being pope in the 21st century seems almost impossible.
Francis named 108 of the 133 electors and selected cardinals in his image.
But there is an element of uncertainty about the election since many of them did not know one another before last week, meaning they have not had much time to suss out who among them is best suited to lead the 1.4-billion-strong church.
The cardinals held their last day of pre-conclave meetings on Tuesday morning, during which Francis' fisherman's ring and his official seal were destroyed in one of the final formal rites of the transition of his pontificate to the next.
ADVERTISEMENT
The cardinals will begin trying to find the new pope on Wednesday afternoon, when those 'princes of the church' walk solemnly into the Sistine Chapel to the meditative chant of the 'Litany of the Saints'.
They will take their oaths of secrecy under the daunting vision of heaven and hell in Michelangelo's 'Last Judgment', hear a meditation from a senior cardinal, and then cast their first ballot.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu arrives to celebrate Mass at his titular church, San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa, three days before the conclave (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Assuming no candidate secures the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the cardinals will retire for the day and return on Thursday.
They will have two ballots in the morning and then two in the afternoon, until a winner is found.
Asked what the priorities of the cardinal electors were, Cardinal Goh told reporters this week that the number one issue was that the new pope must be able to spread the Catholic faith and 'make the church relevant in today's time. How to reach out to young people, how to show a face of love, joy and hope'.
ADVERTISEMENT
– A pope for the future
But beyond that, there are some real-world geopolitical concerns to take into consideration.
The Catholic Church is growing in Africa and Asia, both in numbers of baptised faithful and vocations to the priesthood and women's religious orders.
It is shrinking in traditionally Catholic bastions of Europe, with empty churches and the faithful formally leaving the church in places like Germany, many citing the abuse scandals.
'Asia is ripe for evangelisation and the harvest of vocations,' said the Reverend Robert Reyes, who studied in the seminary with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Filipino prelate considered a contender to be the first Asian pope.
Vatican employees sign the oath of secrecy for all those assigned to the conclave during a ceremony in the Pauline Chapel (Vatican Media/AP)
But should the pope necessarily reflect the new face of the Catholic Church, and inspire the faithful especially in the parts of the world where the momentum of growth is already under way?
ADVERTISEMENT
Pope Francis was the first Latin American pope, and the region still counts the majority of the world's Catholics.
Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the retired archbishop of Mumbai, said the church needs to become more Asian, culturally and spiritually.
The 'centre of gravity of the world is shifting toward Asia,' he said. 'The Asian church has much to give to the world.'
At 80, Gracias will not be participating in the conclave, but India has four cardinal-electors, and overall Asia counts 23, making it the second-biggest voting bloc after Europe, which has 53 (or likely 52, given that one is not expected to participate for health reasons).
One of the big geopolitical issues facing the cardinals is China and the plight of the estimated 12 million Chinese Catholics there.
Under Francis, the Vatican in 2018 inked a controversial agreement with Beijing governing the appointment of bishops, which many conservatives decried as a sellout of the underground Chinese Catholics who had remained loyal to Rome during decades of communist persecution.
Cardinals Ruben Salazar Gomez, left is flanked by Cardinal Luis Jose Rueda Aparicio as they arrive in the New Hall of the Synod at the Vatican (Gregorio Borgia/AP)
The Vatican has defended the accord as the best deal it could get, but it remains to be seen if Francis' successor will keep the policy.
– The church in Africa
According to Vatican statistics, Catholics represent 3.3% of the population in Asia, but their numbers are growing, especially in terms of seminarians, as they are in Africa, where Catholics represent about 20% of the population.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, said he is in Rome to elect a pope for all the world's Catholics.
'I am not here for the Congo, I am not here for Africa, I am here for the universal church. That is our concern, the universal church,' he told reporters.
'When we are done, I will return to Kinshasa and I will put back on my archbishop of Kinshasa hat and the struggle continues.'
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the chatty French-born archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, lamented last week that there had not been enough time for the cardinals to get to know one another, since many of them had never met before and hail from 70 countries in the most geographically diverse conclave in history.
'Every day, I say to myself, 'Ah! Oh my God! There we have it!'' he said.
– The role of the Holy Spirit
For the cardinals, there is also the belief that they are guided by the Holy Spirit.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, centre, takes part in the procession carrying the body of Pope Francis to St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)
There is a famous quote attributed to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1997, in comments to a Bavarian television station.
The future Pope Benedict XVI said the Holy Spirit acted like a good educator in a conclave, allowing cardinals to freely choose a pope without dictating the precise candidate.
'Probably the only assurance he offers is that the thing cannot be totally ruined,' Cardinal Ratzinger reportedly said.
'There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit would obviously not have picked.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
South Korea's Ruling Party Unveils Plan to Allow Stablecoins
(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's new President, Lee Jae-myung, is moving quickly to deliver on his campaign pledge to allow local companies to issue stablecoins, giving a further boost to one of the world's most active digital-asset markets. Next Stop: Rancho Cucamonga! Trump Said He Fired the National Portrait Gallery Director. She's Still There. Where Public Transit Systems Are Bouncing Back Around the World NYC Mayoral Candidates All Agree on Building More Housing. But Where? US Housing Agency Vulnerable to Fraud After DOGE Cuts, Documents Warn Lee, a progressive leader who defeated his conservative rival in last week's presidential election, has been a vocal proponent of stablecoin adoption. On Tuesday, Lee's ruling Democratic Party proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, aimed at improving transparency and encouraging competition in the crypto sector. Under the act, South Korean companies can issue stablecoins if they have at least 500 million won ($367,876) in equity capital while ensuring that refunds are guaranteed through reserves. South Korea is already a hotbed for crypto activity. More than a third of the population, or around 18 million people, participate in digital-asset markets. On some days, trading volume on local crypto exchanges surpasses turnover on the Kospi and Kosdaq stock indexes. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to another asset, typically the US dollar. They are gaining global momentum as regulatory frameworks develop. In the US, Congress is set to vote Wednesday on key stablecoin legislation, and President Donald Trump has identified the sector as a policy priority via executive order. South Korea's act also stipulates asset-linked digital assets, including stablecoins, must be approved by the Financial Services Commission, a text of the act released by the ruling party said. Stablecoin trading is surging in South Korea. Transactions involving USDT, USDC and USDS on five major domestic exchanges reached 57 trillion won in the first quarter, Yonhap News reported, citing Bank of Korea data. Still, Lee's initiative is facing some resistance from the central bank. Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong warned last month that stablecoins issued by non-bank entities could weaken the effectiveness of monetary policy. He argued that the central bank should take the lead in regulating a won-pegged stablecoin. Read: South Korea Crypto Industry to Gain No Matter Who Wins Election The global financial industry is also taking note. Banks including Deutsche Bank and Santander, along with major tech firms, are exploring stablecoin issuance. Shares in the world's second-largest stablecoin issuer Circle have soared after its IPO last week. Read: Stablecoin Firm Circle Surge From IPO Hits 247% on Day Two (1) South Korea's push is fueling a rally in local digital-asset stocks. Shares of KakaoPay Corp. jumped as much as 18% on Tuesday, the highest since January 2024, on expectations Lee's administration will back a won-based stablecoin. Still, some analysts are cautious. 'The rally in Kakao-related shares is fundamentally unjustifiable, as any concrete benefit from Lee's stablecoin policy remains uncertain,' JPMorgan analysts Stanley Yang and Jihyun Cho wrote in a note. South Korea continues to bear the scars of the TerraUSD collapse in 2022, which wiped out $40 billion in value and remains a cautionary tale as the country re-engages with stablecoins. New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again What America's Pizza Economy Is Telling Us About the Real One America Cast Itself as the World's Moral Leader. Not Anymore ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Chinese state media calls for crackdown on 'zero-mileage used cars'
By Eduardo Baptista BEIJING (Reuters) -The Chinese practice of selling brand new cars as heavily discounted second-hand vehicles to get rid of inventory should be ended, the official newspaper of the country's governing Communist Party said in an article published on Thursday. The People's Daily, which often signals the positions of China's top Party leaders on a variety of issues, called for a crackdown on the practice, also known as zero-mileage used cars, just weeks after Great Wall Motor's Chairman Wei Jianjun publicly condemned it and China's commerce ministry met with Chinese automakers to discuss it. While China's Commerce Ministry did not make public its position, the People's Daily struck a harsh tone, calling out the inflation of sales data motivating Chinese carmakers and urging "tough regulatory action" to restore market order. "This disguised form of price cutting disrupts normal market order and is a striking example of the auto industry's 'involution'," the People's Daily said, using a term popular in China that describes a race to the bottom driven by excessive competition. "Once market competition rules are properly enforced, 'zero-mileage used cars' won't be able to run far — or for long." China is experiencing growing deflationary pressures as U.S. tariffs add to the gloomy mood in the world's No.2 economy. Companies in sectors from fast food to high fashion have been cutting prices amid concerns about oversupply and sluggish household demand. Price wars have gripped the Chinese auto industry in recent years, partly driven by slumping domestic consumption and overcapacity that has left many struggling to meet sales targets. While the sale of zero-mileage used cars is seen by many Chinese automakers as an effective way of clearing out an ever-growing inventory of unsold cars, with domestic and overseas consumers lured by deep discounts on what are still brand new cars, the state-run newspaper listed a litany of negative effects caused by the practice. "For manufacturers, this sales tactic may help reduce inventory in the short term but compresses profit margins, increases losses, and hinders investment in product quality and innovation — ultimately harming sustainable development," the article said. "For consumers, what seems like a good deal in terms of price comes with hidden risks: the loss of first-owner benefits, potential battery degradation, and steeper depreciation when reselling," it continued, adding the practice undermines fair competition, distorts market data, and disrupts both new and used car markets. The People's Daily singled out manufacturers of electric vehicles as needing to move beyond "data worship" and competing on volume, in order to focus on product quality and technological innovation. It did not name any specific automakers. The newspaper also listed measures Chinese regulatory authorities should adopt in order to prevent the sale of zero-mileage used cars, including strengthening oversight of second-hand vehicle registration, establishing a vehicle lifecycle tracking system, and strictly controlling the practice of immediate resale after registration. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hong Kong leader says national security scrutiny of restaurants is necessary
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong will toughen screening of catering premises for potential violations of national security, which civil servants should accord top priority in deciding on licence approvals, the city's leader said on Tuesday. Critics see the move as targeting the territory's many businesses, including cafes and restaurants, that have displayed posters, symbols or images expressing solidarity with its embattled pro-democracy movement. Such businesses, widely called the "yellow economic circle", have faced growing pressure from authorities, such as tax inspectors, at a time when they are reeling from a broader economic and retail downturn. "Food and environmental hygiene officers ... should place national security as the most important consideration and make appropriate assessments," John Lee told reporters. He called the move "appropriate and necessary", saying all civil servants were expected to rate security as the highest priority under the national security law. The city's food and hygiene department would follow the law in considering new licences and renewing existing ones, he added. In recent years, authorities in the Asian financial hub have made use of sweeping national security laws imposed after mass anti-government protests in 2019 to systematically crack down on many of its liberal pockets. In May, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department sent letters to thousands of food and entertainment premises, obliging them to accept new terms related to national security. In one document seen by Reuters, the government told business owners to ensure no activity in which they were engaged or involved in "may constitute or cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security". The former British colony's crackdown on dissent, from arresting democratic activists to shuttering liberal media and civil society groups, has drawn criticism from countries such as Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States.