Religious studies expert says latest conclave most open election for pope in long time
'Each cardinal has a small piece of paper on which they can write the name of one of their number who they think should be pope,' he said.
'There is a total blackout because they do not want cardinals talking on their cellphones to the media.
'They keep doing that four times a day until they have a pope.'
During the 2013 conclave, Pope Francis was elected after five rounds of voting.
The longest conclave came in the 13th century, when it took three years to elect Pope Gregory X.
Lineham said the cardinals would be looking for someone who could manage the global church and efficiently run the Vatican.
'Technically, the pope is a monarch. A kind of king of the church,' he said.
'If you can't keep the wheels of the Vatican turning, keep raising money for the church, the whole thing will collapse.
'That is effectively while Benedict resigned in 2012. He proved incapable, even incompetent, at running the Vatican Bank, and then all the sexual abuse scandals. He just couldn't do it.'
Among the electors at this year's conclave are Cardinal John Dew, former Archbishop of Wellington.
There are also two cardinals from the Pacific Islands - Cardinal John Ribat from Papua New Guinea and the recently appointed Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi from Tonga.
Lineham said Pope Francis appointed at least two-thirds of the cardinals.
'He wanted the things he cared about to be reflected in the cardinals. He also had a big think about the representation of the worldwide church,' he said.
Lineham said the popes of the last 50 years have turned into global figures.
'They are really spectacularly public about travelling all around the world.
'Because of that, we can assume they are really important figures. Although they have no formal power, [there are] 1.4 billion Catholics.'
He estimated the cardinals will have come to a conclusion by Friday night.
'It may take one more vote than Francis, but people pretty quickly get realistic.'
Lineham said this was the most open conclave in a long time.
'Because of all these new cardinals. There will be people from the south who want another person out of the Italian European domination of the past thousand years,' he said.
'I find it very difficult to read, let alone the conservative v liberal debate.'
Top contenders
High-profile cardinals considered front-runners include Pietro Parolin, an Italian who serves as the Vatican's secretary of state and is known for his diplomatic skills.
Peter Turkson, a Ghanaian known for relatively liberal views on social justice and human rights, could also be considered, as could Philippine-born Luis Tagle, an advocate for enhanced inclusivity. Turkson would be the first African Pope, if elected, and Tagle the first from Asia.
On the other end of the political spectrum, Raymond Leo Burke, a one-time archbishop of St Louis and an ardent critic of Francis, is also seen as someone who could make the cut. Burke would be the first ever US-born pope if he were to be named Francis' successor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
FBI investigating 'targeted terror attack' in Colorado
The FBI said it was aware of a targeted attack in Colorado. FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency was aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado. While he did not provide further details, Patel said in a social media post: "Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available." According to CBS News, which cited witnesses at the scene, a suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. The Boulder Police Department said it was responding to a report of an attack in the city involving several victims. It has not released further details but a press conference was expected at 4pm local time. The attack comes just weeks after a Chicago-born man was arrested in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. The shooting fueled polarization in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Scoop
PH 2025 Elections Did Not Meet Int'l Standards For Free, Fair Elections –Observer Mission Report
The 2025 Philippine midterm elections 'did not meet international standards for free and fair elections,' according to the final report of the International Observer Mission (IOM) released today, citing 'grave and widespread violations' of human rights across the country. The mission's findings point to a confluence of factors that severely undermined the integrity of the electoral process: voter disenfranchisement, widespread vote-buying, systemic human rights violations, the entrenched power of domestic political dynasties, and the foreign military influence in local political affairs. 'The rights of Filipinos to vote freely and without coercion were compromised,' says IOM Commissioner Lee Rhiannon. 'The climate of fear, normalized vote-buying and militarization that surrounded the elections reflects a failure to uphold international democratic standards.' The IOM's conclusion is based on weeks of intensive documentation by international field teams deployed across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao during the election campaign and on election day, May 12. Observers conducted on-the-ground interviews with voters, poll watchers, campaigners, local officials, and civil society leaders, while remote teams tracked digital disinformation, overseas absentee voting, and media coverage. The comprehensive report is the result of an independent international initiative that adopts a rights-based approach to monitoring the elections. This was organized by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and launched in 2022. For the 2025 mission, more than 50 international human rights advocates took part, with field Observers deployed to priority areas with histories of election-related violence. The Mission partnered with local watchdogs such as Kontra Daya and Vote Report PH, while remote teams monitored digital disinformation, overseas absentee voting (OAV), and voting irregularities abroad. 'Our findings point to a widespread pattern of repression and vote-buying alongside threats of foreign interference,' said IOM Commissioner Andrea Mann. 'The red-tagging of progressive candidates, vote-buying, disenfranchisement, and militarization are not isolated problems. These reflect a deeply compromised system.' 'Given the scale and severity of these violations, we conclude that the 2025 Philippine elections failed to meet international standards for free, fair, and democratic elections,' Mann stated. Voter Disenfranchisement, Vote-Buying 'These elections violated key articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Philippines is a state party,' said ICHRP Global Council Chairperson Peter Murphy. The IOM Final Report documented 545 cases of electoral violations, including vote-buying, disenfranchisement, harassment, and even election-related killings and disappearances. 'These abuses fundamentally undermined the rights of Filipinos to participate in free and fair elections,' he added. The Mission highlighted the rampant voter disenfranchisement. Malfunctioning automated counting machines (ACMs), ballots misread as overvotes, and pre-marked or misprinted ballots disenfranchised thousands. COMELEC failed to explain why the machines ran on a non-certified software version, casting doubt on the integrity of the results. According to the report, the disenfranchisement extended overseas, where online registration glitches and delayed pre-enrolment requirements led to a historically low 18.12% voter turnout among OFWs, far below even the usual participation rates. Workers and the urban poor were similarly excluded, as May 13 was not declared a paid holiday, forcing many to choose between voting and earning income. Murphy also raised alarm over the scale of vote-buying, calling it 'scandalous interference with the election.' The IOM alone, recorded 111 vote-buying incidents, with COMELEC receiving 158 formal complaints but issuing only minimal sanctions. Some party-lists, such as Ako Bicol, reportedly offered up to 16,000 PHP (~289 USD) per vote. 'Mass poverty and entrenched inequality have enabled political dynasties and business-funded candidates to distort electoral outcomes,' Murphy stated. He mentioned the recommendations from the IOM report on electoral reforms, including the adoption of a hybrid manual-automated voting system, addressing the inaccessible OFW registration process, and the declaration of election day as a paid public holiday. Red-Tagging, militarization undermine free elections 'The 2025 midterm election failed to uphold the most basic democratic principle: the people's uncoerced right to choose their leaders,' said IOM Commissioner Rhiannon. 'The abuses by various arms of state power documented here reveal the extent of the failed Filipino electoral process. These abuses not only constitute electoral violations, they also constitute violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.' Central to these violations, she pointed out, was the systematic use of red-tagging, which she described as "the most frequently reported violation." There were 112 documented cases solely by the Mission, while a staggering 1,445 cases were reported to the IOM local election watchdog Vote Report PH. "It is used to smear reputations, deter campaigning, and prevent people from voting," Rhiannon explained. The Commissioner recounted disturbing cases of red-tagging and intimidation: from tarpaulins branding progressive candidates 'NPA' and 'terrorist' in Southern Tagalog to the display of fake coffins marked with blood and names of activist groups across the country. 'In Western Visayas, soldiers interrogated children as young as five. In Abra, the military handed out 'surrender papers' in exchange for financial aid or a chance to 'clear' one's name,' she added. Rhiannon emphasized that these abuses were not isolated but part of a 'well-funded campaign involving the police, military, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).' 'The unchecked labeling of progressive groups as insurgents has fostered a climate of fear, suppressed political participation, and severely undermined democratic space,' Rhiannon said. Violation of national sovereignty highlighted IOM Commissioner Colleen Moore pointed out the timing and scope of the U.S.-led Balikatan military exercises, which overlapped with the Philippine 2025 midterm elections, as a major distortion of democratic space. 'The concurrent staging of large-scale war games with over 15,000 foreign and local troops during an electoral campaign is not just poor judgment. It is an outright violation of national sovereignty of Filipinos,' Moore said. She emphasized that the exercises were 'framed by government officials and administration-aligned candidates as defensive maneuvers against an imminent threat, but in reality, it contributed to manufacturing a climate of fear designed to steer public opinion toward pro-U.S., pro-Marcos candidates.' According to the IOM report, this convergence of militarization and electoral politics "compromised the conditions necessary for a free and fair vote." The IOM Commissioner noted that candidates advocating an independent foreign policy were vilified as 'Beijing's puppets,' while dissent was drowned out by the state narrative equating opposition to the exercises with disloyalty. "The international community must recognize that ongoing military cooperation, such as Balikatan, directly contributes to political repression and distorts civic discourse," Moore stated. She referenced recommendations from the report calling for an end to foreign military activities and security aid to the Philippines during electoral periods and beyond. Observer mission recommendations The report issued a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at addressing deep-rooted structural issues in the country's electoral and governance systems. The report emphasizes that many of these recommendations echo those made in its 2022 findings. This is evidence, it states, of 'the persistence of systemic issues that continue to shape electoral processes in the Philippines.' Among its primary calls are the adoption of a hybrid election system that allows for both manual and automated vote verification, the urgent passage of the long-delayed Anti-Dynasty Bill, and measures to ensure nonpartisanship and transparency of the COMELEC. The IOM also highlighted the need for legal reforms that would empower voters to report violations such as vote-buying without fear of retaliation. The IOM extended its appeal to the international community, calling for sustained scrutiny of the Philippine electoral process and human rights situation. It specifically calls for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, describing it as a 'central apparatus of red-tagging, intimidation, and political repression.' The IOM urges the Philippine government to criminalize red-tagging, outlaw the use of private armies, repeal the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) as essential steps toward restoring democratic space and accountability. These measures, the report states, are vital to protecting civil society, enabling peaceful political participation, and rebuilding public confidence in the country's democratic institutions. As Commissioner Moore emphasized, 'Free and fair elections cannot occur in an environment where voters are manipulated by fear, opposition voices are silenced, and foreign powers shape public discourse.' The Commissioners underscored that their report amplifies the voices of Filipinos already bravely speaking out, and reflects a shared call to uphold every people's right to choose their leaders free from fear, coercion, or foreign interference.
NZ Herald
29-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Greg Dixon's Another Kind of Politics: Peters refuses to quit as Deputy PM, barricades himself in office
David Seymour takes up the Deputy PM role this weekend, after Winston Peters spent 18 months in the job. Photos / Getty Images Greg Dixon is an award-winning news reporter, TV reviewer, feature writer and former magazine editor who has written for the NZ Listener since 2017. Online only Greg Dixon's Another Kind of Politics is a weekly, mostly satirical column on politics that appears on Armed police are surrounding the Beehive after Winston Peters announced 'hell would freeze over, sunshine' before he resigned from the office of deputy prime minister. Under New Zealand First's coalition deal, Peters is supposed to hand over the official title and office to Act leader David Seymour on Sunday. However, the NZ First leader is refusing to hand over the office, including the baubles of office. He has instead barricaded himself in the office and issued a five-point list of demands. The first states that 'Winston Raymond Peters shall remain Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand for life, whether he is in government, opposition or not in Parliament. Upon the unlikely event of his death, he shall also remain Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand in the afterlife.' The four other demands relate to the size and colour of his ministerial limousine, use of the Prime Minister's executive toilet on the 9th floor of the Beehive, a limitless tab at Bellamys and exclusive parliamentary use of the word 'sunshine'. The incident began when parliamentary staff told Peters late yesterday he must pack up his office so that Seymour could move in by Monday. Peters then locked the door and began piling the baubles of office against it. Attempts to get him to leave led to a barrage of sarcasm and threats from Peters, after which police were called. It is understood that Peters is holding an Italian-made espresso machine hostage and has armed himself with a stapler and a paperweight. Attempts by a police negotiator to get Peters to release the coffee machine unharmed and to give himself up have so far come to nothing. Seymour told a press conference that Peters' decision not to stand down as deputy prime minister would make no difference. 'As of Sunday, I'm deputy prime minister by right and by name, though Act party supporters should not be worried that this amounts to a demotion. I can assure them I will carry on running the country until the next election by continuing to outmanoeuvre the Prime Minister.' Contacted for comment before his phones were cut off, Peters said he was prepared for a long siege but was not concerned. 'Listen, sunshine, this isn't my first rodeo. I've been holding other political parties and the country to ransom for years. This is child's play.' Willis to wear NZ-designed sackcloth and ashes until next year's Budget Finance Minister and Feminist of the Year Nicola Willis has bowed to demands by local fashionistas that she dress in New Zealand-designed sackcloth and ashes as an act of contrition for her Budget day wardrobe blunder. Willis, who claims to be pro-New Zealand business and asserts she is growing the New Zealand economy, wore what was believed to be a $1100 Nouvelle Sculpt Stretch Crepe frock from British womenswear label The Fold London while she delivered the Budget last Thursday. Local clothes horses were left aghast by the slight, with one saying the Nouvelle Sculpt dress wasn't only 'fashion treason' but made Willis 'look like she was in The Handmaid's Tale'. 'It was like she was channelling Serena Joy, which was very appropriate given that she had just helped shaft other women so that she could balance her budget,' said one local designer who did not wished to be named but was wearing a vintage piece from Karen Walker matched with a very odd hat made by World. Demands for Willis to have to wear locally designed sackcloth and ashes garments as an act of penitence have grown throughout this week, with Willis yesterday agreeing she would do so, though she has refused to wear a hair shirt. In a win for New Zealand business, Willis's sackcloth frocks will be designed by a fashion house in Auckland, although the sackcloth will be manufactured in China, the ashes will come from India and the garment will be sewn by a person in a sweatshop in Bangladesh. Oxford invites Seymour to debate legal status of larvae in school lunches Soon-to-be Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour will take part in an Oxford Union debate next week, opposing the moot that states 'no larva can be illegal if found in a school lunch paid for by the government'. The invitation is perfectly timed after a larva was recently found atop a pile of mashed potato in a meal produced by Seymour's cut-price school lunches programme. Serving commercially made food containing dead insects is illegal under New Zealand food safety regulations. However, Seymour said those rules do not apply to school lunches provided by the government. 'Under the programme I designed, larvae are legal and so is melted plastic.' Joining Seymour to argue that larvae are lawful in state-funded school lunches will be US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has previously said that consuming insects like the one found in his brain is perfectly safe. Political quiz of the week Photo / Facebook What is Minister For Everything Chris Bishop saying to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown? A/ 'Hallensteins sale or Farmers sale?' B/ 'Should we give each other a heads-up next time?' C/ 'I like the jacket but the Lynx Africa is too much.' D/ 'Seeing you makes me wonder if I should let the wife do my clothes shopping.'
