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Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion: Conclave's cardinals could vote for change
Opinion What's really going to happen as the conclave begins Wednesday in Vatican City to decide the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church? Nobody knows for sure, of course. But Hendro Munsterman, a veteran Vatican correspondent for Nederlands Dagblad , a Christian newspaper in The Netherlands, has some inside information. I met Munsterman last October at the Vatican press office when I was in Rome to cover the Roman Catholic Church's Synod on Synodality. A view of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals gather to elect the new pope, at the Vatican on Tuesday. (Vatican Media via AP) In his conversations with cardinals who will vote to select the next leader to represent 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, he has heard nothing but support for Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88. 'They all appreciate how he took the church to the margins, how he sought to serve the poor and the 'least of these,'' Munsterman said. 'Nobody is challenging that.' Privately, some suggested Francis went too fast with his reforms, especially in his efforts to involve the laity in making decisions about the church. 'Not everyone in leadership in the church accepted Francis' synodal process,' Munsterman said, suggesting the younger cardinals were more on board than some of the older ones. 'There is a clear generational difference,' he said. For some cardinals, there is a fear that Francis gave too much power to lay people, and also to women — he appointed some women to top positions in the Vatican that had previously been reserved only for men. Those cardinals fear that through his changes, Francis undermined the authority of cardinals, bishops and priests. 'The question is, how big is this group?' said Munsterman, noting that could play a role in determining the next pope. What they decide could slow down or stall the reforms Francis started, he added. Another issue that may come up in the conclave is doctrine, based on what Munsterman said he hears from cardinals. 'Some are saying Pope Francis raised a lot of doubts,' he said. 'Is homosexuality good or bad? What about divorce? Some want to go back to the doctrinal certainties of Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II.' Where the 2013 conclave produced Francis, a pope who brought changes to the church, some cardinals say change is needed again — to the way things were. Munsterman said this conclave could end up like the one that followed the death of Pope John XXIII, who created the Second Vatican Council that produced significant change and modernization in the church. After he died in 1963, his successor, Paul VI, continued the council's reforms but slowed down. 'They could elect someone who wants to continue what Francis did, but in a more moderate way,' Munsterman said. 'Something that will keep the old guard on board, but not close the windows Francis opened.' As for who that new pope might be, that's anyone's guess. One thing he is certain of is no Canadian is on the list. This includes Canadian cardinal Michael Czerny. 'He's a Jesuit, and after having a Jesuit as pope in Francis, the cardinals will not want another one,' Munsterman said. Gérald Lacroix of Quebec is also not a contender, due to the sexual abuse charges that were levelled against him — even though he was cleared by the Church. A dark horse candidate for Munsterman is Robert Prevost. The American cardinal holds top positions in the Vatican as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Prevost is a moderate, spent time among poor people in Peru, is a good administrator (that was not one of Francis' gifts, Munsterman said) and, importantly, could have the ear of U.S. President Donald Trump. 'He is the least American of the American cardinals,' he said. Munsterman believes a new pope will be chosen before Sunday. 'The Cardinals won't want to go past the weekend. They will want to have a new pope to meet the faithful in St. Peter's Square by Sunday.' faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John Longhurst Faith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography
The Journal
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
After changing his date of birth, this Cardinal from Burkina Faso can now vote in the conclave
WE CAN ALL be guilty of leaving things to the last minute, but leaving something until the eve of your 80 th birthday can look a little suspect. The conclave to appoint the next pope will begin on 7 May and one Cardinal will be allowed a vote after he changed his age in the months running up to his 80 th birthday. Only Cardinals aged 80 or under when a pope dies (or resigns) are allowed a vote , and in March, it was reported that a Cardinal from Burkina Faso had legally changed his age. In last year's Annuario Pontificio, essentially a Vatican Yearbook, Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo's date of birth was listed at 25 January, 1945. On the Wayback Machine – an internet archive – his date of birth on the Vatican website is listed as 25 January, 1945 in a webpage capture from last year. Several news articles also reference his date of birth as being 25 January, 1945 and people wished him a happy 80 th birthday on a Facebook group for the parish of Ouagadougou , the capital of Burkina Faso, on 25 January last. However, in this year's Vatican yearbook and on the Vatican website , his date of birth is now 31 December, 1945 – 11 months later, granting him a vote in the conclave. Journalist Hendro Munstermann, of the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad, interviewed Ouédraogo on the issue in Burkina Faso in March. 'In my village, there were neither hospitals nor schools. I was born at home and was not given a birthdate,' said Ouédraogo. He added that when he became a priest in 1973, he had to choose one and came up with 25 January. However, in Burkina Faso it is common practice to assign 31 December as a birthdate when the actual date of birth is unknown. Advertisement Ouédraogo said his passport also lists 31 December, 1945 as his date of birth. But when asked why his date of birth had only been changed on the Vatican website and in the yearbook when he was approaching his 80 th birthday, Ouédraogo 'remained silent', according to Munstermann. Il Messaggero , an Italian daily newspaper based in Rome, joked that Quédraogo had 'found the secret to stopping time'. Final conclave list Earlier this week, another conclave drama came to an end when Angelo Becciu, an Italian cardinal convicted of embezzlement and stripped of his privileges by Pope Francis, confirmed he will not take part in the conclave. Meanwhile, it was originally thought that the conclave would involve 135 cardinals. But this has been reduced to 133, meaning the next pope requires 89 votes to be elected. Two voting cardinals have dropped out due to illness, John Njue, a Cardinal from Kenya, and Antonio Canizares Llovera, a Spanish Cardinal. Last year, Cardinal Njue, who won't vote due to illness, similarly became two years younger when the Vatican changed his date of birth from being the somewhat vague '1944' to 1 January, 1946. Elsewhere, while Cardinal Vinko Puljić is too ill to be in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave he has arrived in Rome to have his say. Three Cardinals are chosen by lot for the task of collecting the votes of those who are sick and unable to be in the Sistine Chapel to vote. Puljić will vote from his sickbed in Santa Marta, the guesthouse which Pope Francis lived in. It's a hotel-like building constructed during the reign of Pope John Paul II to house cardinals during a conclave. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
