I think the Catholic Church has always moved at a pace of their own choosing...perhaps moved more by the power of the Holy Spirit, than of man. It's not that there aren't urgent needs within the Chuch, but there's nothing that important that outweighs the tradition of the conclave, and the selection of a new Pope.
I would also add that while I'm not naive enough to believe there aren't some politics involved, I believe the Church would say they are above that; picking a Pope is a spiritual exercise, not a democratic or political one.
Like the previous poster said, they've known a long time (and in MY opinion, it was a hell of a lot longer than a month), and arrangements could have been made earlier.
We all know politics moves at a snails pace so unless the crisis of a nation (or a church hierarchy) is artificial, action should be immediate.
Benghazi is an excellent example of an immediate need gone unanswered, while the passing of zero care is an excellent example of a casual situation termed immediate and in need of crisis management.
My question to this thread is ... is there anything that could be detrimental to the Catholic church while Pope-less ?