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Cardinals Maintain Silence Before Conclave Pilgrims gazed forlornly at the third-floor window where Pope John Paul II traditionally appeared on Sundays and cardinals held to their vow of public silence ahead of next week's secret vote on a successor.The cardinals who celebrated Masses around Rome confined their remarks to tightly scripted homilies after pledging Saturday to make no more public statements betraying their thinking before selecting a new leader for the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.Mourning pilgrims and curious tourists lined up in a pelting rain to visit St. Peter's Basilica, where John Paul was laid to rest Friday...

O God our Father, You are our Eternal Shepherd and Guide. In your love, grant your Church a new shepherd who will walk in your ways and whose watchful care will bring us your blessing.   Help him be an example of Christ to those who see him.. Give him also a  courageous heart to stand for your truth. Give him a tender heart so that he may look at people with the eyes of. Christ. Fill him with your wisdom, O God, that he may steer the church in the paths you ask him to. Be with the Cardinals...

Prague, 5 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Back in 1978, when the Roman Catholic Church last elected a pope, the world stood uneasily divided in a struggle between Soviet communism and the West. By most accounts, Pope John Paul II played a major role in ending that divide, largely by focusing attention on injustices in his native Poland, then under Soviet sway. Today, with the Vatican set to elect a new leader, the world stands divided yet again. The Cold War analogy is imperfect, but increasing tensions and violence are threatening what has been called a possible "clash of civilizations between...

THE rain fell on St Peter’s Square, making puddles through which the pilgrims passed. The dark clouds were forecast for the funeral of Pope John Paul II on Friday but had kept a discreet distance until after the two million mourners who had gathered in the city had dispersed.Yesterday they unleashed a deluge. Huddled under umbrellas, a few hundred Poles queued to enter the basilica, still imbued with the memory of Karol Wojtyla. Before 10am a steady stream of cars carrying cardinals from around the globe arrived at the Vatican gates to be waved in by Swiss guards in their...

VATICAN CITY - Cardinals began "an intense period of silence and prayer" before their conclave to choose the next pope, saying Saturday they would stop speaking publicly to protect the strict secrecy surrounding the centuries-old tradition. The throngs of pilgrims who attended John Paul II's funeral Friday flowed out of Rome, leaving mainly tourists in a quiet, rainy St. Peter's Square. The Vatican said a decision on calls to put John Paul on a fast track to sainthood would rest with the next pope. Italian Cardinal Francesco Marchisano celebrated the second Mass for John Paul in St. Peter's Basilica, a...

VATICAN CITY, APR 7, 2005 (VIS) - Archbishop Piero Marini, master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, has published a note on the "novendiali" or period of nine days of official mourning for the late Pope John Paul II, explaining the background and indicating the dates, times and  principal celebrants of each of the nine Masses.     The communique states that "according to an ancient custom, for nine consecutive days there are special Eucharistic celebrations for the repose of the soul of the deceased Roman Pontiff, starting with the funeral Mass which is determined by the Congregation...

Litany of the Holy Spirit Lord, have mercy on us.Christ, have mercy on us.Lord, have mercy on us. Father all powerful, have mercy on usJesus, Eternal Son of the Father, Redeemer of the world, save us.Spirit of the Father and the Son, boundless life of both, sanctify us.Holy Trinity, hear us. Holy Spirit, Who proceedest from the Father and the Son, enter our hearts.Holy Spirit, Who art equal to the Father and the Son, enter our hearts. Promise of God the Father, have mercy on us.Ray of heavenly light, have mercy on usAuthor of all good, have mercy on usSource...

As morbid details go it was repulsive, but fascinating. And perhaps not quite what it seemed. The Vatican's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, told journalists yesterday that the Pope had not been embalmed before his lying in state in St Peter's Basilica, merely that his body had been "prepared". With the high spring temperatures in Rome, putting a corpse on display without preservatives for four days might seem a high-risk strategy. There are plenty of tales from history of exploding bodies (Henry VIII was apparently quite spectacular) and disintegrating cadavers (Pius XII turned black in 1958 and his nose fell off -...

"If ever there were a smoke-filled room, this is it." -Democratic consultant Donna Brazile, who remembered the Latin masses from growing up Catholic in the South and her childhood wish to become a priest until learning women cannot be ordained. "It's the ultimate whispering campaign with a very large confessional box." -Chris Lehane, who worked for Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Wesley Clark in their unsuccessful bids for president in 2004. "No one here would recognize it as a campaign. No technology. No bumper stickers. It's quiet, behind-the-scenes positioning." -Jano Cabrera, who worked on the White House bids of...

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was born on 1 November 1932 in Eziowelle, a city of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria. At the age of fifteen, he began his secondary studies at the All Hallowa Seminary (Ognissanti) of Nuewi, studies which he concluded in 1950 at Enugu. For the following two years he taught at the same seminary until 1953, when he took up philosophy studies at Bigard Memorial Seminary at Enugu. In 1955 he began to take courses in theology at the Pontifical Urban University. Only three years...

Candidates to Become Next Pope United on Pro-Life Issues Email this article Printer friendly page by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor April 6, 2005 The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- The leading candidates who could become the next Pope and leader of the Catholic Church have one thing in common -- they all take a pro-life stance on key issues such as abortion and euthanasia: Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes is a 70-year-old Franciscan priest who leads the Sao Paolo Archdiocese. Monsignor Dario Bevilacqua, spokesman for the diocese told the Associated Press that "he has always been in line with the Vatican's official position"...

ROME (AP) - Among the American cardinals who will vote for a successor to Pope John Paul II are several with extensive Vatican experience, which could boost their influence in the conclave. No American is expected to be selected pope or to play kingmaker in the election. But their knowledge of Vatican politics, ability to speak Italian and relationships with other cardinals built over years in Rome could give them a strong role in marshaling support for a candidate, analysts say. "They speak the language, they know the mind-set and they've served as diocesan bishops," said David Gibson, a former...

College of Cardinals Among the College of Bishops, it has been a longstanding tradition of the Church, to raise certain bishops and archbishops to the College of Cardinals. The Cardinals have traditionally been seen as the "Princes of the Church". Because of their special devotion and holiness, they are called to assist the Holy Father in the governance of the Church. Most Cardinals are either Archbishops of the largest dioceses in their countries or regions, or the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia (the Pope's Ministers of State, if you like). Of course, the singular role that the...

This post is guaranteed to make zero sense to the non-believers. In fact, it will amuse them. The last two weeks brought together an extraordinary confluence of events. Holy Week crescendoed to the Pope's anguished appearance at his window to give his final Easter blessing, as memorable a call to endurance and obedience as could be imagined. Then the entire world --including most certainly the Cardinal electors of the Roman Catholic Church-- watched the cruel death of Terri Schiavo against the backdrop of her family's suffering and the pitiless march of the ideology of anti-humanism, followed immediately by the Pope's...

VATICAN CITY - Conclaves have a checkered, colorful past that belies the air of sanctity and solemnity surrounding modern papal elections. The first time cardinals were locked up until they elected a pope was in 1241. The Holy See was in a state of virtual war with the German emperor, Frederick II, who held two of the 12 "princes of the church" prisoner. Anxious for a new pope, the ruler of Rome had the remaining 10 cardinals confined in a squalid, crumbling palace. It worked. After a relatively short 60 days, they elected Celestine IV. But Celestine lived just 17...

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - The Vatican still does not know the identity of a cardinal nominated by Pope John Paul II two years ago but whose identity he kept secret, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said, adding that it may be contained in a testament he had left for cardinals. "At the moment, nobody knows anything about it. Before the pope's death, it wasn't revealed," Navarro-Valls told reporters at the Vatican. "We don't know if there is something in the text of the testament left by the pope. Naturally, if there is something we will communicate it when it is read."...

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- John Paul's earthly remains lay clothed in crimson vestments, his head on golden pillows and adorned with a white bishop's miter. His hands held a rosary, a pastoral staff was tucked under his left forearm. Swiss Guards stood watch on either side. Karol Joseph Wojtyla was finally at peace, the lines of pain erased from his face after years of crippling disease. ''It was very satisfying for all of us to see him so serene,'' said Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, one of many church officials, diplomats and politicians who paid their respects at the...

Has anyone considered the security concerns of the impending conclave? Once their locked in to the Sistine Chapel, that's it. And that is a pretty big target. The Swiss Guards don't have AWACS or F-16s to fly BARCAP excercises. If anything were to happen, the Church is hierarchy is done. According to what I've read of the Vatican caonstitution, only a Pope can create a Cardinal, and only Cardinals (117 of 183) can elect a Pope.

Posted: November 6, 2003 Interview with Cardinal José Saraiva MartinsNovember 5, 2003By John L. Allen, Jr.RomePortuguese Cardinal José Saraiva Martins is prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Last year he turned 70, and the Urbaniana University Press recently honored him with a book of essays.In an exclusive interview with NCR Rome Correspondent John L. Allen, Jr., Saraiva Martins spoke on a wide range of topics looking back over his career as a Claretian priest, theologian, rector of the Urbaniana University, then secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education from 1988 to 1998 and prefect of the Congregation...

WHEN SAD DAY COMES, EYES OF WORLD WILL BE ON PAPAL SELECTION AS NEVER BEFOREWhen, God forbid, the Pope leaves this earth, it will kick into play a process of selection that promises to be the most important crossroads for the Church since Vatican II.Fortunately, John Paul II again has defied morbid expectations, and with God's grace, will spiritually lead the Church for a good while yet; his mere presence is the important thing; he doesn't need to talk or administer. And when he does leave this planet, he will be a yet greater intercessor.But as with anyone who is...