THE CONCHO PADRE POST

We implore
your majesty most humbly,
O Lord, that,
as the feast of our salvation draws ever closer,
so we may press forward all the more eagerly
towards the worthy celebration of the Paschal Mystery.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen

The Roman Missal

The College of Cardinals has decided to suspend all interviews during the days leading up to the papal conclave, as the cardinals seek to crack down on leaks of their confidential discussions.

Meeting on Wednesday for their 4th “general congregation” of the sede vacante period, the cardinals again postponed a decision on setting a date for their conclave. After the morning session the director of the Vatican press office, Father Federico Lombardi, gave only a vague summary of the topics the cardinals had discussed:

The major theme was the Church in the world, the New Evangelization. Other topics included the Holy See, its dicasteries and relations with bishops. A third theme was a profile of expectations for the next ope in view of the good government of the Church.

The major news story of the day, however, was the cancellation of a separate briefing that had been scheduled by the American cardinals. Sister Mary Ann Walsh, the press director for the US bishops, explained: “Concern was expressed in the general congregation about leaks of confidential proceedings reported in Italian newspapers.” The American cardinals agreed to halt interviews as a “precaution,” she said.

Father Lombardi said that the American cardinals’ silence would be in keeping with a general understanding that during the days leading up to a papal conclave, the attitude of the cardinals is “one of reservation in order to safeguard the freedom of reflection on the part of each of the members of the College of Cardinals who has to make such an important decision.”

However, Sister Walsh hinted at the tensions behind the decision to curtail interviews. “The US cardinals are committed to transparency,” she said, adding that the American prelates had been working effectively with the media and responding to the intense demands of the international media for more information about the coming conclave. “Our briefings were popular because we were the only ones other than the Vatican doing them,” she said. Since the official Vatican briefings have generally been confined to bland generalities, the US cardinals’ sessions were appreciated by the hundreds of journalists who have flocked to Rome to cover the papal election.

Sister Walsh said that the demand for silence came because some cardinals were distressed by a story in an Italian newspaper that provided details about a prelate’s address to the congregation—an account that was not derived from the US cardinals’ briefings.

The Italian newspaper story, by leading Vatican-watcher Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa, had given a fairly detailed account of a talk by Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, the president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. The Italian prelate had complained that in recent years the officials of the Roman Curia have not met regularly with the Pope, and their initiatives have been overruled by the Secretariat of State, Tornielli reported. The story in La Stampa exposed a violation of the rule that cardinals should not inform reporters about the details of their discussions during the congregations.

Although the Vatican press office provided no such details about the content of the cardinals’ talks, Father Lombardi did disclose that the cardinals have agreed to resume meeting twice a day, beginning on Thursday. On Tuesday the cardinals had cancelled their scheduled afternoon session, preferring less formal consultations; on Wednesday the afternoon discussions were superseded by a special prayer service.

There were 153 cardinals participating in the Wednesday-morning discussions, the press office reporters. Of the 115 cardinal-electors who will enter the conclave, only two had not yet arrived: Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, who was expected Wednesday afternoon; and Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, who was due to arrive on Thursday.

Catholic World News

Vatican City, 6 March 2013 (VIS) – “At the fourth General Congregation, which began this morning at 9:00am with the prayer of the Liturgy of Hours, 153 cardinals were present. This number includes four additional cardinals who arrived and were sworn in today, three Cardinal electors: Cardinal Antonios Naguib, patriarch emeritus of Alexandria, Egypt; Cardinal Karl Lehmann, bishop of Mainz, Germany; Cardinal John Tong Hon, bishop of Hong Kong, China; as well as Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, archbishop emeritus of Munich, Germany who is not an elector,” said Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office during his daily news conference with journalists.

To date, there are 113 Cardinal electors present. Tomorrow the two remaining Cardinal electors are expected—Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, archbishop of Warsaw, Poland, will arrive this afternoon and Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam tomorrow morning.

“In the fraternal spirit that characterizes the Congregations,” Fr. Lombardi reported, “Cardinal Dean Angelo Sodano wished a happy birthday to Cardinal Walter Kasper (who turned 80 yesterday), Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio (who turns 75 today), and Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, C.SS.R., (who turns 77 tomorrow). Cardinal Kasper continues to be a Cardinal elector—he will be the oldest to cast his vote in this Conclave—because the Apostolic Constitution regulating the procedure for electing the pontiff establishes the age limit for cardinals entering the Conclave to be determined from the beginning of the period of the Sede Vacante.

This morning 18 cardinals addressed the gathering. Without going into details, the director of the Holy See Press office gave a general overview of their nature. “The major theme,” Fr. Lombardi said, “was the Church in the world, the New Evangelization. Other topics included the Holy See, its Dicasteries and relations with bishops. A third theme was a profile of expectations for the next pope in view of the good government of the Church.”

“There have been 51 speeches since the beginning of the Congregations,” he added. Given the large number of cardinals wishing to address the gathering, a five minute time limit was established but is not strictly enforced. It was decided that tomorrow they will meet in a morning as well as an afternoon session.

Regarding the cancelling of the press conferences that some of the American cardinals were giving in these days, Fr. Lombardi observed that “the Congregations are not a synod or a congress in which we try to report the most information possible, but a path toward arriving at the decision of electing the Roman Pontiff. In this sense, the tradition of this path is one of reservation in order to safeguard the freedom of reflection on the part of each of the members of the College of Cardinals who has to make such an important decision. It does not surprise me, therefore, that along this path there were, at the beginning, moments of openness and communication and that afterwards, in harmony with the rest of the College, it has been established whether and how to communicate.”

Also brought up in the press conference was the date of the opening of the Conclave. “The College has a great spirit of preparation that is serious, profound, and unhurried,” Fr. Lombardi clarified. “Perhaps that is why it still did not seem opportune to take a vote on the date of the Conclave, which a large part of the College could sense as something forced in the dynamic of reflection. It also needs to be kept in mind that some cardinals are still arriving and it would be a sign of respect for them to wait until the College is complete.”

In conclusion, the director of the Holy See Press Office confirmed that “the Fisherman’s Ring has been scratched over,” that is, rendered unusable.

Vatican Information Service

Rome, March 05, 2013 (Zenit.org)
Ann Schneible

Cardinals Seán O’Malley and Daniel DiNardo addressed the press this afternoon at a conference following the second day of the pre-Conclave general congregations currently underway at the Vatican.

The press briefing was held at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Although the cardinals were able to speak in general terms about the general congregation, all cardinals participating in the assembly are bound by an oath of secrecy regarding the specific content of the discussions.

Standard procedure dictates that the Conclave would begin 15-20 days after the beginning of the sede vacante, although it could start sooner if the cardinals come to an agreement. It is expected that a date for the Conclave will be set during these sessions of the general congregation, but this decision is contingent upon the physical presence of all voting cardinals. 110 cardinals have already gathered in Rome, while five more are expected to arrive in the next couple days.

Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, OFM explained how this week’s general congregations provide “an opportunity for all of the Cardinals to share their ideas concerning the situation of the Church throughout the world, and the possible needs of the Church going forward, particularly as we prepare to elect a new Holy Father.”

“It’s an opportunity for us to hear also from the retired cardinals who have a wealth of experience. They will not be coming into the Conclave, but it is an opportunity for them to share their ideas with us,” he said.

Cardinal O’Malley said that today they decided it would be beneficial to come together and “pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to guide us in these deliberations and these conversations.” Therefore, tomorrow the cardinals will gather in Saint Peter’s Basilica for a Holy Hour at 5pm; this will be open to the public.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Texas noted how it was “good to hear from the cardinals who are over 80 years of age who will not enter into the Conclave. A lot of them have been bishops of dioceses for years, or in the curia, and they have some interesting points of view to bring to our discussions.”

He also reiterated the point made by Cardinal O’Malley that the “general congregations are there to help the cardinals understand a little bit about the dimensions of what’s going on in the Church worldwide, and even locally. For some, they want more discussion about these issues.”

Responding to questions regarding cardinals under age 80 who will not be attending the Conclave, both Cardinal O’Malley and Cardinal DiNardo said that it was reasonable to assume that these cardinals had been excused, and their absence would not affect the start date of the Conclave.

When asked whether Pope Emeritus Benedict would have any involvement in the discussions taking place, both cardinals said this was unlikely. “I think Pope Benedict’s declaration that he’s going to lead a hidden life,” said Cardinal O’Malley, “is a very serious intention on his part, and I do not suspect we will see or hear much about him going forward.”

Cardinal DiNardo followed, saying that regardless of media representation: “Anyone who’s ever met Pope Benedict [would see that] he’s a very shy, very quiet person. And as he has moved into this life of prayer, he will be off the stage, and is not interested at all. There is influence he would have theologically insofar as he is a very fine, brilliant theologian. But from the point of view of influence that we would say is political: [my] knowing him, that won’t happen.”

The cardinals were then asked about their impression of the media coverage surrounding the pope’s resignation and forthcoming Conclave. ” All of us are, in some ways, amazed to see how much news has been generated by the Holy Father’s retirement,” Cardinal O’Malley said. “A lot of the articles that are being written are very reflective. This helps me understand more this moment in history… A lot of the reflection that is going on in our own Catholic community is what you see also being reflected in the newsrooms, because people are interviewing bishops, and priests, and the Catholic faithful, instilling from that a lot of the themes that all of us are reflecting on and praying over in these days.”

From Zenit.org