Ratzinger a strong contender for Pope
14/04/2005 - 08:17:45In the spirit of secrecy during the week before their conclave to elect a pope, cardinals are supposed to keep a low profile. That has not happened for German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Two Italian newspapers reported yesterday that support was building for Ratzinger in the daily meetings of the College of Cardinals in advance of Monday’s start of the conclave.
In his native Germany, Ratzinger published a new book yesterday underscoring his conservative theology and calling on Europe to return to its Christian roots.
The book condemned divorce, gay marriage and the possibility of cloning, and cautioned against the European trend of multiculturalism.
Today, the 140 cardinals now in the Vatican continue their pre-conclave meetings dealing with the daily affairs of the church and technical issues. Yesterday, they formally accepted condolences on John Paul’s death from the ambassadors who represent their countries at the Vatican, a spokesman said.
Only the 115 cardinals under age 80 will attend the conclave.
On the first two days of the conclave, Italian television scheduled a screening of a miniseries of John Paul’s life, focusing on his early years in Poland when his experiences of war and communism prepared him for the task of leading 1.1 billion Catholics.
The film opens with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, when the young Karol Wojtyla, played by Polish actor Piotr Adamczyk, tries to flee the Nazis but is turned back by the arrival of the Soviet army.
The docudrama is the latest evidence of an outpouring of affection for John Paul, who many of his devotees would like to see put on a fast track to sainthood.
Thousands of pilgrims have converged again on St Peter’s Basilica to visit John Paul’s tomb, which opened for the public four days after his burial.
Pilgrims knelt in prayer, some with tears streaming down their faces. Many handed rosaries or religious medals to an usher behind the red rope, who briefly laid the trinkets on the marble before returning them to their owners.
<-- BACK TO STORY