According to El Paso Times published today, “Cardinals held final discussions on the troubled state of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday, the day before they seclude themselves from the world to elect a new pontiff, with no clear frontrunner in view… Stunned by the abdication last month of Pope Benedict, the red-hatted cardinals have met repeatedly this past week, sketching out the qualities of the man they need to lead a Church plagued by scandals of sex abuse and mismanagement.”
“There are about a dozen cardinals that may have some chance of becoming the next pope. The 115 cardinal-electors from 48 countries will start filing into the Michelangelo-frescoed Sistine Chapel at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and will hold an initial vote shortly afterwards.”
"We will have a pope by the end of the week," said Father Tom Rosica, the Vatican spokesman for the English-speaking media” It usually takes around three to four days to elect the new pope. “The 266th pope will face an array of problems - from sexual abuse scandals to the dysfunctional bureaucracy, known as the Curia, and accusations of wrong-doing at the Vatican bank.”
“Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada has often been cited as a favorite. He has come under fire in the past from critics who say he didn’t do enough to address the issue of sexual abuse in his home province. Some Quebecers want Cardinal Ouellet to be the next pope, but not for the reasons of respect and adoration. According to The Globe and Mail, “They are really hopeful that he is elected, because 1.2 billion Catholics will be made aware of the victimization of children here in Quebec by pedophile priests over several generations.” Many at the rally, which included supporters from other victims groups, said they are hopeful for progress on cases that have been stalled for years.”
Carlo Tarini spokesman for the group suggested appointing a mediator between the church and victims such as former Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache, who took on a similar role in New Brunswick, to help move things forward. “What’s important is that these cases get addressed in the next few months – not in the next few years.”
Luc-Robert Archambault, representing a group of victims from Montreal’s College Notre-Dame, a boys-only boarding school, was also skeptical of a Ouellet papacy. “I don’t think Cardinal Ouellet will help what we are trying to do in terms of addressing sexual abuse cases…For fifty years in the church, the silence has been overwhelming.”
CTV News reported that not all patrons of the church are against Ouellet. Furthermore, thestar.com adds, “I worked there for years,” said Adamo Rossi, 72. “Believe me, I came to know a few things…I found him simpatico,” he said of Ouellet, 68. “We need younger people like him or we’re not going to resolved anything.” Cardinal, Rossi added, [He] seems to have the backbone and political smarts to whip an unruly Vatican bureaucracy into shape.”
“Ouellet was named titular archbishop titular of Agropoli and secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promoting Christian Unity Pontifical Council on 3 March 2001. Pope John Paul II consecrated him as an archbishop with Cardinals Angelo Sodano and Giovanni Battista Re as co-consecrators, on 19 March of the same year in St. Peter’s Basilica. On 15 November 2002 he became archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Traspontina by John Paul II in the consistory of 21 October 2003. He is the present prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.”
CTV News maintains, “Ouellet is well-known for his years of missionary service in Latin America and became a cardinal in 2005. In 2002 he became archbishop of Quebec City.”
The National Post reports, “When Pope Benedict named Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec City last summer to one of the most crucial jobs in the Vatican, he was praised among Catholics for selecting a man of such high quality, international experience and great sense of the universal Church. The position Cardinal Ouellet was given, considered by many as only second in importance to the papacy itself, was overseeing the selection of the next generation of bishops.”
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