|
News Items:
|
|
Headlines
|
|
News Briefs
|
|
Stories
|
|
Movies
|
|
Word To Life
|
|
Special Items:
|
|
Vatican
|
|
Election 2004
|
|
Africa
|
|
Charter update
|
|
John Jay study
|
|
Other Items:
|
|
Client Area
|
|
Links
|
|
Archives:
|
|
Origins
|
|
.
|
|
Did You Know...
|
The whole CNS
public Web site
headlines, briefs
stories, etc,
represents less
than one percent
of the daily news
report.
Get all the news!
If you would like
more information
about the
Catholic News
Service daily
news report,
please contact
CNS at one of
the following:
cns@
catholicnews.com
or
(202) 541-3250
|
|
.
|
|
Copyright:
|
This material
may not
be published,
broadcast,
rewritten or
otherwise
distributed.
Copyright
(c) 2005
Catholic News
Service/U.S.
Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
|
|
 |
|
CNS Story:
|
CONCLAVE-US Apr-6-2005 (670 words) xxxi
U.S. cardinals begin spiritual preparation for election of new pope
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As cardinal-electors from the United States arrived at the Vatican, they began to prepare spiritually for the April 8 funeral and nine-day mourning period of Pope John Paul II and to reflect on their eventual task of electing the future leader of the universal church.
"We've never had such a figure like the Holy Father," Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington told reporters in Rome April 5.
Pope John Paul "has raised the bar. We need a wonderful pope. We always need a wonderful pope, but maybe we need one now more than ever," he said.
The cardinal said the world today is facing "some real crises ... of faith, of indifference and of apathy" caused in part by the way media promote wealth, power and beauty as leading to happiness.
"The church really has to be proclaiming that the beatitudes are still the way to happiness," that being kind, courageous, generous, loving of the poor and working for peace are needed, he said.
Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia said the next pope, as all popes, must be "a pastoral person who reaches out in love and truth and charity. He has to reach out in solidarity and in the proclamation of human dignity."
"A pope must possess qualities that are beneficial to every country," he told reporters.
Although there has never been a pope from the Americas, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles said he believes the next pope will not and should not be someone from the United States.
"The reason is that the United States is the last remaining superpower," he said.
Cardinal Mahony said the scenario of there being two prominent U.S. leaders on the world stage would create confusion as to who was setting the agenda or influencing global affairs.
"There would be this constant evaluation of who's leading whom: Is the pope speaking and the president following or is the president speaking and the pope following?" he said.
There would be "constant friction, people trying to second-guess. So it will not happen and should not," the cardinal said.
He also ruled out having the future pontiff come from a country like France or Germany where "practically nobody goes to church" and where the "churches are almost museums."
"What we are looking at is how to have the future pope be somebody who represents a dynamic part of the world," meaning, where church life is "very vibrant" such as in "Africa or Asia or Latin America," he said.
Even though the cardinal-electors will be looking at each other's qualifications when choosing who will be the best person to lead the church, the election of a pope "is not a political process. It is a religious process," said Cardinal Rigali.
He said each elector knows he will need "all the best of human wisdom" as well as "the assistance of the Holy Spirit" in making his choice.
The use of prayer and the intercession of the Holy Spirit are what make the election of a new pope unique and "quite different from the election of a CEO of a firm," Cardinal Rigali said.
Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit said he has been "praying that the Holy Spirit will show me" who could best lead the church after Pope John Paul.
If the Holy Spirit "shows up as a dove, that's great; if he whispers in my ear, that's fine," he said.
Cardinal McCarrick said he was confident that during the conclave "the Holy Spirit will be among us" and "give us the pope we need at this time just as he did 26 years ago" when he gave the church Pope John Paul II.
"I want to make sure I listen and that I love and that I am courageous enough to do what I should do," he said.
- - -
Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250
|
|
|
|
