VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post
Jaweed Kaleem
Jaweed.Kaleem@huffingtonpost.com
An Italian newspaper publishes a controversial report on an alleged secret network of gay priests in the Vatican. Campaigns start against two American cardinals linked to sex abuse scandals who are about to head to Rome to vote for the new pope. A top British cardinal steps down amid allegations of unspecified “inappropriate” behavior with priests and says he won’t attend the papal conclave. Catholics worldwide start opining about what the next pontiff’s race, age and origin should be, while the dozen or so rumored candidates for pope keep insisting, “No, not me!”
Welcome to the secretive and at times confusing process of selecting a new pope.
In two days, Pope Benedict XVI will stay goodbye to the papacy, leaving the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics without a leader and dozens of top-ranking cardinals in charge.
Nobody knows exactly when the conclave — the closed-door meeting of cardinals who will elect Benedict’s successor — will take place. According to new rules that Benedict issued Monday, it could be as early as March 1 or as late as March 20. It’s up to the cardinals to decide, though reports have indicated the conclave may start between March 9 and 11.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.