Vatican: Conclave could be moved up

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

by John L. Allen Jr. | Feb. 16, 2013

Rome —
Acknowledging that many people, including several cardinals, have questioned the need to wait until March 15 to open the conclave that will elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, a Vatican spokesperson on Saturday said the date is an “open question.”

The apostolic constitution governing the papal election, Universi dominici gregis, issued under John Paul II in 1996, specifies that the conclave must take place between 15 and 20 days after the beginning of the sede vacante, meaning the end of the previous papacy. Since Benedict’s resignation becomes official on Feb. 28, that would mean a conclave starting somewhere between March 15 and 20.

In previous sessions with the press this week, Vatican spokesperson Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi had left the impression that this provision of the rules was not open to revision.

In a briefing Saturday morning, however, Lombardi acknowledged that the waiting period was crafted with the expectation of a papal death, and is intended to give cardinals time to arrive in Rome. In 2005, 16 days passed between the death of John Paul II and the beginning of the conclave that elected Benedict XVI.

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