MEXICO
Independent European Daily Express

Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Inter Press Service

MEXICO CITY, Mar 05 (IPS) – As the Roman Catholic Church gets ready for the conclave that will select a new pope, activists and victims worldwide are stepping up their efforts to keep cardinals directly or indirectly involved in cases of paedophilia from participating in the papal election process.

Pressure has been brought to bear on at least five cardinals who protected priests accused of sexual abuse, including Norberto Rivera of Mexico, one of the 117 cardinals under the age of 80 set to choose the successor to Benedict XVI, who stepped down on Feb. 28.

“In order for the Church to recover its moral stature and to go back to what it was before, the next pope must be chosen by people who are moral,” Mexican activist Joaquín Aguilar told IPS.

“In order for the…