VATICAN CITY
Los Angeles Times
By Tom Kington
March 4, 2013
VATICAN CITY — Roman Catholic cardinals opened talks Monday at the Vatican on choosing a successor to Pope Benedict XVI but made no headway on deciding when they will shut themselves into the Sistine Chapel to start voting for the new pontiff.
The conclave has been expected to commence March 11. But 12 of the 115 cardinals eligible to vote had yet to show up when discussions started at 9:30 a.m. Monday, and no date will be set for the conclave until they are all assembled.
“There was no talk about when the conclave will begin,” Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said during a break from discussions, but he added: “We would like to be done by Holy Week so we can have a pope and get back to our dioceses.” Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, March 24.
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