Pope changes conclave rules, allows earlier start
Pope Benedict XVI has changed the rules of the conclave that
will elect his successor, allowing cardinals to move up the start date if all
of them arrive in Rome
before the usual 15-day transition between pontificates.
Benedict signed a legal document, issued Monday, with some
line-by-line changes to the 1996 Vatican law
governing the election of a new pope. It is one of his last acts as pope before
resigning Thursday.
The date of the conclave's start is important because Holy
Week begins March 24, with Easter Sunday March 31. In order to have a new pope
in place for the church's most solemn liturgical period, he would need to be
installed by Sunday, March 17 a tight timeframe if a conclave were to start
March 15
No comments:
Post a Comment