VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cardinals at the Vatican have sworn an oath of secrecy about their upcoming conclave to elect a new pope.
The Vatican said 107 of the 115 voting-age cardinals attended the first day of pre-conclave meetings, at which cardinals organize the election, discuss the problems of the church and get to know one another before voting.
They prayed together, chatted over coffee and took an oath to maintain "rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff."
No date has been set yet for the conclave, but speculation has mounted that it might begin around March 11, with the aim of having a new pope installed by March 17, the Sunday before Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week.
With 115 electors, 77 votes are needed to reach the two-thirds majority to be elected pope.
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262-w-31-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Chicago Cardinal Francis George)--Cardinals at the Vatican have sworn an oath of secrecy about their upcoming conclave to elect a new pope. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (4 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *262 (03/04/13)>> 00:31
222-a-12-(Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa, with reporters)-"things are going"-Archbishop Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa says cardinals who met at the Vatican today spent some time considering the global state of the church. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (4 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *222 (03/04/13)>> 00:12 "things are going"
223-q-09-(Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa, with reporters)-"for the conclave"-Archbishop Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa says it's too soon to know when the conclave -- the actual business of electing a new pope -- will start. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (4 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *223 (03/04/13)>> 00:09 "for the conclave"
221-a-10-(Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, archbishop of Durban, South Africa, with reporters)-"take place beforehand"-Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa says the cardinals who met at the Vatican today focused on organizational matters. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (4 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *221 (03/04/13)>> 00:10 "take place beforehand"
