Summary Cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel today (Tuesday) to elect the next pope.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems.
On the eve of the vote, cardinals offered wildly different assessments of what they re looking for in the next pontiff and how close they are to a decision. It was evidence that Benedict XVI s surprise resignation has continued to destabilize the church leadership and that his final appeal for unity may go unheeded, at least in the early rounds of voting.
Cardinals held their final closed-door debate Monday over whether the church needs more of a manager to clean up the Vatican s bureaucratic mess or a pastor to inspire the 1.2 billion faithful in times of crisis. The fact that not everyone got a chance to speak was a clear sign that there s still unfinished business on the eve of the conclave.
"This time around, there are many different candidates, so it s normal that it s going to take longer than the last time," Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz of Chile told The Associated Press.
"There are no groups, no compromises, no alliances, just each one with his conscience voting for the person he thinks is best, which is why I don t think it will be over quickly."
None of that has prevented a storm of chatter over who s ahead.
Two doctors will be on hand in case any of the cardinals fall ill, while priests will hear confessions in a variety of languages. Like the cardinals, they will be sworn to secrecy.
As with any guest house or hotel, cooks and cleaners will also be there to attend to the needs of the cardinals. All the staff will have been vetted to help ensure that no secrets leak out before white smoke emerges to show a pope has been picked.
