Pope may rewrite rules to find his successor
Posted February 20, 2013 7:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VATICAN CITY (NEWS1130) – The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI may change the rules governing the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope amid continued uncertainty over when the voting can begin.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, says it’s not clear if any new law would address the timing of the conclave. But such a clarification would seem obvious given the ambiguity of the current rules.
The current law says cardinals must wait 15 days after the papacy becomes vacant before voting, in order to allow all eligible cardinals to arrive in Rome _ making March 15 the presumed start date.
That delay, however, assumed a papal death and funeral. In this case, the cardinals already know that the pontificate will end Feb. 28 and can get to Rome in plenty of time.
