Politics amid the prayers

VATICAN CITY - Roman Catholic cardinals held a solemn Mass praying for divine inspiration last night, hours before locking themselves away from the world to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II.

The Mass in St Peter's Basilica was led by 78-year-old German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's doctrinal chief who is seen by some as a leading candidate for the papal throne.

"O God, eternal pastor who governs your people with the care of a father, grant your Church a pontiff acceptable to you for his holy life and entirely consecrated to the service of your people," Ratzinger said in the opening prayer.

All of the 115 cardinal electors under the age of 80 who were to enter the conclave joined older cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and simple faithful in united prayer for the outcome of the conclave.

The cardinals are expected to require several days of deliberations in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel and repeated votes to reach a majority.

"This is a very difficult papacy to inherit," said Orietta Cristoferi outside St Peter's Basilica. "He should have an openness to Latin America and other places. John Paul worked hard to open up to the whole world."

Since John Paul II's death on April 2, media and bookmakers have tipped the former pontiff's closest aide and arch-conservative Ratzinger as the early leader. He delivered the homily at John Paul II's funeral.

But most Vatican experts doubt that Ratzinger, whose conservative dogma has polarised the Catholic world, will be able to garner the two-thirds majority needed.

Yesterday a leading liberal cardinal made a thinly veiled assault on the man who has earned the sobriquet "God's rottweiler". Cardinal Walter Kaspar warned against choosing a clone of John Paul II. His attempt to slow the momentum behind Ratzinger came amid growing evidence that many cardinals were undecided but might be swayed if one of their number achieved a significant lead in the first vote.

Progressive cardinals have been attempting to counter conservatives who back Ratzinger because he will ensure doctrinal continuity with John Paul II.

While they lack a clear candidate themselves, the progressives are pressing for a compromise figure from Europe or Latin America who might relax what they see as the tight grip exerted by the Vatican over local bishops.

In a sermon reflecting their anxieties, Kaspar said: "Just as it is forbidden to clone others, it is not possible to clone John Paul II. Every Pope ministers in his own way, according to the demands of his era. No one was ever simply a copy of his predecessor. Let's not search for someone who is too scared of doubt and secularity in the modern world."

Ratzinger is thought by many to lack pastoral skills.

The cardinals will gather in the chapel under Michelangelo's frescoes by 4.30pm (2.30am NZT) for their first closed-door meeting of the conclave, but it is not known whether they will take their first vote immediately.

On subsequent days they will vote as many as four times a day. Black smoke from a makeshift chimney on the Sistine Chapel will mark an inconclusive vote. White smoke and the tolling of St Peter's bells will mark the election of a new Pope.

Many Catholics say the new Pope should be from the developing world, where more than two-thirds of the faithful live.

But the odds are stacked against cardinals such as Nigeria's Francis Arinze and Claudio Hummes of Brazil, even though bookmakers put them fifth and sixth among the favourites.

Europe represents only 25 per cent of global Catholics but has 50 per cent of the cardinals in the conclave, which may explain why a Frenchman and two Italians are placed behind Ratzinger in the early betting odds.

The cardinal electors moved into a comfortable, specially built residence in the Vatican, an innovation some believe could delay the vote.

For hundreds of years until the last conclave in 1978 the cardinals were locked inside the Sistine Chapel throughout, sleeping in small cells and sharing bathrooms.

The spartan environment was imposed to force a quick decision and avoid a repeat of a 13th century election that took almost three years.

- AGENCIES