The synodal path, one of the cornerstones of Francesco’s pontificate, is one of the themes addressed by General Congregations of CardinalI in view of the conclave. It was spoken, in particular, in the afternoon on Monday in which the purple present (about 170, of which 132 voters) They highlighted the importance of the synodal path “as a concrete expression of an accelesis of communion, in which everyone is called to participate, listen and discern together”. And it is precisely from Italian synodal network -A network of about thirty between movements, groups, newspapers, associations and basic ecclesial realities, from women for the Church to Adista, from Pax Christi to us we are church, to mention the best known-that a letter-appeal has arrived at the cardinals gathered in the congregations and that on Wednesday they will enter Sistine to elect the new Pope. “With the synodal spirit”, they write, “We ask you to choose the new bishop of Rome according to this discernment: continue decisively on the road opened by Pope Francis towards an increasingly synodal church, developing the line traced so much by the Synod of the bishops of 2021-2024 as, in the local area, by the synodal path of the churches in Italy. We are in fact convinced, “continues the letter,” that as Pope Francis repeated, who “The path of synodality is the path that God expects from the Church of the third millennium”as an adequate form to a truly worldwide church “united in diversity”, that is, capable of combining the universality of Catholicism and its roots in the different cultures existing in a world now “global”, but which rejects the alleged “superiority” of a civilization compared to the others and therefore any approval. Una Church constantly united in the search for the will of God in the midst of a diversity of spirituality, of theologies, of pastoral emergencies, of responses to concrete local situations».
For the signatories of the letter «Only through synodality can we manage and overcome the inevitable misunderstandings, confusions and conflicts, and therefore keep alive the reality of the “prophetic ministry” of the Church then believing, walking towards an actual fraternity and sorting, of which the Consensus Ecclesiae It is the fulcrum not imposed in an authoritarian way, but the result of the welcome of how much the Holy Spirit gives to/to the faithful all. And the synodality implemented and lived “, they conclude,” also constitutes the most lively and credible testimony of the possibility of a peaceful coexistence between different than our Church, in ecumenical harmony with all the others, can today offer a world torn by wars and polarizations “.
Several themes addressed on Monday afternoon, in the penultimate congregation before the final one on Tuesday morning, as explained by a note from the Vatican press room. There has been talk of migrations with the recognition of migrants such as «A gift for the Church, but also with the urgency to accompany them and support their faith in the contexts of mobility and change». In addition, “the wars in progress have been recalled, with tones often marked by the direct testimony of cardinals from regions affected by conflicts” while it was reiterated «The commitment and responsibility of the cardinals in supporting the new Pope, called to be a real shepherd, a guide who knows how to go beyond the borders of the Catholic Church alone, promoting the dialogue and construction of relations with other religious and cultural worlds. The challenge represented by the spread of seven in various parts of the world has also been recalled “.
Meanwhile, with the oath lent by officers, ceremonies and employees on Monday at 3 pm in the Paolina chapel you enter the heart of the Conclave. All 133 Cardinal Volctors arrived in Rome and will be housed between the residence of Casa Santa Marta and the adjacent Santa Marta Vecchia. The director of the Vatican press room, Matteo Bruni, He informed that on the afternoon of Saturday 3 May the Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell proceeded to draw the rooms for the 133 purple: of the 135 current voters remain out of illness the Spaniard Antonio Canizares Llovera and Kenyan John Njue. In short, the great anticipation towards the election of those who will take the place of Francesco is about to reach the finish line. The works in the Sistine Chapel, which will host the votes from Wednesday afternoon, are being completed and so to Santa Marta and Santa Marta Vecchia.
The Sistine Chapel was also secured by the Vatican Gendarmerie. On Monday morning at the entrance of the tenth Congregation, an elector among the last to arrive in Rome, almost in extremis, the Indonesian cardinal did not escape reporters from reporters Ignatius suharyo hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of the capital Jerk as well as military ordinary of the Asian country. “I arrived yesterday,” he admitted, ensuring that on Wednesday afternoon he will enter “with open heart”. Will the new pontiff be on the Bergoglio line? “I don’t know, it will depend on the Holy Spirit”.
“We hope that the new Pope will arrive in three-four days”, is what he hoped for by the Iraqi cardinal Raphael Sako, Baghdad Caldeo patriarch. As for an identikit of the future pontiff, Sako spoke of “a shepherd who looks at unity, to the integrity of the Church”. According to the cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Of French origin but Archbishop of Algiers, on the other hand, “there is no hurry for the white smoke, we have time: the important thing is to have a good pope”. For Vesco the future Pontiff will have to be “a shepherd, a voice for the world, for peace”. And could it be a French? “Even an Algerian,” replied smiling.
Meanwhile, the cardinals also “prepare” on social networks such as the Cardinal Archbishop of Santiago del Chile, Fernando Chomaliwho posted a video while washing a white shirt inside a sink. «Wash the white shirt to get to the impeccable conclave! United in prayer! », It is the comment accompanying the video.
To ensure the isolation of cardinals, the Governorate of the State of the Vatican City has announced that all the signals for smartphones and tablets will be off from 3 pm on Wednesday. “With reference to the regulatory and security requirements relating to the activities relating to the election of the Supreme Pontiff,” they announced, “Starting from 15:00 on 7 May, all the transmission systems of the telecommunication signal for mobile phone mobile phone, present in the territory of the State of the Vatican city, excluding the area of Castel Gandolfo, will be deactivatthe”. The recovery of the signal, added the Governorate, “will be carried out after the announcement of the election of the Supreme Pontiff, pronounced by the central loggia of the Papal Basilica of San Pietro in the Vatican, with the utmost speed allowed by the technology of mobile operators”.
The spokesperson Matteo Bruni also intervened on the extent of the extinguishing: “The announcement of the Governorate speaks of extinguishing the repeaters. The area of St. Peter’s Square is not interested, “he said, adding that” the cardinals are invited to leave their mobile phones to the Santa Marta house until the end of the conclave “.
