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VATICAN CITY // Though 135 electors are registered to vote in the conclave set to begin May 7, there will tentatively be 134 present in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next pope.
Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, 79, archbishop emeritus of Valencia, Spain, was eligible to join the other electors from around the world. However, two days after the death of Pope Francis last week, Katholisch reported that the Spanish Bishops’ radio, Cope, stated that the cardinal would not be attending because of health difficulties.
Cardinal Vinko Puljić, archbishop emeritus of Vrhbosna, Sarajevo, in Bosnia-Ercegovina, initially planned similarly and was not going to attend due to health reasons. He was once the youngest cardinal in the Church, being proclaimed a cardinal at age 49 in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Puljić participated in the conclaves at the election of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and retired from active ministry in January 2022.
His change of plan to attend this upcoming conclave followed a “green light” from his physician, according to an April 24 report from the Italian newspaper Il Mattino. The Diocese of Sarajevo stated last week that he would be in attendance, bringing the total number of electors participating to 134.
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And in a third turn of events, an Italian cardinal, whose eligibility to participate in the conclave was highly contested, reportedly renounced today his claim to have a right to vote.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 76, is listed by the Vatican as a non-elector. He had previously claimed to have the right to vote in this conclave, despite having been stripped of “the rights associated with the Cardinalate” by Pope Francis, according to Reuters. The Vatican criminal court convicted him of embezzlement and fraud in 2023 and sentenced him to five and a half years in prison. Cardinal Becciu has said he is not guilty of these charges and has appealed.
He also told Reuters last week that Pope Francis said in a meeting they had in January, “I think I have found a solution,” but was not sure if the pope left any written statements about Cardinal Becciu’s situation.
Cardinal Becciu also told the news outlet April 24 that it would be his fellow cardinals who will determine whether he can participate or not.
He has been participating in the general congregations at the Vatican, according to Il Messaggero. At the fifth General Congregation held this morning, Cardinal Becciu reportedly resolved the situation himself by renouncing any further claim to his right to vote, according to Il Tempo.
Also participating in the General congregations are non-elector cardinals, who are 80 years or older. On April 28, 93-year Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, and a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist government and of the 2018 China-Vatican agreement, arrived at the Vatican to participate in the congregations. Hong Kong Cardinal Stephen Chow, 66, will participate in the conclave, NBC reports.
The Holy See Press Office stated in the afternoon of April 28 that during the fifth General Congregation, cardinals “addressed issues of particular relevance for the future of the Church: the relationship with the contemporary world and some of the challenges that are highlighted, evangelization, the relationship with other faiths, the issue of abuse. And there was talk of the qualities that the new Pontiff must possess to respond effectively to these challenges.”