Conclave to elect a new pope will start on May 7 as cardinals get to know one another

By NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VATICAN CITY AP Catholic cardinals on Monday set May as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis successor delaying the secret voting for two days so they can get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis funeral Saturday In a chaotic scene journalists shouted questions about the mood inside and whether there was unity A reporter for a satirical Italian television undertaking required whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on finance-related charges would be allowed to vote British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa left and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu arrive for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa center right and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu are surrounded by reporters as they arrive for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Cardinal Anthony Poola from India arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Argentine Cardinal ngel Sixto Rossi speaks to reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Cardinal Matteo Zuppi left is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Show Caption of British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals meeting at the Vatican Monday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Expand The conclave could have opened as early as May or but the cardinals gave themselves extra time to speak in more informal sessions that include cardinals over age who will not be allowed into the Sistine Chapel once the conclave begins There is the hope of unity explained Argentine Cardinal ngel Sixto Rossi the -year-old archbishop of Cordoba who Francis made a cardinal in Plenty of cardinals cited the desire to continue Francis pastoral focus on people who are marginalized and against war But conservatives may be more focused on forging unity and refocusing the church back to core doctrines emphasized by St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI rather than continuing Francis social justice focus and outreach to women and gays British Cardinal Vincent Nichols the -year-old archbishop of Westminster was adamant that the church must strive for unity and he downplayed divisions The role of the pope is to essentially hold us together and that s the grace we ve been given from God Nichols announced Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo expressed confidence that once the conclave begins a decision would be quick between two and three days Cardinal electors The College of Cardinals that will elect a new pope includes members from far-flung corners of the globe whom Francis named over his -year papacy to bring in new points of view A multitude of have spent little or no time in Rome getting to know colleagues injecting various uncertainty into a process that requires two-thirds of the voting-age cardinals to coalesce behind a single candidate Nichols acknowledged that the cardinal electors of whom were appointed by Francis don t know each other very well The last were appointed in early December We ve got all week Nichols reported as he arrived Only cardinals under are eligible to vote and it is not clear how multiple of the will participate A Spanish cardinal has revealed he won t come to Rome for vitality reasons A big uncertainty is whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu once one of the the bulk powerful cardinals in the Vatican will be allowed in the Sistine Chapel Francis in forced Becciu to resign as head of the Vatican s saint-making office and renounce his rights as a cardinal because of charges of embezzlement and financial fraud Becciu denied any wrongdoing but was put on trial in the Vatican criminal court and convicted of finance-related charges in December He is appealing the conviction and has participated in the pre-conclave meetings but there is a lingering question about whether he is entitled to vote The Vatican s official statistics list him as a non-elector When he was ousted in Becciu described a hastily arranged press conference that he wouldn t be voting in any future conclave but in the last few days he has insisted he is entitled to vote and canon lawyers have been poring over the Vatican document regulating the conclave to determine if he s right The situation was discussed Monday by cardinals but there was no resolution the Vatican commented Papal candidates While Francis stacked the ranks with his cardinals it is not necessarily the affair that all of them will want to see the church continue in his image On Monday any glimpse of a red cap appearing along St Peter s Square s stately colonnade set journalists running with cameras and voice recorders aloft to capture the mood inside Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi considered a contender to be the next pope navigated the scrum of journalists with humor joking that he was holding his breath as the microphones and cameras surrounded him all the way to the Vatican gate African voices Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan the emeritus archbishop of Abuja was solicited if the African cardinals were coalescing around a particular candidate African bishops had made a remarkably united stand last year against Francis outreach to LGBTQ people refusing to implement his declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples Given such a stand there is particular speculation that the African cardinal electors could help block a progressive candidate from emerging We have not come here for a political rally We have come to get a pope out reported Onaiyekan who at is too old to vote but can have a role in influencing how younger electors might Asian and Latin American voices Indian Cardinal Anthony Poola the -year-old archbishop of Hyderabad reported he had experienced a sense of unity among his fellow cardinals but allowed that anything could happen As a relatively young cardinal Poola is one of four Indian electors who will participate in the conclave three of whom including Poola were named by Francis Anyone who is coming up must be the successor of St Peter and we all hope that he will be a good pope he reported Rossi the Argentine cardinal mentioned he hoped that Francis message of mercy closeness charity tenderness and faith would accompany them in finding a successor But he acknowledged the job was daunting Questioned how he felt about participating in his first conclave he responded with a laugh Afraid Associated Press religion coverage receives promotion through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content