Cardinals mull Pope Francis' replacement as Vatican prepares for conclave

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Catholic Church prepares to prime caller pope

Church prepares for conclave arsenic authoritative mourning play for Pope Francis comes to an end 02:33

Rome — It's been called "holy smoke." And it's colour coded.

Black and achromatic plumes puffed from canisters implicit the play arsenic pyrotechnics adept Massimiliano De Sanctis tested the mechanics that volition awesome the destiny of the Catholic Church, and who volition beryllium the adjacent antheral to pb its 1.4 cardinal followers.

If the fume that emerges from the chimney astatine the Sistine Chapel is black, it volition mean the 133 cardinal electors wrong for the papal conclave volition proceed voting. When it is white, it means they person elected the heir to St. Peter — and much recently, to Pope Francis.

''Until the predetermination of Pope Benedict XVI, the fume was carried retired successful the accepted way," explained De Sanctis, who owns the FD Group Fireworks company. "Ballots were burned to marque achromatic fume and ballots were burned unneurotic with bedewed straw to marque achromatic smoke. But the Vatican realized that the fume was not peculiarly intense, truthful it had an electrical power portion designed that controlled the classical pyrotechnic smoke.''

The nine-day mourning play for the precocious Pope Francis, who died astatine the property of 88 connected April 21 aft 12 years starring the Catholic Church, officially came to an extremity Monday. As that period, known by its Latin sanction Novemdiales, came to an end, dozens of cardinals, carpenters and pyrotechnics experts were already astatine enactment preparing for the conclave to elite Francis' successor.

Vatican firefighters installed the chimney astatine the Sistine Chapel implicit the weekend, along with the tiny stove successful which the cardinals volition pain their crumpled up ballots aft each vote. The voting continues, with 1 circular connected the archetypal time of the conclave and past up to 4 regular until 1 proves conclusive, with a caller pontiff being chosen by a bulk of two-thirds positive 1 of the 133 electors.

Different ideologies astatine play arsenic cardinals mull adjacent Catholic leader

That secretive process begins Wednesday, with the archetypal vote, but the cardinal electors person already begun descending connected Vatican City from crossed the world. And with them, comes the intrigue of the governmental campaign-like process of selecting 1 of their ain to pb the religion forward.

Some of the believed front-runners among the cardinals would beryllium expected to align with the policies and philosophies of Pope Francis if they were to get the Catholic Church's apical job, including newly-minted Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius. He told CBS News implicit the play astir gathering with galore of his chap cardinals for the archetypal time.

"I indispensable say, I'm amazed that it's truthful peaceful and specified a affable atmosphere," helium said. "If you work the papers, you get the thought that determination are 2 parties warring for power."

"Of people determination are antithetic points of view," acknowledged Arborelius, who is attending his archetypal conclave. "It's natural."

Much similar Francis was, Arborelius is simply a beardown protagonist of immigrants' rights. He said migrants to Europe person helped to support Catholicism live and good connected the continent, making them "very important for the church."

"I cognize determination are exceptions, but still, we unrecorded successful a planetary time, and it's astir intolerable to halt migration. And we request it also, I mean, successful healthcare, attraction for aged people, taxi drivers," helium said, adding that, "of course, determination has to beryllium immoderate benignant of order, immoderate benignant of harmonious migration and integration" to guarantee migrant populations tin thrive.

The Swedish cardinal besides hopes Francis' successor volition propulsion to integrate women — to a constricted grade — much into the church's operations.

"Some radical are precise anxious to person pistillate priests," acknowledged Arborelius. "But we cannot person that. So, it's important to amusement and to assistance women to find the positions and the enactment that they tin bash successful the church."

Asked wherefore he, like Francis, backed much roles for women, but not priesthood, the cardinal said that, "according to our faith, Christ arsenic a antheral is the icon of what it is to beryllium a priest. Mary is the icon of what a pistillate tin beryllium successful the church."

"Of course, nowadays it's not casual to explicate that," helium said, noting the illustration of the Lutheran Church successful Sweden, which helium said present has "more pistillate ministers than male."

"So that's 1 of our tasks — to amusement that women person a precise important spot successful the church, but we person to amusement what they tin bash and however they tin bash it. And I deliberation Pope Francis has started this. For instance, present they ever accidental successful the Vatican authorities they person a premier curate who is simply a sister, Sister Rafaela. And connected galore issues, for lawsuit I'm besides a subordinate of the Council of Economy, we person six ... experts successful economy, each women, who assistance america to wide up the messiness of the system successful the Vatican. So, I deliberation determination are galore important tasks wherever a pistillate could bash precise overmuch successful bid to assistance the religion successful the nine of today."

Others among the elder prelates gathering astatine the Vatican, however, person been openly captious of Francis, including German Cardinal Gerhard Muller, who has been a staunch defender of accepted Catholic doctrine.

"Gay matrimony is not possible, it's perfectly against the connection of God," helium told CBS News, adding that successful his view, that impossibility extends to the signifier of priests blessing same-sex unions — which Francis green-lighted successful a landmark determination astir 2 years ago.

"We cannot person a blessing successful the consciousness of justifying of a behaviour oregon of a manner which is against the crushed God Himself gave," Muller told CBS News, adding that helium believes the adjacent pope indispensable bring much clarity to interpreting Catholic doctrine, "I deliberation not lone for me, but for each the Catholics successful the world."

It's imaginable that that diverseness successful viewpoints among the cardinal electors wrong the Sistine Chapel could pb to a drawn-out conclave.

In caller times, cardinals person decided connected a caller pope successful conscionable 2 to 3 days.

The longest-ever conclave took spot during the 13th century, successful the adjacent metropolis of Viterbo. It lasted for astir 3 years, and locals became truthful frustrated with the dithering that they removed the extortion from the gathering wherever the cardinals were staying. They yet elected Pope Gregory X.

Tucker Reals contributed to this report.

Chris Livesay