Cardinals heading for Vatican to elect next Pope in conclave

By BRIAN MURPHY

VATICAN CITY (AP) � From every corner of the world, the redrobed "princes" of the Roman Catholic Church headed toward the Vatican yesterday to prepare for the secret duty they were appointed to carry out � gathering in the Sistine Chapel to elect the successor for the late Pope John Paul II.

It�s a process steeped in centuriesold rituals and arcane traditions, such as precise rules for how to bind together the tallied papal ballots with a needle and thread. But there are also modern forces at play, including stronger voices from outside Europe among the College of Cardinals that could shape the outcome of the conclave.

"This Pope has so broadened the outreach and meaning of the papacy," said Jo Renee Formicola, a professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, who has studied Vatican trends. "It�s clear the cardinals will have to pay attention to this."

It�s the nature of their role. The main task of a cardinal, a title granted by the Pope, is the papal selection. Privately, they always are assessing the constantly reshuffled list of "papabile," the Italian word for likely papal candidates.

The Roman Catholic Church�s most visible trend is its growing strength outside Europe � and this is reflected in the very makeup of the next conclave, bettering the prospects of Latin American or African candidates such as Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Vatican-based Nigerian, or Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes.

Asia, Africa, and Latin American account for 44 of the cardinals under 80 years old � the condition for participating in the conclave and voting for the Pope � compared with 58 from Europe. The United States, which could play an important swing role, has 11 cardinals among the 117 papal electors. When the conclave, which begins later this month, casts its final ballot, it will be the largest group ever to have decided on a pontiff.

It�s almost certain the next pope will be among them: although technically the cardinals can select any baptized male Roman Catholic, the last time they looked outside their elite group was 1378.

Many cardinals have been living here, working in Vatican posts. Others cut short trips or canceled plans and began heading to Rome

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