Pope Francis issued a strong critique of the Church before the College of Cardinals just hours before it selected him as the new Pontiff, according to comments published on Tuesday by a Roman Catholic magazine in Cuba.
Cardinals have set Tuesday as the start date for the conclave to elect the next pope, signaling that they were wrapping up a week of discussions about the problems of the church and who best among them might lead it.
Although temperatures are falling, it may already be spring for the Catholic Church and Malacañang. Signaling a thawing of relations between Church and State, President Benigno Aquino III on Saturday turned up at San Fernando de Dilao Parish Church in Paco, Manila, to hear Thanksgiving Mass for the elevation of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle to the College of Cardinals.
Following the death of Jose Cardinal Sanchez, either Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle or Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma will likely be named a cardinal when Pope Benedict XVI calls for the next consistory, according to Church officials.
