When Mykola Bychok took part in the Walk for Justice for Refugees in his adopted homeland of Australia, he had a simple message. Mr Bychok, a Ukrainian who has advocated for legislation to help migrants settle in foreign countries, is now a member of the College of Cardinals , the body which will have the task of electing a new pontiff once Pope Francis dies. With the year-old Argentinian Pope in hospital in Rome suffering from double pneumonia, acute respiratory difficulties and partial kidney failure, it is a task which the College may have to face sooner rather than later.
The prospect of electing a new Pope could not have come at a more delicate time globally, with the return of Donald Trump, the re-emergence of the far-Right in Europe and a rising backlash against migration. The cardinals once again hold the future direction of the Catholic Church in their hands, and with it the 1. There are cardinals in total, but only of them are eligible to vote for the next Pope β the rest are ruled out because they are over the age of Of the , were appointed by Pope Francis β about 80 per cent.
He has named people who will bring to the discussion about the future Pope the voice of migrants, of the poor, of the victims of war. However, nothing is certain in the secretive world of the conclave. The secretive election will be held about two weeks after the Pope dies β that gives time for cardinals around the world to travel to Rome.
But it is not as simple as that, Vatican watchers caution. Assuming that the College is stacked in such a way that a Francis clone is guaranteed to be elected is overly simplistic, say veteran experts. The cardinals appointed by Francis come from a wide range of countries and have wildly diverging views on issues such as the role of women in the Church and attitudes towards gay Catholics. Pope Francis is still alive, of course, and his condition is slowly getting better, according to the Vatican.
Francis received the Eucharist on Monday morning and worked in the afternoon, officials said. Antonio Spadaro , a Jesuit theologian who is close to the Pope, also chided Church insiders speculating about whether the Pope might decide to resign.
