They Aren't In A Rush (And Maybe More On That Report)

Per Rorate, there are still 5 cardinals who haven't even made it to the General Congregation in Rome yet. That blasts the whole prospects of a start to the conclave this week. They've gone ahead and shut down the Sistine Chapel, though, so at least they're getting that out of the way. At this rate, all the measures taken to give the cardinals a jump on the process will be moot.

In other news, while the report itself might be reserved to the next Vicar of Christ, it's possible that its contents will be made known to the conclave's participants, according to this report from CNA.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley said he trusts the cardinals taking part in the papal election will be informed on the necessary background information related to the Vatileaks scandal.

“The cardinals feel confident that we will get all the information that we need for our deliberation,” said Cardinal O’Malley at a March 5 news conference at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

“It does not necessarily mean that the report will be shared with us, but if anything remains that we need to know about, I’m sure they will inform us,” said the cardinal.

The Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, was also at the Tuesday afternoon briefing.

“In general, obviously, we want to know as much as we can regarding the governance of the Church,” said Cardinal DiNardo.

The "background information related to the Vatileaks scandal" is pretty broad, but given the fact that the report commissioned by Pope Benedict was directly related to the aforementioned scandal, it seems plausible that it's the same stuff here. Plus, there were already indications from some sources that the three cardinals charged with the investigation would be able to share their knowledge, albeit not the entire report, with the other members of the College.

It's times like this when I really hate my complete and utter lack of patience.