Cardinals pray before conclave

Roman Catholic Cardinals prayed yesterday for spiritual guidance ahead of a closed-door conclave to choose a new Pope to lead the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history. Cardinals are holding a final pre-conclave meeting today to discuss the state of their Church, left reeling by the abdication last month of Pope Benedict XVI and struggling to deal with a string of sexual abuse and corruption scandals. The 115 cardinals who will take part in the secret ballots, which start on March 12, fanned out around Rome yesterday to hold myriad Masses, either in the quiet of private chapels or in the grandeur of Rome’s great cathedrals and basilicas. Each cardinal is traditionally assigned to a church in the Italian capital and congregations swelled in parishes visited by those considered the most likely papal contenders – such as Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo, Brazil. “We’re all preparing for the conclave because we need to make the right decision to decide who is going to be the new Pope,” Cardinal Scherer told a small Baroque church in the heart of Rome, crammed with well-wishers. He was later driven away in a minivan with darkened windows, declining to...