VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is now waiting for five more cardinals to reach Rome before setting the date for the conclave to elect a new pope.
The Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said another handful of cardinals had arrived Monday night, bringing the number of voting-age cardinals up to 110 of the 115 expected to take part.
During the second day of pre-conclave meetings, cardinals asked for information about the management of the Vatican bureaucracy — and managers responded — after cardinals said they wanted to get to the bottom of allegations of corruption and cronyism in the Holy See’s governance.
Also Tuesday, cardinals signed off on a telegram sent to Benedict XVI thanking him for his “brilliant” ministry and his “untiring work in the vineyard of the Lord.”