First Sunday without a pope
Posted at: 03/03/2013 7:05 PM
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It was a quiet morning in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday, the first Sunday without the traditional papal blessing.
Cardinals are expected to meet on Monday to discuss when to begin the conclave to choose the next pope.
A Nazareth College professor who is also a church scholar said on "Rochester in Focus" on Sunday that it could be an Italian.
“One of the criticisms of Pope Benedict is that he kind of lost control of the bureaucracy of the church, the Vatican and the inside of the church. Or do we want a Pope who will be the same kind of global figure that Pope John XXIII or Pope John Paul II was. So that will be an interesting dynamic. I think people need to remember there are 115 cardinals, 28 of them are Italian and those who are favoring the internal government structure are saying it's more likely it could be an Italian,” said Dr. Tim Thibodeau.
Dr. Thibodeau says the resignation of Pope Benedict will likely delay the naming of a new bishop for the 12-county Rochester Catholic Diocese.
Bishop Clark reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 last July.
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