O’malley in Rome: ‘i Don’t Expect to Be Elected Pope’

By Matt Stout
Boston Herald
March 5, 2013

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/03/o_malley_in_rome_i_don_t_expect_to_be_elected_pope

Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, attends a press conference at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Tuesday, March 5, 2013.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley said he has no plans to ditch his brown habit for grand papal robes, largely for one reason: He’s not banking on being pope.

Joined by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston/Houston during a press conference today in Rome, O’Malley chuckled when a reporter said her daughter was wondering if he’d change out of his recognizable Capuchin robe if he indeed emerged from conclave as Pope Benedict’s XVI successor.

“I have worn this uniform for over 40 years and I presume I will wear it until I die — because I don’t expect to be elected pope,” O’Malley said, according to audio of the briefing provided by the Archdiocese of Boston. “I don’t expect to have a change of wardrobe.”

O’Malley, like a handful of other cardinals at the Vatican, has been the subject of continuing speculation about his possible papal candidacy. But as they await the arrival of a few remaining cardinals — O’Malley said he’s heard there are two yet to arrive — cardinals have spent the last two days meeting in general congregations and coffee-breaks with the church’s most pressing challenges topping most conversations.

Discussion about a possible date for the conclave, however, has been informal at best, DiNardo said.

“It’s been around, I can tell you that,” he said. “Because if the electors aren’t all there, why bother until they’re all here and we can do something? But it has already been brought up. We are certainly considering it. It may be that in small groups, some of the cardinals are mentioning a given date or a given time frame.”

O’Malley said he feels there’s no rush to jump into the conclave and name a new pontiff, even with some of the holiest days on the Catholic calendar quickly approaching.

“Many cardinals are concerned that if there are not enough time spent in the general congregation, once we get into the conclave it could drag on,” he said. “I think the preference would be to have enough discussions that when people go to the conclave they already have a pretty clear idea of who they’re going to vote for at that point.”

O’Malley and DiNardo met with the media in another round of press briefings orchestrated for American cardinals. While all the church princes took an oath of secrecy surrounding their discussions, O’Malley said the point of meeting the press is to keep both them and Catholics back home informed about the process.

O’Malley is expected to attend a prayer service tomorrow night in St. Peter’s Basilica, a spokesman for the Boston archbishop said.