Following the conclave

It has been reported today that the papal conclave to elect the successor of Benedict XVI will begin on Tuesday, March 12. Dr. Chau Phan, a Catholic lay ecumenist in the community of Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach, Florida whose ecumenical advocacy has been mentioned previously on Ecclesial Theology, has set up a helpful resource page for those interested in following the conclave. Included are links to news reports and analyses, information about the "papabili" (possible viable candidates for the papacy), and a listing of cardinal electors eligible to vote in the conclave. I hope readers of Ecclesial Theology will not only make use of this informative resource for keeping up with developments but will also pray that God's Spirit might guide the cardinals as they make this decision of great importance for the church catholic as well as the Catholic Church.

Coincidentally, on the day the conclave begins I will deliver the Robert K. Campbell Memorial Lectures on Christian Unity at DeSales University in Pennsylvania sponsored by the Lehigh County Conference of Churches. Four cardinals have delivered the lectures previously: Avery Cardinal Dulles (1993), William Cardinal Keeler (1997), Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy (2000), and Walter Cardinal Kasper (2005).