Cardinals begin pre-conclave meetings amid scandal

             
Cardinals from around the world gathered Monday inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire.                        

The Vatican said 103 of the 115 electors had arrived, while the other dozen are en route. The dean of the College of Cardinals has said a date for the conclave won't be set until all cardinals have arrived.                     

Among the first orders of business was the oath of secrecy each cardinal made, pledging to maintain "rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff."                  

 The college of cardinals also agreed to send Benedict XVI a message on behalf of the group  the text was being worked on."                      

The core agenda item is to set the date for the conclave and set in place procedures to prepare for it, including closing the Sistine Chapel to visitors and getting the Vatican hotel cleared out and de-bugged, lest anyone try to listen in on the secret conversations of the cardinals.                       

The first day of discussion was again rocked by revelations of scandal, with Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien admitting that he had engaged in sexual misconduct not befitting a priest, archbishop or cardinal.                        

O'Brien last week resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and said he wouldn't participate in the conclave after four men came forward with allegations that he had acted inappropriately with them  the first time a cardinal has stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal.      


AP