Oles Horodetsky, head of the Christian Society of Ukrainians in Italy (Rome), spoke about who could become the next Pope and about the funeral rite after the death of Francis.
He announced this on the air of "Apostrophe TV".
"Of course, first there will be a funeral procession. You know that the Pope even changed the funeral rite for himself. Therefore, there will be certain features. Then the general procedure for electing a new Pope will be determined. And this procedure will be announced later. After the funeral," Horodetsky explained.
According to him, it is obvious that all the cardinals will come, including a Ukrainian.
"There will also be a Ukrainian among the cardinals. And, in fact, we can thank the Pope for this, that Bishop Mykola Bychok, a Ukrainian from the Ternopil region, who was the bishop of the Ukrainian community in Australia, became a cardinal by the decision of Pope Francis," Horodetsky noted.
He emphasized that Bychok will be one of the youngest, if not the youngest, cardinal of the Catholic Church who will also elect the next Pope.
"It is very difficult to say who will be the next Pope. First of all, Christian tradition says that this is the decision of the Holy Spirit. But even from a purely human standpoint, it is very difficult now to see any candidate who would have the greatest influence. Of course, Pope Francis, while he was alive, did not have much competition. And therefore it is now difficult to say who could take this position," said Gorodetsky.
They say that the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, could become him.
"Some say it could be Cardinal Parolin. As you know, a few days ago he clearly outlined the Vatican's position on Ukraine, very clearly recognizing territorial integrity and calling not to take away Ukraine's ability to defend itself. He emphasized the role of international law in geopolitics. That is, he gave a very pro-Ukrainian, I would say, even common sense position. Most recently in the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica". It is difficult to say who could be the successor to Pope Francis. We will see. I think that positions will emerge these days ," he added.
Parolin previously made a statement regarding Ukraine. In particular, he called for building peace "without imposition and with mutual respect."
"A just and lasting peace, according to the cardinal, will only be possible if it is based on 'respect for justice and international law,' " the statement on the Vatican News portal reads.
As you know, for the first time in history, in the vote for the new Pope, the majority of cardinal electors will not represent Europe, but countries from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. There are also representatives from the Global South.
The election of the new Pope will be taken up by cardinal advisors under the age of 80. According to the rules, to elect a Pope, two-thirds of the votes of the cardinals plus one more vote are required.
Usually, a conclave (as the meeting of cardinals is called, - Ed.) lasts up to a week, but it can be longer.
Traditionally, if the Pope is not elected on the first day, black smoke will come out of the Sistine Chapel chimney; if a new pontiff is elected, white smoke will come out of the chimney, and the clerks will start ringing the bells.
As "Apostrophe" wrote, Pope Francis died in the Vatican on the morning of April 21. The pontiff was 88 years old.