Indian cardinals to vote for new Pope

Three cardinals from India would cast their votes to elect new papal chief.

Three cardinals from India would be among the 117 who would cast their votes during the elections for a new papal chief following the death of Pope John Paul II.

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The three cardinals are Archbishop Ivan Dias from Mumbai, Varkey Vithayathil from Kochi and Cardinal Toppo from Ranchi, according to Rector of the Goregaon Seminary, an institute for training priest, Father Cleophas Fernandes.

Of the five cardinals in India, two including Cardinal Simon Pimenta from Mumbai, would not be eligible to cast their votes despite their cardinal status, for having crossed the age barrier of 80 years, he said.

Usually, the church follows a nine-day mourning after the demise of a Pope, during which the burial is often carried out between the fourth and sixth day, according to general secretary of Catholic Secular Forum Joseph Dias.

"Technically, it is not necessary that the Cardinal elect someone from among them as a Pope. It is also not necessary that an election is held only on the death of a Pope; it can happen even if a Pope resigns. It is also possible that an ordinary person or bishop be made a Pope by the cardinals. But this has not happened so far", he said.

"Fifteen days after his death, the Cardinals would have to gather in Rome. A maximum of 120 cardinals who are below 80 would be entitled to elect the next pope," he said quoting a Vatican document -- the `UDG' -- decreed in 1996.