The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

CATHOLIC Archbishop Patrick Pinder said the concerns of developing countries, such as poverty and the importance of family life, will play a major role in discussions among senior international clergy following the death of Pope Francis.

Typically, such matters are discussed during the general congregations in Vatican City, the meetings held between the death or resignation of a pope and the start of the conclave to elect a successor. Cardinals, who serve as high-ranking advisors to the pope, use these gatherings to prepare the pope’s funeral and organise the conclave.

“I believe there is reflection,” Archbishop Pinder said of the general congregations on Friday. “There has to be some deep, deep reflection on just what the real needs in the church are, what its role in ministering to the world as a whole is, and those are the kinds of things. That will concern the cardinals.”

As for needs in The Bahamas, Archbishop Pinder said local challenges mirror those in other developing countries.

“Today, the church’s greatest growth is in the developing world. So certainly concerns like poverty, issues like the importance of family life and all those sorts of things, I think those are kinds of things that certainly will play very, very much in the discussions,” he said.

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass is scheduled was held on Saturday outside St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Archbishop Pinder said The Bahamas’ non-resident ambassador to the Holy See was expected to attend the service.

The death of Pope Francis, known for his progressive stances on several church issues, has fuelled speculation about whether the cardinals will elect a successor who continues his reforms.

Archbishop Pinder noted that Cardinal Kelvin Felix of Dominica, the region’s representative, died last year at 91. Cardinal Felix would have been too old to participate in the conclave, as only those under 80 are eligible.