VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholic cardinals prayed on Tuesday fordivine help in choosing a new pope, hours before they go into a conclave to elect a pontiff who will faceone of the most difficult periods in the Church's history.
The red-hatted cardinals filed into St. Peter's Basilica as choirs sang ata solemn Mass that traditionally precedes the secret conclave, which could lastfor several days.
Italian Angelo Sodano,dean of the cardinals, called for unity in the Church, which has been rivenwith intrigue and scandal, and urged everyone to work with the next pope.
"My brothers, letus pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noblemission with a generous heart," Sodano said in his homily, receiving warm applausewhen he thanked "the beloved and venerable" Benedict XVI.
Pope Benedict abdicated last month, saying he was not strong enough at 85to confront the woes of a Church whose 1.2 billion members look to Rome forleadership. He has secluded himself from public life and was not present atTuesday's service.
The Mass was the lastevent for the cardinals before they enter the Sistine Chapel and start theirballoting for the next pontiff underneath the gaze of the divine presencerepresented through Michelangelo's famous fresco of the Last Judgment.
Only the 115 "princes of the Church" who are aged under 80 willtake part in the vote, which is steeped in ritual. A two-thirds majority isneeded to elect the new pope.
No clear favorite hasemerged to take the helm of the Church, with some prelates calling for a strongmanager to control the much criticized Vatican bureaucracy, while otherswant a powerful pastor to combat growing secularism.
Italy's Angelo Scola andBrazil's Odilo Scherer are spoken of as possible frontrunners. The former wouldreturn the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland's John Paul IIand the German Benedict; the latter would be the first non-European pope sinceSyrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.
However, a host of other candidates from numerous nations have also beenmentioned as "papabili" - potential popes - including U.S. cardinalsTimothy Dolan and Sean O'Malley, Canada's Marc Ouellet and Argentina's LeonardoSandri.
MANY CHOICES
The cardinals will only emerge from their seclusion once they have chosenthe 266th pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Church, which is beset bysex abuse scandals, bureaucratic infighting, financial difficulties and therise of secularism.
Many Catholics are looking to see positive changes.
"He must be a great pastor with a big heart, and also have thecapacity to confront the Church's problems, which are very great," saidMaria Dasdores Paz, a Brazilian nun who attended the Mass in Rome. "Everyday there seem to be more."
In the past month, Britain's only cardinal elector excused himself fromthe conclave and apologized for sexual misconduct.
Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carreratold Italy's La Stampa newspaper there were differing views about who should bethe next pontiff, with some wanting an academic, others seeking someone closeto the people, and others a good manager.
Asked if the conclave could therefore drag on, he said: "I do notthink it will be long ... we will come to an agreement very quickly".
The average length of the last nine conclaves was just over three days andnone went on for more than five.
Signaling the divisions among Catholic ranks, Italian newspapers reportedon Tuesday an open clash between prelates in a pre-conclave meeting on Monday.
The newspapers said the Vatican hierarchy's number two under Benedict,Tarcisio Bertone, had accused Brazil's Joao Braz de Aviz of leaking criticalcomments to the media.
Aviz retorted to loud applause that the leaks were coming from the Curia-- the Vatican's central administration which has been criticized for failingto prevent a string of mishaps during Benedict's troubled, eight-year reign.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
All the prelates in the Sistine Chapel were appointed by either BenedictXVI or John Paul II, and the next pontiff will almost certainly pursue theirfierce defense of traditional moral teachings.
But Benedict and John Paul were criticized for failing to reform theCuria, and some churchmen believe the next pope must be a good chief executiveor at least put a robust management team in place under him.
Vatican insiders say Scola, who has managed two big Italian dioceses,might be best placed to understand the Byzantine politics of the Vaticanadministration - of which he has not been a part - and be able to introduceswift reform.
The still influential Curia is said by the same insiders to back Scherer,who worked in the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops for seven years beforelater leading Brazil's Sao Paolo diocese - the largest in a country with thebiggest national Catholic community.
With only 24 percent of Catholics living in Europe, pressure is growing tochoose a pontiff from elsewhere in the world who would bring a differentperspective.
Latin American cardinals might worry more about poverty and the rise ofevangelical churches than questions of materialism and sexual abuse thatdominate in the West, while the growth of Islam is a major concern for theChurch in Africa and Asia.
The cardinals are expected to hold their first vote late on Tuesdayafternoon - which is almost certain to be inconclusive - before retiring to aVatican guesthouse for the night.
They hold four ballots a day from Wednesday until one man has won atwo-thirds majority - or 77 votes. Black smoke from a makeshift chimney on theroof of the Sistine Chapel will signify no one has been elected, while whitesmoke and the pealing of the bells of St. Peter's Basilica will announce thearrival of a new pontiff.
As in medieval times, the cardinals will be banned from communicating withthe outside world. The Vatican has taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecyin the 21st century, including electronic jamming devices to preventeavesdropping.
