In a blog post from Rome, where cardinals are meeting to eventually elect a new pope, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Friday that the man picked for the position may bring "radical change" -- to hearts.
Dolan, the archbishop of New York, was one of the cardinals chosen by Pope Benedict XVI to elect a successor after he decided to step down last month. Dolan is in Rome preparing for the papal conclave, which is set to begin Tuesday.
In the post, Dolan says the issue of scandals within the church hasn't been entirely ignored by the cardinals, but it has not been a major focus of discussion.
“You may find that hard to believe, since the ‘word on the street’ is that all we talk about is corruption in the Vatican, sexual abuse, money,” Dolan said. “Do these topics come up? Yes! Do they dominate? No!”
The cardinal writes in the post about an encounter with a reporter who asked him if the new pope would bring "radical change." Dolan said the reporter seemed surprised when he responded "yes."
Dolan said he went on to clarify that the church was "'big time' into change; namely, a change in the human heart, which Jesus called repentance or conversion.”
Dolan also describes his daily activities at the Vatican, saying that he has spent much of his time in prayer.
“We’re praying a lot; and, from what I hear, so are you,” Dolan said.
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Dolan said he and the other cardinals have also spent a lot of time discussing teaching the faith, preaching, serving the sick and poor, along with more controversial issues like abortion and "defending the dignity of marriage."
Dolan suggests that there is a similarity between the challenges the first pope, Saint Peter, faced and the challenges the current cardinals are grappling with today.
“How most effectively to present the person, message, and invitation of Jesus to a world that, while searching for salvation and eternal truth, are also at times doubting, skeptical, too busy, or frustrated,” Dolan said.
