New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan says choosing new pope will be "more difficult this time"
The eyes of the globe are on the Vatican as the conclave to elect the next pope is about to begin, and New York's Timothy Cardinal Dolan says this time will be more difficult.
He spoke to CBS News New York's Mary Calvi in his last broadcast TV interview before being sequestered.
"It seems to me to be pretty open season"
The days ahead of the conclave come with much tradition and ceremony. On Monday, cooks, cleaners, maintenance and medical staff joined members of the Vatican's clergy to take an oath of secrecy.
Dolan said Tuesday it's to help ensure the integrity of the process.
"We're so fascinated by this veil of secrecy, everyone taking an oath, even the Vatican personnel," Calvi said.
"If you know church history, you know why. There has been constant tampering," Dolan said. "There was a lot of interference. There could be a lot of finagling."
Preparations have been made inside the Sistine Chapel. The 133 voting cardinals' names have been laid out on set tables. Of the 133 electors, 108 were named by Pope Francis himself.
Many, however, didn't know each other before last week, giving them little time so far to determine who should be elevated to lead the Catholic Church.
"It seems to me to be pretty open season," Dolan said.
The process can move quickly. The last three popes have been elected in two or three days.
"You so quickly coalesced around Pope Francis, voted in on the second day. Is it more difficult this time? Is it a bigger challenge?" Calvi asked.
"It will be more difficult because what I'm told is the reason everybody coalesced last time around Papa Bergolio was because he was runner-up only, well how long? In 2005. So we're talking about eight years later. So all of those cardinals could remember that," Dolan said.
Dolan says the first ballot helps sort out the frontrunners and momentum plays a role – a favorite who falls short of expectations can quickly fade, opening the door for other contenders to rise.
"I have seen immense diversity"
The cardinals held their last day of meetings ahead of the conclave Tuesday. Francis' fisherman's ring and his official seal were destroyed. This marked one of the last formal rites of the transition from his pontificate to the next.
The question remains – will Francis' efforts to reform and modernize the church move forward or will the church return to more traditional doctrine?
"People have said, is there deep division in the College of Cardinals? I haven't seen division. I have seen immense diversity," Dolan said.
Dolan says he has not yet decided who to support.
"I definitely have two or three that I'm thinking, 'I appreciate this guy, I studied what he's written and said,'" Dolan said.
The cardinal spoke to Calvi about the three things he's looking for in a potential pope.
First, he says they should be a linguist who speaks fluent Italian and other languages. Second, they should be a pastor who has served in a diocese within a community, and third, someone who has worked in the Vatican but not someone who would be considered what he called a "lifer."
Someone like Newark's Cardinal Joseph Tobin, a close ally of Pope Francis, could be in consideration. Tobin consistently laughs off talk of his papal potential.
"I think that my sisters must bake cookies and bribe people," Tobin said in February 2023.
Dolan is also one of a handful of Americans occasionally mentioned as conclave contenders.
