Faithful Pay Their Final Respects

Tens of thousands of mourners are continuing to pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II, who has been lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica since Monday.

As the faithful waited in line - overnight, and for miles - for their turn inside St. Peter's, the cardinals who will elect the next pope gathered to hear the contents of any documents John Paul may have left for their eyes only.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said after the cardinals met that they hadn't yet decided on a date for the conclave, which according to church law must occur between 15 and 20 days from the death of a pope.

He said the cardinals hadn't yet read John Paul's spiritual testament. They spent Tuesday continuing to work out details of Friday's funeral, in which John Paul will be laid to rest with regal pageantry near the traditional tomb of the first pope, St. Peter.

Navarro-Valls said 91 of the 183 cardinals were in Rome as of Tuesday. Only 117 of them, those under the age of 80, can vote in the conclave.

The documents may also include the identity of a cardinal the pope appointed in secret several years ago - a move reserved by the Vatican for cardinals working in countries where the Catholic Church is formally oppressed by the government.

Friday's funeral will be attended by hundreds of dignitaries including President and Mrs. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Prince Charles - who has postponed his wedding, which was to be that same day.

Others attending include the heads of Muslim states and a delegation from communist Cuba.

"It's an extraordinary day," said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of Genoa and a possible candidate for pope, accompanied by camera crew and security personnel as he greeted pilgrims who had camped out in the cold all night in St. Peter's Square. He said the crowds were there "to give back to the pope all the love the pope gave to the world."

Rome expects the already overwhelming flow of pilgrims to step up in the days leading up to Friday's funeral, possibly surging to as many as Rome's own population of 3 million.

The doors of St. Peter's Basilica were opened to the general public Monday evening. At 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, an hour later than had been announced, the doors were closed for cleaning and the faithful outside started chanting "Open-up, open-up!" in protest.

Just before 5 a.m., about 20 minutes earlier than planned, the basilica's doors reopened and people rushed back into line.

"It was sad but amazing, there were so many people in the basilica but it was still completely silent," said Lauren Davia, a 20-year-old American who studies in Rome. Davia saw the pope after a four-hour wait that began early in the morning. Faithful coming during the day could expect to wait for even longer.

Margherita Saccomani, who came from the Tuscan port town of Leghorn to pay her respects to the pope, huddled under an emergency foil blanket with her three children during the wait.

"I hope it's not curiosity but deep faith that brings people here," the 43-year-old Saccomani said. "I am here because I want my daughters to experience this."

On Monday, John Paul's body was removed from the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, where it had lain in state for prelates and dignitaries. Twelve pallbearers in white gloves, flanked by Swiss Guards in medieval uniform, bore the pope's remains on a scarlet platform to the basilica.

Navarro-Valls says John Paul will "almost surely" be buried in the tomb where Pope John XXIII lay before he was brought up onto the main floor of the basilica. John XXIII, who died in 1963, was moved after his 2000 beatification because so many pilgrims wanted to visit his tomb, and the grotto is in a cramped underground space.

The next pope is likely to closely follow John Paul's conservative bent - the late pontiff appointed all but three of the 117 cardinals entitled to vote.

John Paul opposed divorce, birth control, abortion, homosexuality, the ordination of women and the lifting of the celibacy requirement for priests, all issues that have sharply divided the church.

As was the case when John Paul II was chosen, many Catholics are hoping for reforms under the leadership of the new pope.

This time, reformers are focused on issues including the problem of sexual abuse by priests and other clergy.

Many victims were angered that the pope never met with them to hear about their experiences and apologize, although he did express regret to other groups who had suffered because of the church, including Jews and Orthodox Christians.

Church leaders rarely mention the sex scandals when asked about the key challenges facing the next pope. Interfaith tensions, global poverty and declining religious observance in North America and Europe are widely considered more pressing. Some Catholic officials still think of the crisis as mainly an American one, even though Austria, Ireland and other countries have experienced similar problems.

"We can only hope that this next pope will usher in an era with more openness, transparency and a willingness to address the deeper issues which affect the church," said Sue Archibald, head of The Linkup, a sex abuse victims advocacy group.

Even outside Roman Catholicism, leaders from the developing world see a chance for change.

"We hope that perhaps the cardinals when they meet will follow the first non-Italian pope by electing the first African pope," Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu said Sunday, in Cape Town, South Africa.

There has been speculation that the next pope may be from Latin America - home to half of the world's one billion Roman Catholics.

Others are wondering if the new pontiff might be instead from Asia or Africa - two regions where the church is experiencing explosive growth.