The Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Connell, has said he hopes he will never have to vote in a papal conclave.
Speaking to The Irish Times in Rome yesterday at the end of the four-day Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals, Cardinal Connell was keen to play down media speculation that this week's historic meeting was merely a "dry run" for the conclave that will elect the successor to Pope John Paul 11:
"You can't talk about the next Pope until you have seen the last consistory (of Pope John Paul 11's pontificate). Now, the media are taking it for granted that this was the last consistory. "I do not take this for granted. . .People said that the 1998 consistory was the last one. It is my fervent hope that the Pope will outlive my vote and I have five years to go."
Like all cardinals, 75-year-old Dr Connell loses the right to vote in a papal conclave when he reaches 80.
Reflecting on a consistory summoned by the Pope so the cardinals might discuss the many "enormous challenges" facing the Catholic Church in the new millennium, Cardinal Connell underlined the constant, charismatic presence of the Pope throughout the week's meetings.
"People look at the Pope and they see how his movement is so obviously impeded and they think he is not well. Yet, this is the man who only a couple of weeks ago went to Greece, to Syria and to Malta, this is the man who drew up the programme for this week. . .This is a Pope who speaks out of a profound silence, the silence of the contemplative. He lives in the presence of God and yet he is completely immersed in the everyday world."
Although the consistory dealt with a wide range of issues, ranging from globalisation to the crisis of the faith in the developed world, Cardinal Connell highlighted another of the week's major topics - the growing North-South, rich-poor divide.
Pointing out that the consistory's message had called for a church "of solidarity, especially in the current context of globalisation and of ever-growing numbers of the poor, the suffering and of those whose fundamental rights . . . are consistently downtrodden", he paid tribute to the work of the Irish church in the developing world.
"I spoke to the Archbishop of Hondouras (Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga) and he spoke warmly of the help that Ireland gave to Hondouras when it went through a very difficult period some years ago. Trocaire was and is still there with them and President MacAleese has also visited the country. . ."
In the build-up to this week's consistory, it was widely speculated that the issue of "collegiality" - local church relations with the Holy See - was likely to feature prominently.
However, Cardinal Connell is emphatic that there is no "Them and Us, Curia v The Rest" divide at the heart of the College of Cardinals.
Asked if he felt the Curia cardinals were too autocratic, he replied: "I do not think that at all. . .For example, we (the Irish bishops) had a very good Ad Limina visit two years ago. Now that doesn't mean that there aren't tensions.
"Of course there are tensions, but what this week's consistory was saying is that these have to be faced with charity, not in a spirit of confrontation."
He said this week's consistory was intended as a launch pad from which the Catholic Church might build on the remarkable momentum of last year's Jubilee Year. "This was the greatest Jubilee in the history of the church. No Pope was ever so involved in the celebration of the Jubilee and what he wants to do now is maintain that impetus, that renewal of the life of the church."