Chilean to announce new pope

2005-02-28 17:31

Vatican City - The name of the successor to Pope John Paul II will be announced by a Chilean cardinal - one of the men who elect the Roman Catholic Church leader - but Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez said on Monday there was no risk it could be him.

"The cardinals would be foolish" to do that, he told AFP. "There is no risk" that will happen, he said.

John Paul II has formally asked Medina Estivez, 78, to step onto the balcony of St Peter's Basilica after his death and the election of a new pope and announce the name of his successor to the world's more than one billion Catholics.

His new brief comes with the title of protodeacon, bestowed on the person most awaited by the public after 119 cardinals meet behind closed doors in a so-called Conclave to elect the 265th pope.

The honour is related to his age and not to merit, Medina Estivez said, adding: "But the crucial moment hasn't come yet."

"There is no indication of a crisis. The crisis has passed," he said, referring to John Paul II's latest health scare.

Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement on Monday the pope had begun efforts to recover his voice following a throat operation on Thursday that became necessary after complications of the flu.

John Paul II, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder, made a surprise appearance at his hospital window on Sunday - making the sign of the cross and waving to pilgrims.

It was the first time he has been seen in public since his hospitalisation on Thursday.

- AFP