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Conclave to choose new pope will start May 7, Vatican says

VATICAN CITY (NYT) — A conclave to elect the next pope will start May 7, the Vatican said Monday, setting up a key moment that will help decide the future of the Roman Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis last week at 88.

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The vote will help decide the direction of the church, with some contenders seen as likely to build on Francis’ pastoral approach and others representing a return to a more traditional style.

Scores of cardinals have been gathering since the pope’s death to decide on logistical details about the pope’s mourning, to discuss major issues facing the church and to pick a date when cardinal-electors will meet in the Sistine Chapel to vote for Francis’ successor.

Only cardinals younger than 80 are eligible to vote in the secret ballot. Out of the 252 current cardinals, most appointed by Francis, about 130 can vote. A two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new pope, and cardinals are not allowed to leave the conclave until a successor is named, except in rare cases.

Generally, a conclave must begin 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death; this one will start 16 days after Francis died. In the last conclave, in 2013, Francis was elected in two days.

The word “conclave” — from the Latin “with key” — refers to the isolation imposed on them, which is meant to keep the electoral process from dragging on. The cardinals will stay in Casa Santa Marta, which was built on John Paul II’s orders to replace the improvised rooming arrangements in the papal palace that had previously housed them.

During the conclave, onlookers watch a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel to learn if a new pope has been elected. If, after a vote, a two-thirds consensus has not been reached, black smoke is emitted. When a pope has been chosen, the smoke is white.

The Peace Corps, under review by DOGE, plans for ‘significant’ cuts

(NYT) — The head of a Peace Corps alumni group said Monday he had been informed that the agency was planning to reduce the number of full-time staff who support volunteers overseas.

The official, Dan Baker, president and CEO of the National Peace Corps Association, said he had heard the news the same day from Cheryl Faye, who is the Peace Corps’ acting deputy CEO. He said he was told that the cuts were planned at the behest of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and other foreign-aid agencies.

The Peace Corps confirmed in a statement that the Musk team was assessing its operations and “working to identify additional efficiencies in our staffing structure.”

“The agency will remain operational and continue to recruit, place and train volunteers, while continuing to support their health, safety and security, and effective service,” the Peace Corps said.

Baker said he had been told that the Peace Corps would not close any offices in foreign countries or reduce the numbers of volunteers it takes per year. The agency, which operates independently within the executive branch, was founded under President John F. Kennedy. It has about 3,000 volunteers who serve for two years in one of 60 developing countries.

The Peace Corps has about 970 full-time American employees who recruit new volunteers and oversee their training, health care and security. Of those employees, about 790 work in the United States.