This morning, the Congregration met again. This time 88 of the 91 cardinals present in Rome attended.
The most intersting part of today’s press bulletin regarding this meeting is the discussion of the “in pectore” cardinal. In 2003, Pope John Paul II named a name cardinal “in pectore”, that is he named him in his heart. This is a techique that is used, in most cases, when a cardinal is in a location where great harm would come upon him if his being named cardinal was public. An example would be a bishop living in China. The state church, which is the only “Catholic” church allowed in China, does not acknowledge the authority of the Vatican. For someone there to be named a cardinal could cause more problems than anything else. The pope is the only person to know the identity of the in pectore cardinal.
There is a chance, however remote, that Pope John Paul II recorded the name of this cardinal in his will. I was under the impression that he did not have a will, since his burial instructions had already been announced. Whether that was a right impression to take or not, apparently, he has a will and it has not been read yet.