Those wielding power in these days should not be able to use official days of mourning to try to shape a conclave, especially if it’s true that the conclave is to be exercised in freedom and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Of the 135 cardinals eligible to enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7 to elect the next pope, one absence has sparked confusion, controversy and no small amount of speculation, almost as if it were a plot point of the movie “Conclave.”

The estimated 600 to 700 people at the 22nd Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception May 3 came from several different states and with family roots in many different countries, all united in faith for a single purpose.

On the eve of the conclave that will decide the next pontiff, the ring and lead seal of the late Pope Francis were destroyed in the presence of members of the College of Cardinals in the Vatican’s New Synod Hall.

Though it has the relationship between a teen girl and a cuddly creature at its core, “The Legend of Ochi” (A24) is not a sunny children’s movie.