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Wednesday, March 13, 2013
La Motte besieged by journalists POPULATION OF CARDINAL OUELLET’S TINY HOMETOWN SURGES AS CONCLAVE BEGINS BY THE CANADIAN PRESS LA MOTTE, Que. — The tiny hometown of Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet was besieged Tuesday by dozens of journalists — creating a sudden jump in the local population of almost 10 per cent. The papal contender’s northwestern Quebec village of 439 people had around 40 media people within its borders as the conclave to choose a new pope began Tuesday in Rome. News teams started arriving en masse over the last couple of days. No pope was elected Tuesday, which means the journalists will remain in the area for at least another day. Two dozen vehicles — including five news satellite trucks — were parked outside La Motte’s old church while the cardinals cast their ballots thousands of kilometres away. Ouellet was baptized and ordained as a priest in the building, which is now primarily a community centre due to declining church attendance in the area. Local officials expect around 50 journalists will visit the town during the conclave and have transformed the church basement into a media room. The co-owner of the only business in La Motte said many of her usual clients are steering clear of her general store to avoid the journalists. “I have some customers who are very shy to come to the store, they are waiting until the journalists are gone,” said Lise Breault, whose shop is across the street from the church. “It makes for a lot of activity in the village. It’s changing our lives.” Breault said several of her regulars have phoned in advance to find out if news crews are near her store. She added, however, that journalists have helped boost sales by buying coffee, chocolate and chips. Ouellet is among those in the running to be the new pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He and 114 other cardinals have sealed themselves inside the famed Sistine Chapel to pick a successor to former Pope Benedict XVI, who retired last month after eight years in office. Black smoke billowed Tuesday from a special chimney installed on the roof of the Vatican, indicating that no decision had been reached. The election of the new pope will be signalled by a puff of white smoke. The 68-year-old Ouellet holds a powerful post in the Vatican, where he plays a key role in the selection of bishops and archbishops around the world.
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
A television cameraman captures footage of two clocks in a media room setup in the basement of the church in La Motte, Que., Tuesday. The centuries-old process for choosing a new pope is veiled in secrecy and the chapel has been swept for listening devices by Vatican security. Several rounds of balloting could be held and the conclave will go on until a new pontiff is chosen. Some Canadians plan to monitor the events a little more closely. Auravelia Colomer, 27, cashed in all her annual vacation time to make the pilgrimage to Italy. The Toronto public-relations consultant originally planned to arrive in Rome for Holy Week but changed her schedule when the conclave was announced. She waited on standby over the weekend before finally securing a flight for Tuesday night. “I thought I needed to be there,” Colomer said. “It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it’s going to be historic.”
She’s hoping to get there before the decision is made and “run over to St. Peter’s Square and camp out until I see the smoke.” Colomer said it’s long been her dream to be present for such a pivotal moment for the Catholic faith, but admits “the possibility of a Canadian pope is also a driving factor.” Cardinals held a final discussion Monday on the type of man best suited for the job. Some wonder whether Catholics need a solid manager to address the Vatican bureaucracy and controversies over scandals and alleged corruption or a more inspirational figure to bring more people into the church. Some possible candidates are Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, and Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer.
Grieving parent breaks down, leaves court, at Magnotta hearing BY THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL — A Chinese father left a courtroom in tears after hearing evidence at the preliminary inquiry of Luka Magnotta, who is accused of killing and dismembering his son. The preliminary hearing for Magnotta has begun with testimony from police witnesses. He is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Jun Lin. As a second police witness took the stand, Daran Lin was overcome with emotion and left the courtroom trembling and in tears, assisted by his translator as he left the room. The hearing is subject to a publication ban on the evidence being presented. However, members of the public and media are allowed to witness it. A unique
defence attempt to have the courtroom closed was rejected Tuesday. The first witness to take the stand at the preliminary hearing was the lead investigator in the case. Michel Bourque is a Montreal police major crimes investigator and was the primary detective in the case against Magnotta. Later a crime-scene technician, Caroline Simoneau, took the stand. During a difficult bit of testimony, Lin’s father left the room. Magnotta sat in the prisoner’s box with his arms folded. An interpreter has been stationed near him to translate French-language testimony into English. Earlier Tuesday, the judge presiding over the hearing ruled that the public and media would be allowed to attend the legal proceedings. Quebec court Judge
Ex-RCMP officer arrested after huge weapons stockpile found at a house BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — Homemade assault rifles, land mines, crossbows and a small cannon were among a huge stockpile of weapons found hidden in the walls and garage of one home in eastern Ontario, police said Tuesday. Two people, including a former RCMP officer who has been under a lifetime weapons ban since 2008, were arrested and charged after police searched the house in Bancroft, Ont., on March 7. They are each facing hundreds of charges. In all, 67 weapons were seized, several of them illegally converted or altered, along with tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, police said.
The Department of National Defence had to be called in to help remove anti-personnel landmines, grenades, detonator cords and blasting caps. Police are still working to figure out why someone would amass such a cache of firearms and other weapons, Lessard said. The seizure is among the largest police in the region have seen allegedly from one person, he said. “We are pleased that these weapons are now secure,” Lessard said. “As police officers we never want to see this kind of firepower in one place. It tends to attract attention and could be the target of criminals who want these weapons for their illegal activities.”
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Lori-Renee Weitzman denied a defence motion aimed at having the public and the media barred. The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to send Magnotta to trial. The hearing is expected to last four weeks. Authorities named Magnotta as a suspect after the severed remains of Lin, who was studying at Montreal’s Concordia University, were mailed to the Ottawa offices of the federal Conservatives, the federal Liberals, and two Vancouver schools. More remains were found at a Montreal park. In addition to first-degree murder, Magnotta is charged with committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.