Cardinals gather in Rome

By Andrew Medichini/The Associated Press

March 4, 2013 | 4:48 p.m. CST

Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, center, waves to reporters as he arrives with two unidentified assistants for a meeting at the Vatican on Monday. Cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire.