Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz last week deplored the fact that voting cardinals had not been given more information on the contents of the "secret dossier" on the VatiLeaks scandal, that was delivered to Pope Benedict XVI before he resigned.

Cardinals Julian Herranz, Jozef Tomko, and Salvatore De Giorgi compiled the dossier on the theft of documents from the papal apartment. Pope Emeritus Benedict said that the dossier would be seen only by himself and his successor.

In an interview in the German weekly, Focus Magazin, Cardinal Lehmann said Pope Benedict should have told the cardinals everything he knew about the VatiLeaks affair, but the cardinals were only "partly" informed about what had happened.

He said: "Light must be shed on [the dossier] and it must be critically appraised."

Above: Cardinal Lehmann arrives for general congregation meeting at Vatican ahead of the conclave. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring