(CNSNews.com) - Australia's sole representative to the conclave of cardinals who will choose Pope John Paul II's successor says he does not believe the pope's death will result in an era of "radical change" in the Catholic Church.

Cardinal George Pell, an outspoken conservative and pro-life advocate, has arrived in Rome where he will join 117 other cardinals for the traditional ritual of electing the next leader of the world's one billion Catholics.

Pell, who is archbishop of Sydney, told Australian radio that John Paul II had given Catholics a sense of "security."

"Those who want radical change realize that they had no hope while he was in charge and I hope with the next pope there'll be a similar sense of security," he said.

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