The Conclave and election of the Pope

by Rev. Fr. Freely Muthukudaarachchi

The Roman Pontiff, by virtue of his supreme office as the successor of Saint Peter, is the head of the College of Bishops and he exercises over the whole Church full and supreme power of governance.

All the pastors and other faithful must be obedient to him, not only in matters of faith and morals but also in all that pertains to the discipline and governance of the Church that is spread all over the earth.

According to Canon 331 of the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church. "He is the head of the College of Bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the Pastor of the Universal Church here on earth."

The Roman Pontiff acquires full and supreme power in the Church when, together with Episcopal consecration, he has been lawfully elected and accepted the election. At the death of the reigning Pope, the Holy See is considered vacant. When the Apostolic See is vacant, the College of Cardinals assumes the immediate care of the daily activities of the Church. During this time the activity of the College of Cardinals is directed to the swift and orderly completion of the Papal election.

The Constitution of John Paul II states that the Conclave will take place within the territory of Vatican City in determined areas and buildings closed to unauthorised persons (n. 41).

Owing to the large number of electors, at present the maximum is 120. Before John XXIII, the maximum was 70. It was very difficult to house the Cardinals in the Vatican Palace itself; in fact for the 111 Cardinals at the two Conclaves in 1978, it entailed makeshift arrangements with difficulties as regards necessary services. Recently, a new building, Domus Sanctae Marthae within the Vatican has been built for this purpose.

During the Conclave, matters of importance are settled by the General Congregation, a meeting of all the Cardinal Electors present at the Conclave. Routine matters and matters of lesser importance are in the hands of a particular congregation, composed of the Cardinal Camerlengo and three Cardinals, one from each of the orders of Cardinals (Bishops, Priests, Deacons) elected by the whole body. Every third day of the Conclave, three others are elected to replace the earlier three.

Who are the electors?

The constitution of John Paul II is clear. The election of the Supreme Pontiff is in the hands solely of the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, except who at the time of entry into the Conclave had completed their eightieth year. Moreover, the maximum number of Electors is fixed at 120. Some years ago, a group of Cardinals wrote to the Holy Father asking that the right to vote in Conclave taken away from the over 80s by Paul VI, should be given back. The answer, given by Card. Casaroli, Secretary of State, was, no.

The Constitution of John Paul II presupposes that one of the Cardinals present will be elected. However, it does make a reference to some one outside being elected (n. 90). In fact, the Cardinals over 80 years of age are not ineligible for election. John XXIII elected in 1958 to succeed Pius XII was already 78 years of age.

Could a layman be elected? The Code in c. 150 stipulates that an office which carries with it the full care of souls, for which the exercise of the order of priesthood is required, cannot validly be conferred upon a person who is not yet a priest.

Pope Paul VI in the Apostolic Constitution, Romano Pontifici Eligendo, speaking to the Electors' stated: "With the same insistence shown by my predecessors, I earnestly exhort the cardinal electors not to allow themselves to be guided, in choosing the Pope, by friendship or aversion, or to be influenced by favour or personal relationships towards anyone, or to be constrained by the interference of persons in authority or by pressure groups, by the suggestions of the mass media, or by force, fear or the pursuit of popularity. Rather, having before their eyes solely the glory of God and the good of the Church, and having prayed for divine assistance, they shall give their vote to the person, even outside the College of Cardinals, who in their judgement is most suited to govern the universal Church in a fruitful and beneficial way" (n.83).

Each Elector when he approaches to place his vote in the receptacle, on his knees he should pray for a short time; "the Cardinal elector says aloud the words of the following oath: I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected. He then places the ballot on the plate, with which he drops it into the receptacle. Having done this, he bows to the altar and returns to his place" (n. 66).

"I therefore lay down that in all cities and other places, at least the more important ones, as soon as news is received of the vacancy of the Apostolic See and, in particular, of the death of the Pope, and following the celebration of his solemn funeral rites, humble and persevering prayers are to be offered to the Lord (cf. Mt. 21:22; 1 and 11:24), that he may enlighten the electors and make them so like minded in their task that a speedy, harmonious and fruitful election - may take place, as the salvation of souls and the good of the whole people of God demand." (n. 84).

Form of the election:

Over the centuries three forms of election have evolved and according to the Constitution of Paul VI, the use of one or other of these methods is necessary for the validity of the election. However, John Paul II abolished the first two (UDG,n.62).

(i) By acclamation or inspiration (1 per acclamationem seu inspirationem) when, in the closed Conclave, the Cardinal Electors, as if under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, acclaim someone unanimously, freely and spontaneously, and vocally (vive voce) or in writing, if someone is not able to utter them, as the Supreme Pontiff." 'This is a very rare occurrence-, the last example was in 1154 when Nicholas Breakspeare (Adrian IV) was elected.

(ii) By compromise (2 per compromissum) when in difficult circumstances the Cardinal Electors agree unanimously to appoint a committee of an uneven number, not less than nine nor more than fifteen, from their own ranks and commit to them the power to elect the Roman Pontiff. The body of Cardinal Electors must lay down clearly the conditions and the method to be followed by this committee, including the time allowed to it to come to a decision. The full electoral college must also agree in writing, each individually, that they will abide by the choice of the committee and accept its nominee as the canonically elected Pope. We have already seen that in 1271, (Blessed) Gregory X was elected at Viterbo in this way, after almost three years of vacancy of the See; what is more remarkable is that the committee so elected and empowered came to a decision in a day.

The above two methods have been abolished.

(iii) By secret ballot (2 Scrutinium) which is the usual form of election, at least for the last eight or nine hundred years. The Constitution of Pope John Paul goes into great detail as to the process to be followed: 3 scrutineers, 3 infirmarians (to gather ballots from sick Cardinals) and 3 revisors of the ballots whose names are drawn 'from a hat' by the most junior Cardinal Deacon. Ballot papers are distributed. During the actual balloting, all others than the Cardinal Electors must be outside the Sistine Chapel; only the Cardinals may be inside. The Cardinals approach one by one to the altar, at which the tellers stand. Each swears: "I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected" (n.66). He then places his ballot on the plate and thus drops it into the receptacle on the altar. The constitution goes into greater detail concerning ballots of the sick, of those who cannot approach the altar, etc.

When all have placed their ballots in the receptacle, the counting takes place: each ballot is examined individually by the three scrutineers and the three revisors and each vote is read out, as also the final tallies.

Ballotings are continued until the requisite 2/3 majority is attained. There are normally two ballotings in the morning and two in the afternoon. If after three days of balloting there are difficulties in reaching a decision, the process may be interrupted for not more than a day, to seek light and counsel. There is provision for two more interruptions, if necessary. If a deadlock occurs, the Cardinal Camerlengo will seek from the Assembly what should be the next step. According to the constitution of Paul VI, the requisite majority is two thirds plus one, as was introduced by Pius XII to preclude the necessity of examining the vote of the newly elected pontiff, who had only the bare two thirds majority, to ascertain that he had not voted for himself.

John Paul II changed this requirement so that a two-thirds majority of the electors who are present is necessary for election, or two-thirds plus one vote if the number present is not divisible by three.

The constitution insists throughout on absolute secrecy regarding the proceedings in the Conclave. It is true that later on, sometimes the results of the various ballotings have been made public, presumably with the permission of the newly elected Holy Father.

Conclusion

When the requisite result has been reached, then other formalities take place: The person elected is asked if he accepts the election.

The constitution exhorts: "I also ask the one who is elected not to refuse, for fear of its weight, the office to which he has been called, but to submit humbly to the design of the divine will. God who imposes the burden will sustain him with his hand, so that he will be able to bear it. In conferring the heavy task upon him, God will also help him to accomplish it and, in giving him the dignity, he will grant him the strength not to be overwhelmed by the weight of his office" (n.86).

(ii) If he consents, he is asked what name he wishes to be called; if he is already a Bishop, he is immediately Bishop of the Roman Church, true Pope and head of the College of Bishops.

(iii) If the person elected is not a Bishop, he is immediately ordained by the Dean of the college of cardinals

(iv) The Ordo Sacrorum Rituum Conclavis also provides for what should be done should someone not in the Conclave be elected.

(v) The Cardinal Electors then approach the newly elected Pope and show him respect and obedience, according to the revised Ordo Sacrorum Rituum Conclavis.

The First Cardinal Deacon then announces from the Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to the assembled crowd (already alerted by the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel) the great joy: We have a Papa. 1 Habemus Papam. Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum N. Cardinalem N., qui nomen sibi imposuit N. Shortly afterwards the new Pope himself appears on the Loggia, addresses the crowd and imparts his Apostolic Blessing Urbi et Orbi.

(vii) With the completion of these rites, the Conclave for its canonical effects comes to a close. John Paul I and John Paul II desired that those with them in the Conclave should remain until the morrow, and in the meantime the Popes continued to occupy the usual places which they occupied during the Conclave.

The newly elected Pope at a suitable time takes possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

This taking possession of the Lateran Basilica and cathedral is only ceremonial; the newly elected Pope has been Bishop of Rome with full authority, since his election and acceptance together with episcopal character.