Pope revises rules on papal elections that could alter outcome

c. 1996 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS)-Pope John Paul II has revised the way the next pope will be elected, allowing cardinals voting in secret ballot to abandon two-thirds majority approval and resort to a simple absolute majority if a stalemate is reached. The revision, outlined in a papal document, could affect the outcome […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS)-Pope John Paul II has revised the way the next pope will be elected, allowing cardinals voting in secret ballot to abandon two-thirds majority approval and resort to a simple absolute majority if a stalemate is reached.

The revision, outlined in a papal document, could affect the outcome of the next election, known as a conclave, in which 120 cardinals participate.


Titled Universi Dominici Gregis (God’s Universal Flock), the 63-page document otherwise reaffirms or fine-tunes papal-election procedures that Pope Paul VI instituted in 1975. Among other things, John Paul ordered improved secrecy measures, such as the seclusion of the cardinal electors in a new compound that has been built specifically for the election.

The pope said the revisions, contained in the document subtitled”On the Vacancy of the Apostolic See and the Election of the Roman Pontiff,”are in response to the”church’s changed situation”and to modifications governing canon law.

Vatican officials denied that the timing of the document resulted from concerns over the health of the 76-year-old pope. They said the publication followed several years of internal study.”I happen to see the pope now and then and I can see the pope is in perfect health,”said Monsignor Jorge Maria Mejia, secretary of the College of Cardinals, the body that elects popes.”The pope has published this document because the times which we are living in are not exactly the same as they were when the former document was published,”he said at a news conference where the text was unveiled.

John Paul wrote,”While keeping in mind present-day requirements, I have been careful, in formulating the new discipline, not to depart in substance from the wise and venerable tradition already established.” The pope reaffirmed a controversial rule set in 1970 by Paul VI barring cardinals over 80 from participating or voting in the conclave. He also adopted most of the precise methods set down by Paul VI in 1975 for selecting a pope, including the meticulous means by which ballots are counted, the number of days of mourning for a pope preceding a conclave (nine) and the number of days that cardinals have to make their way to Rome for the conclave (15-20.)

He repeated the need for absolute secrecy of the proceedings, and reiterated that deal-making and other violations could result in excommunication from the church.

Two cardinals were excommunicated in the 1922 conclave for attempting to bribe a candidate who went on to became Pius XI. The cardinals sought to exact a promise from the future pope that he would fire the Vatican secretary of state if elected pontiff.

John Paul also reaffirmed that the cardinals and the few Vatican officials permitted to attend elections must take a series of solemn oaths promising never to reveal any details of the proceedings. He also said the Sistine Chapel, where the conclaves are held, must be swept for listening devises or any recording instruments.


On the voting procedures, the pope eliminated the use of non-ballot measures to elect a pope, such as by acclamation or compromise, though both forms are rarely summoned and have not been used in recent elections.”After careful reflection I have therefore decided that the only form by which the electors can manifest their vote in the election of the Roman pontiff is by secret ballot,”he wrote.

But John Paul offered no explanation as to why he decided to alter the rules governing a deadlocked conclave. Some observers have speculated that the next conclave may be particularly antagonistic because of differing views among cardinals on the direction of the church.

Under the old rules, if, after three balloting sessions over nearly 10 days, no candidate emerged with a two-thirds plus one majority, the cardinals could adopt a different voting process. However, any rule change required unanimous approval from the cardinals in attendance.

The new rules made by John Paul require four balloting sessions and a two-thirds plus one majority. But if the cardinals fail to elect a pope by the fourth ballot, they could abandon the procedure with a simple majority approval instead of unanimous agreement. At that point, the pope stipulated, the cardinals could elect a new pontiff with a simple majority.

While balloting has not reached an impasse for centuries, the change could, for example, empower a coalition that has majority support for a candidate who is unable to muster two-thirds plus one.”That could have a substantial effect because if you had 50 (percent) plus one in favor of a particular candidate, then that 50 (percent) plus one could elect their candidate by holding firm, whereas under the old rules 50 percent plus one would not do it,”said the Rev. Tom Reese, an authority on Vatican procedures and a fellow at the Washington-based Woodstock Theological Center.

MJP END HEILBRONNER

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