I admit, I am a little late in getting to this, but it’s
been a whirlwind of a week!
I had mentioned some time ago, that I would discuss what
happens (at this point, ‘happened’) at the Conclave during the election of the
Pope. Now, I have no inside scoop on who
got how many votes or how the voting progressed. All I mean to do is to describe the procedure
for voting, putting it in some context with the general law of the Church with
regards to voting.
The Church has used many means for selecting those who would
govern in her name. The first, of
course, is selection by appointment.
Christ appointed 12 men to serve close to him, this group is sometimes
referred to in the Scriptures as the Apostles and sometimes merely as “The
Twelve”. Christ chose them and gave them
his authority.
The second method of choosing, although used in the early
Church, is not so common anymore. When
The Twelve became eleven with the betrayal of Judas, how did they choose his
replacement? From their minds, they
submitted themselves to Divine Providence.
The means through which they believed that Providence would show itself? The answer is given in the Acts of the
Apostles:
And they prayed and said, "Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.
(Acts 1:24-26 (RSV))
While the Church fully believes that Divine Providence
continues to work through its process of selection, it began to develop a
different method of selecting its leaders, especially is Bishops. Eventually the process of a bishop being
chosen by a group won out. (In terms of
selection of leaders, other than regards a bishop, the law also allows for
other methods, such as postulation, but that will take this discussion further
afield than it already is.)
This, however, did not always mean a formal election. In the
early Church, this was occasionally done by acclamation. Acclamation is essentially a unanimous (or
nearly so) election without a formal ballot.
One need recall the story of St. Ambrose of Milan, a mere catechumen at
the death of Milan’s bishop. When the clergy
and people were discussing who should be their next bishop, a child cried out, “Ambrose! Bishop!”
The Church assembled agreed, and Ambrose was chosen Bishop. That method—election by acclamation—was widely
considered a valid means of selection for centuries. The last Pope regarded to have been chosen by
acclamation (of the Cardinals) was Pope Innocent XI in 17th
century. Acclamation is no longer a
valid form of election, as it is no longer mentioned in Canon Law and is
specifically prohibited in papal elections by Universi domenici gregis.
That leaves the election itself. As mentioned above, elections are mentioned
in the Code of Canon Law, Canons 164-179.
In simplest terms, a valid election has three (or four) basic parts:
convocation, scrutiny, acceptance, and sometimes confirmation. Convocation means that one needs to set the
date and time of the election and inform those with the right to vote, giving
them sufficient time to attend. This is
what happened officially when Pope Benedict’s resignation came into effect, and
Cardinal Sodano sent out his
letter to all the Cardinals informing them of the vacancy of the See of Peter.
“Scrutiny” is just the fancy Latin-derived word for an
election or a casting of ballots. I have
talked a
bit about voting itself in the canons already. Suffice it to say, that all votes must be free, secret, certain, absolute, and
determinate. The law regarding Papal
elections both relies on and in some ways deviates from the background rules
for elections set forth in the canons.
In describing the process of the election, the secular press
generally starts simply with the process of election. This is, of course, incorrect, and not just
technically, but also legally.
In the governing document Universi domenici gregis, the section titled “the Beginning of the
Election” does not begin with the vote.
Rather, recognizing that the actions of the Cardinals are an expression
of Divine Providence, it begins with Mass – the Mass for the election of the
Pope. This is very important to remember
when discussing the election. It conveys
the Church’s belief that the actions of the Cardinals are not exclusively their
own, and are not separate from Divine Providence. Their actions must be done in a way open to
divine grace and the promptings of the Spirit.
Legally, one can also say that this begins the Conclave, and so, for
example, legally begins those provisions that require confidentiality for the
staff assisting the Cardinals and any other person who might encounter
them.
Recall that the law of the Church does not simply bind the
Cardinals and their staff, but everyone
in some way. Specifically, UDG requires:
Anyone [other than authorized staff] who … should happen to meet one of the Cardinal electors during the time of the election, is absolutely forbidden to engage in conversation of any sort, by whatever means and for whatever reason, with that Cardinal.
After they have arrived, the Cardinals make their second
oath. They made their first—to follow
the norms of UDG and maintain confidentiality—at the first General Congregation
after the vacancy of the chair of Peter.
This second oath would have first been read by the Cardinal Dean,
Cardinal Sodano, and then agreed to by all Cardinals in turn. The oath requires them again to follow the
norms of UDG and to maintain absolute secrecy about the conduct of the election. Only the next Pope can dispense them from
this oath. The penalty for violating
this provision is excommunication latae
sententiae, that is an automatic excommunication imposed by the law
itself. When the last of the Cardinals swears
the oath, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations (currently Msgr. Guido
Marini) gives the order Extra omnes
(All must leave!).
Now, the ballot does not start just yet. As I mentioned, this is not simply a
political event, but a spiritual one. Previously,
the Cardinals had chosen a Bishop to preach to them “ the grave duty
incumbent on them and thus on the need to act with right intention for the good
of the Universal Church, solum Deum prae oculis habentes [having before their eyes God alone].” This
past Conclave, they chose Prosper
Cardinal Grech, an Augustinian priest from the island of Malta. After this, he leaves the room. They begin with a prayer, as set forth in the
Ordo Rituum Conclavis (Order of Rites
of the Conclave). Then, the Cardinal
Dean asks if they are ready to vote. If
a majority of Cardinals agree, the voting begins.
The election is divided into three phases: pre-scrutiny, scrutiny, and
post-scrutiny. The first act is for the
Masters of Ceremonies to hand out the ballots.
The ballots are pre-printed with the words: Eligo
in Summum Pontificem [I elect as Supreme Pontiff]. (You can click
here for a Wikipedia image of a very old example of a Conclave ballot.) After these words, a space is left for the
Cardinals to write in a name. After they
hand out the ballots, the Masters of Ceremonies leave, along with anyone else
who is not a Cardinal.
Next, the Cardinals choose by lot those involved in carrying
out the duties of the election. There
are three groups with three Cardinals in each:
Scrutineers, Infirmarii, and
Revisers. It is the job of the Scrutineers
to collect and count the ballots. The Infirmarii take the ballots to those
Cardinals who may be present in the Apostolic Palace but unable to come to the
Sistine Chapel to vote due to illness. Unlike in corporate shareholder elections in the
U.S., voting by proxy is not allowed under canon law. In this past Conclave, there were no ill
Cardinals present in Vatican City, and so the Infirmarii had no role. The
Revisers’ task is to simply review and confirm the work of the Scrtineers.
Next is the process for voting itself—the scrutiny phase. The rules can be very specific at times,
based on the long history of elections.
The Cardinals are instructed to write the name—and only the name—of the
man they choose as Pope. Each Cardinal
is encouraged to do so “as far as possible in handwriting that cannot be
identified as his”. Then they are to
fold the ballot—and the rules explicitly say it must be folded twice. Presumably, this is to make sure the name
cannot be seen as it is carried.
There are no other restrictions on whom the Cardinals can
vote for—other than that he be a baptized male.
In the history of the Church, there have been additional restrictions in
other elections. For example, in my own
religious Order, our law specifically prohibits a friar from voting for himself
in an election. Which means in the event
of an unanimous election, someone has violated this law! No such restriction exists in a papal
election or canon law generally.
The Cardinals proceed one-by-one, in a particular order (based
on the type of Cardinal and seniority) with their folded ballot to the ballot
box (which is a bit more round than square), which is located at the altar. As he prepares to drop his ballot in, the Cardinal
says: “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.” This is done for each and every
Cardinal. (I hope you are beginning to
understand why the Conclave can take so long!)
Once all the Cardinals have placed their ballots, the first Scrutineer
takes the receptacle and “shakes it several times” to mix up the ballots. The last Scrutineer then counts them all,
taking them from one receptacle and placing them in another. Just as in Canon law, if there is a disparity
between the number of electors and the number of ballots, they are immediately
destroyed and they process to a new election.
The counting of the ballots is rather elaborate. The first Scrutineer takes a ballot, opens it,
and notes the name. He then passes it to
the second Scrutineer, who also notes the name.
He then passes it to the third Scrutineer who reads it aloud, so that
all the electors can follow the tally.
The third Scrutineer also writes down the name. As he finishes, he sticks a needle and thread
through each ballot (through the word Eligio,
so that they are all aligned). When the ballots are all opened, each of the Scrutineers
then adds up the tally for each name. The
third Scrutineer then ties the collection of ballots together with the string
holding them together.
Now begins the final stage, the post-scrutiny. After the Scrutineers have taken their tally,
the Revisers then double-check their counting.
If no person has received the required 2/3 majority, they then call back
in the Masters of Ceremonies and other officials. They, together with the Scrutineers, burn all
the ballots and any notes that the Cardinals may have taken in the tally. A bit of chemical is added to the stove, and
black smoke is produced.
If, however, they have achieved the 2/3 vote, the election
is considered a canonically validly one.
In this case as well, the ballots and notes are also burned. This time, a chemical is added to produce
white smoke rather than black.
However, there still is not yet a Pope! The office of the Bishop of Rome is not
filled until the final act of the election is completed, namely
acceptance. The Cardinal Dean is the one
who asks the consent. In this election,
that meant that Cardinal Sodano turned to Cardinal Bergoglio and asked him: “Do
you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?” Cardinal Bergoglio then answered in the affirmative,
at which point (and only at this point) was he made Bishop of Rome and Supreme
Pontiff. (Of course, if the Cardinals
had selected a man who was not yet a Bishop, he would first have to have been
consecrated a Bishop.) As soon as this
was done, Cardinal Sodano asked him: “By what name do you wish to be called?” To which, the new Pope answered, “Francis”. This event is then witnessed by a document,
by which the Pope officially certifies the acceptance he has just made and the
name he has now adopted.
Following the election, passages of Holy Scripture are read,
prayers are said, and the Cardinals sing the ancient hymn of thanksgiving, the Te Deum.
All of the Cardinals offer their obedience to the new Pope. Finally, after time for his own silent
prayer, and vesting in the white cassock of the Pope, the newly elected Pontiff
greets the People of God from the loggia.
