Awaiting White Smoke
Sixteen days after John Paul II’s death the Vatican is now proceeding to choose the new head of the Roman Catholic Church. The election’s outcome is not just of interest to Catholic and other religious communities, for John Paul II made it clear that the Church and the Vicar of Christ can play a very important role in this world.
The Roman Pope is traditionally vested with practically unlimited powers, so the Catholic Church’s policies and image — the way it is treated by both believers and non-believers and the rich and famous — as well as its well-being largely depend on the pontiff. Will the new pope be a liberal or a conservative, as was the late pontiff in all church affairs? Will Catholicism retain its European visage, given today’s secularization? Will it be reduced to the status of a third-world religion? Will the Church agree to expand women’s rights in ecclesiastical life and those of the clergy in regard to family affairs? Will the long-awaited church reform be implemented? Will counter-reformation take place instead, as happened before? Will the new pope make ecumenical issues — friendly relations with other religions and churches — priorities, the way John Paul II did?
Ukrainian Greek Catholics also have many important questions for the new Vicar of Christ. Will the Holy See help the Ukrainian Greek Catholics unite, including the Diaspora and Zakarpattia? Will Andrei Sheptytsky be canonized? Most importantly, will the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church be formally recognized as a patriarchate, considering that it has sought this status since the days of Cardinal Josyp Slipyj? The newly elected Roman pope will eventually answer all these questions, provided he rules and adequately manages the Roman Catholic Church, which numbers over a billion adherents all over the world. But he has to be elected first.
The new pope is elected by the College of Cardinals meeting in conclave, not earlier than 15 and not later than 20 days after his predecessor’s death. In the Roman Catholic Church a cardinal ranks second after the pope. The current college numbers 183 cardinals aged between 52 and 95. The College of Cardinals is the Holy See’s supreme advisory body. The original papal election procedures were developed in the Middle Ages, yet every pope has a way of influencing them, even in death. Before 1870 the pope was elected in the Quirinal Palace, but after the Roman Catholic Church lost the papal territory (the church states) that became part of united Italy, the elections would be held in the Vatican.
Conclave. Until recently every member of the College of Cardinals had a vote in the election of a new pope. In 1970 John Paul II enforced age limitations, so that only cardinals under 80 years of age are now eligible. The conclave is called to order after the pontiff’s death to elect the new Vicar of Christ. John Paul II ruled that its membership must not exceed 120. The current conclave allows 117 cardinals to attend, but only 115 are in attendance.
Since 1870 the Conclave has held its sittings in the universally loved premises of the Sistine Chapel, part of the famous Vatican museums that contain paintings created by immortal geniuses like Michelangelo, the creator of The Last Judgment: Celestial World, as well as masterpieces by Peruggino, Boticelli, and others. The election procedures are very strict: the cardinals have no right to leave the premises or to communicate with anyone outside before they elect the new pope. Until recently the doors of the Sistine Chapel were secured with heavy chains during the conclave sessions and were watched by the Vatican’s Swiss Guard, so the cardinals had to spend nights in the small rooms and were served their meals there.
How long does a conclave last? Until recently, more often than not the new pope was elected in a couple of days. Papal history knows other examples. Thus, Pope Clement IV’s successor (13th century) was elected after almost three years of conclave sessions, until the local rich and famous could no longer tolerate the situation; they started bullying the cardinals and then reducing their rations and firewood supplies. Pope Gregory X, elected under these circumstances, promptly tried to straighten out the situation, upgrading the conclave procedures, which have largely remained the same.
Secrecy. At present, the strict, medieval conclave procedures have been eased, on the one hand, but there are new limitations on the other hand. Whereas during previous sessions the cardinals were forbidden to contact anyone on the outside, write or receive any letters, or make phone calls, today they’re also forbidden to use mobile or cellular phones, PCs, the Internet, take pictures, or use video cameras. Before the conclave, the Sistine Chapel is thoroughly checked for surveillance devices. The Curia insists that all these measures are taken not because of mistrust toward any of the cardinals, but because they could be inadvertently exposed to eavesdropping.
On this particular occasion, for the first time in the Vatican’s history, the cardinals are allowed to dwell on premises other than the Sistine Chapel, at a rather comfortable hotel known as Casa Santa Marta, built in the Vatican City under John Paul II. There is a special, non-stop bus to deliver them from the hotel to the conclave.
Conclave. The next pope is to be elected by the College of Cardinals, by secret ballot. If a new pope has been elected, the papers are burned with chemicals (it used to be wet straw) which give off a white smoke. Otherwise, they produce black smoke, so that the waiting crowds and the world at large will know whether their new Holy Father will soon emerge from the Sistine Chapel.
This time the results of the voting will be communicated to the Vatican, Rome, and the rest of the world by church bells.
In accordance with John Paul II’s new Apostolic Constitution, Universi Dominici Gregis (1996), if the new pope is not elected after three days of conclave sessions (i.e., six rounds of voting), there must be an intermission for prayer and a free exchange of opinions among the cardinals. Then another vote is carried out, but if the next 7 rounds fail to elect the pope, he is to be elected as determined by the conclave, or by a simple majority of votes, from among the two leading candidates. This will rule out the previous electoral procedures that would last for years. Some members of the Curia say that this election will allow the Church and the world to have a new Holy Father before the end of April.
The newly elected Vicar of Christ is clad in white attire (the clothes are custom-made in advance). He puts these clothes on in a separate chamber known as the “room of tears” — as every newly elected pope has wept donning the papal clothing. The new pope selects his name, which is proclaimed from St. Peter’s balcony, along with the traditional Habemus Papam! We have a pope!
Incidentally, since the 18th century the Roman popes have been provided with garments made by Gammarelli Co. They are busy now, working 24 hours a day to make the sacral garments in three sizes for the new pontiff, allowing for all differences in height and weight. Everything must be ready by Monday because the cardinals must have the clothes in the Sistine Chapel. The garments include a woolen and a white moire cassock, a scarlet robe, a silk pallium, the papal headdress, and a pair of Filippo red leather shoes. Gammarelli, one of the garment shop owners, remembers John Paul II for his inherent kindness, simplicity, and genuine interest in ordinary people.
The cardinals exchanged their views before the conclave, trying to generate a “verbal image” of the new pope that would be acceptable to them all, allowing for what is happening in the world and the conditions in which he will have to run the Church. The same approach was used when electing John Paul II in 1978. The decisive factor at the time was the Cold War, nuclear threat, communism, and political tensions. Today, the cardinals discuss problems like the threat of utter secularization within the European community, and family and social justice issues; they also ponder the role the Roman pope has to play in the era of globalization.
Who will become the 265th Vicar of Christ? The world press is busy prognosticating and drawing up lists of likely candidates; the longer the list, the easier it is to be an oracle. We will not list the names of the 115 cardinals, who are little known in Ukraine, all the more so as there are so many experts offering different views, even speculating about which region on the planet from which the next cardinal will be elected. Some analysts believe that the emphasis will be on Africa, Asia, or Latin America, rather than Europe, meaning we may have a black pope. In fact, Joseph Ratzinger, one of the Curia’s most influential cardinals, says that the next pontiff may well be of African descent, like Francis Arinese from Nigeria, who is an erudite man, writer, and the winner of many prizes.
The futility of such forecasting was vividly demonstrated by the previous conclave, when very few analysts believed that an obscure 58-year-old Pole would become the next pope (when his name was proclaimed, many didn’t even understand where he was from and somehow decided that he was from Africa; this was on the air, too).
Epilogue. The next pope’s church policy will be an extremely important issue for Ukraine as well. John Paul II is still lying in state, but the Moscow Patriarchate is already flirting with the candidate who they believe will be his successor (judging by the statements made by some Russian officials), promising him friendship, love, even receptions in Moscow (something John Paul II was explicitly denied). However, there are certain strict conditions. First, the Roman Catholic Church must stop supporting the Ukrainian Greek Catholics and officially recognize them as an obstacle on the road to Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, and (reading between the lines) help them “return” to the bosom of Moscow’s “Mother Church” — or at least not impede this process. Another condition is that there must be no parishes or bishoprics other than Moscow- affiliated ones anywhere in Ukraine, Belarus, or Russia. All religious communities must be strictly Russian Orthodox, as was the case in tsarist Russia, and that Catholicism should only be for foreigners. As for tolerance and the constitutional freedom of conscience, respect for other creeds, these are just words, nothing but words. Another interesting aspect is that the Moscow Patriarchate, while drawing up their medieval ultimatum, offers the Vatican no concessions whatsoever, only “friendship.” It remains to be seen what stance the Curia, the College of Cardinals, and most importantly the new Vicar of Christ, will adopt toward this issue.
