Cardinals prepare for conclave as Pope’s condition remains serious

Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs. The 88-year-old has been wheelchair-bound for a few years. The press releases from the Catholic Church have underscored his ‘complex’ medical situation. They are preparing the faithful for his death.

The Pope is the spiritual leader of the Catholics. 60% of all Christians are Catholics. The Pope lives in Rome. That is why his followers are sometimes called Roman Catholics as well as usually being called simply ‘Catholics.’

Francis is a relatively liberal pope. He said that he does not condemn homosexuals though the Church still considers their acts to be sinful. Moreover, he says women who have unnecessary abortions can be forgiven.

The Catholic Church requires its priests to take vows of celibacy. Therefore, these men never marry nor are allowed any physical intimacy. Other Christian denominations (Protestant and Orthodox) allow their religious leaders to wed.

Men who have never married die younger than men who have married, women who have married and women who have never married. The pope’s single status together with his age and medical condition means that he is already well past life expectancy.

Francis was born in Argentina to Italian parents. He is an Argentine and an Italian citizen from birth. He became a priest and was promoted up the ranks. He became a bishop (in charge of a few hundred priests). Later he was promoted to archbishop (in charge of thousands of priests). Later he was made a cardinal. There are up to 100 cardinals in the world.

The Vatican City is a one square kilometre area in Rome, but it is a sovereign state run by the Catholic Church. The Pope is the Vatican’s head of state. In that sense, he is a political as well as a religious leader.

The Vatican has all the appurtenances of a sovereign state. It has about 500 citizens, issues passports, signs treaties, and has its own legislature, courts of law, national flag, anthem, police force and army. The Swiss Guard is the Vatican’s army and yes, its men are all Swiss. After their military service, these men return to Switzerland. The Swiss Guard wear a uniform designed by the 16th-century Italian artist Michelangelo.

When the Pope dies, he is addressed by his name in Latin thrice to ensure that he really is dead. Of course, a doctor will certify him dead by conducting the usual medical tests as well and a priest going through the ceremony.

The pope will have a public funeral in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome. St Peter’s Basilica is the largest place of worship for Christians in the world. It is named after the first pope. In deference to St. Peter, no subsequent pope has ever taken the name Peter.

Much of the funeral is conducted in Latin. The Catholic Church chose Rome as its headquarters because it was the capital of the former Roman Empire. Latin remained the lingua franca of educated Western Europeans into the 18th century. The Catholic Church allowed worship in Latin only until 1962.

After the pope’s funeral, the cardinals will meet in a conclave to elect a new pope. This means a closed meeting; conclave is a word derived from the Italian: con chiave (‘with the key’) because the cardinals are locked into a building and only allowed out in case of emergency.

The cardinals are not allowed phones, internet access, newspapers, books or any contact with the outside world. Food is brought to them, and they may send laundry in and out. Being incommunicado is to shield them from exterior influences but also to make them concentrate and thus hurry up and elect a new pope. The group meeting is at the College of Cardinals. They are not a college in the educational sense. They are an electoral college.

The cardinals believe they are guided by the Holy Spirit to choose a new pope. Christians believe in a trinity. This is that God is One but has three manifestations: God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. How can three be one and one be three? How can God be his own father and his own son? It may seem illogical, but Christians say: that the finite cannot contemplate the infinite. That is humans are intellectually limited and thus cannot possibly understand the magnificence and complexity of a God of limitless power and intelligence.

The deliberations of the cardinals are kept secret. They discuss who would be the best pope. A man may be elected pope only if he is under 80. They vote in various ballots. To elect a pope can take hours or it can take months. The cardinals invariably elect one of themselves to be the pope. However, that is not a rule. In principle, they could elect any Catholic man.

If they have failed to elect a pope, then the ballot papers are burnt, and black smoke is seen rising from the chimney of the palace where the cardinals are housed. If they successfully elect a pope white smoke comes out thanks to the kind of chemicals involved in the burning of the ballots.

Some cardinals are considered ‘papabile’ which is Italian for ‘popeable’ as in they are able to be made pope. Rumours swirl about those cardinals who are considered contenders for the papacy.

A few minutes after white smoke is seen the Dean of the College of Cardinals will arrive on the loggia (balcony) of St Peter’s Basilica. He shall say in Latin, ‘I announce to you great joy: we have a pope. The Most Reverend and Most Eminent Cardinal (name) of the Holy Roman Catholic Church who takes to himself the name (name) (ordinal number).’

The new pope always takes a new name. Pope Francis’ real name is Jorge.

The new pope then comes out wearing papal white. The Vatican tailors prepare three papal suits: one for a small, one for a medium-sized and for a large pope. That is because they do not know who will be elected.

The pope will address the crowd in Italian. He offers a blessing called urbi et orbi (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’) All cardinals spend a lot of time in Rome as well as wherever in the world they are in charge of the Catholic Church. So, all cardinals happen to learn at least basic Italian.

From the 1520s to 1978 every pope elected was an Italian. In 1978 a Pole was elected pope. In 2005 a German was elected. There is much speculation that a non-white will be elected pope.

There have been Greek popes, French popes, an Englishman and a Dutchman. But the lion’s share of the time the papacy has gone to an Italian.

The mean average for a pontificate (time as pope) to last is 8 years. That is because they tend to be elected when they are already very old. Popes normally serve until death. Only 2 popes out of 180 people who have ever been pope have retired.

Will the next people modernise the church? Protestant churches have women as their religious leaders. The Orthodox Church has married men as priests. To allow priests to marry or to permit women to be ordained as priests would be seen as a major advance. They would not be resisted by many Catholics.