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Pope Benedict May Move Up Conclave Choosing His Replacement

Matt Pressberg |
February 20, 2013 | 7:53 p.m. PST

Executive Producer

The conclave will be held in the famous Sistine Chapel. (cking/Flickr)
The conclave will be held in the famous Sistine Chapel. (cking/Flickr)
To avoid potentially leaving the papacy vacant over one of the holiest times of the year, outgoing Pope Benedict XVI may move forward the scheduling of the conclave of cardinals that will pick his replacement.

Under current rules, the conclave cannot begin until at least 15 days have passed after the departure of a pope. Benedict’s resignation will take effect February 28, meaning that the earliest a conclave could begin would be March 15. This would not leave much time for a new pope to be elected and installed before Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which falls on March 24 this year, and leads into Easter, on March 31.

As Reuters reports, the pope is considering using his remaining time in office to issue a rule change allowing for the starting date of the conclave to be moved up:

"Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said on Wednesday that Benedict, who will lose all power when he abdicates on February 28, was considering issuing a ‘Motu Proprio,’ a personal document which has the force of Church law and addresses a specific need."

The papal conclave is a closed-door event where all participating cardinals are effectively quarantined in the Vatican, where they are cut off from the outside world and vote on two occasions at the Sistine Chapel.

One cardinal eligible to vote in the conclave is former Archbishop of Los Angeles Roger Mahony, who was criticized by the current archbishop and has faced tremendous public scrutiny since a court-ordered release of internal church files showed a history of sexual abuse cover-ups.

According to the Huffington Post, while there has been pushback against Mahony’s presence both among the public and fellow clergy, current Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez supports Mahony’s vote, and Mahony has expressed on social media his plan to participate in the selection of the next pope.

An accelerated conclave schedule has the obvious advantage of installing a new pope in time to preside over the Holy Week festivities, but it is not without downsides. As Reuters reports, it may favor insider candidates already based in Italy.

"'A short period before a conclave helps the curial cardinals in Rome operating on their home turf,' said Father Tom Reese, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and author of several books on the Vatican.

'The curial cardinals are the ones that cardinals from outside Rome turn to for opinions about the other cardinals. The longer the pre-conclave period, the more time non-curial cardinals have to talk to each other and to get to know each other. The longer the period prior to the conclave, the less dependent outside cardinals are on the curial cardinals.'"

In recent years, the Catholic Church has seen much of its growth come from Latin American and African congregations. Many observers feel that while it may not happen this time, a non-European pope is only a matter of time.

Benedict, who will become the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to resign from the office, announced his intention to retire effective at a meeting at the Vatican on February 11. He cited his age and physical fatigue as the primary drivers behind his decision to step down.

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage of Pope Benedict XVI here.

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage of Mahony here.

Reach Executive Producer Matt Pressberg here.



 

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