A question on who can be elected Pope.

[carth]

In one of my classes today the question was raised on who can be eleceted to be Pope. I was almost 100% sure that the person did not need to be a bishop or preist before they were elected but only had to be baptised, and once the postion was accepted they were episcopal ordinated immetily.

Well i searched and searched online to back up this claim and i couldn't find any information. I was hoping any of you out there might know the truth about the matter and where i can locate information about it.

 

[Didymus]

you might want to move this to the catholic forum. i think it is uusally a cardinal

 

[karla]

Pope John Paul II issued new rules on papal elections in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis.

http://www.catholic-pages.com/dir/link.asp?ref=17495

It says that whoever is elected pope must be consecrated a bishop if he isn't one already. So the answer is: anyone who can be consecrated a bishop can be pope. Therefore all celibate men in good standing with the Church are eligible to be elected. However, since the Church is the world's largest organization, good candidates will have to have significant experience in church affairs, a strong mind, and excellent administrative skills on top of being a holy man. Some people might think it's enough just to have a holy man in office.

The only people who can elect a pope are cardinals under the age of 80. There can be no more than 120 cardinals. They meet in a conclave 15-20 days after the death of the pontiff and have no contact with the outside world. The vote is held in strictest secrecy and there are severe penalties for those who would tamper with the process. If you would like a summary of these new rules, you can read about them here:

http://www.catholic-pages.com/pope/election.asp


The pope chooses his own name when he is elected, as Pope John Paul II's recent apostolic constitution indicates.

God Bless,
Karla