For those who are interested, how the Church picks a new Pope

[Walt Starr]

I know how informed the DU community likes to be and how everybody likes to stay ahead of the curve, so here's a pretty good site with information on how a new pope is selected:

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

Interestingly enough, most people are unaware of the novemdieles or "nine days of mourning".

It's good stuff to know. I suggest we get educated so we can laugh at the MSM attempting to get up to speed.

[babylonsister]

1. Thanks for the heads up, Walt. In the days ahead, I imagine

we'll all know more about this than we ever wanted to!

[ET Awful]

2. And I thought they all got together and drew straws

:)

[flakey_foont]

3. They do it like on

American Idol....the prospective Pontifex's get to sing, dance, tell jokes, recite the Catholic scripture in front of a live audience and 3or 4 celebrity judges........

[htuttle]

4. I'm really hoping Don Novello helps explain this again

He was very helpful during the last 'choosing ofa da pope'. ;)

[Walt Starr]

8. Finda the Pope in the Pizza

:evilgrin:

[DURHAM D]

5. Think there is any chance the Sistine Chapel is actually safe

from the CIA listening to proceedings? Cheney will know before anyone in Italy who the new Pope is.

[Walt Starr]

6. The Swiss are pretty damned intelligent

and it's the Swiss Army that protects the Vatican.

[DURHAM D]

11. Yes, but all they have to work with are those army knives. n/t

[achtung_circus]

7. First you get down on your knees,

Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect,

Make a cross on your ab-doh-men,
When in Rome do like a Roman,
Ave Maria,
Gee, it's good to see ya,
Getting ecstatic
And sorta dramatic,
And doing the Vatican Rag.

(credit to Tom Lehrer)

[_TJ_]

9. I thought the top Cardinals got naked and played spin the bottle

Shows what I know!

[Bridget Burke]

10. Still no Electronic Voting; tradition has its good points.

I need to read up on the "faves" currently being touted as the next Pope.

Certainly--nobody predicted a Pope from Poland. Someone other than the old gang at the Vatican might be a good choice.

[Walt Starr]

12. Here's a pretty good list

Camillo Ruini
Age: 68
Ruini is vicar general of the Rome diocese and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference. Appointed cardinal in 1991, he is a conservative who may still be able to appease liberal factions.

Jan Schotte
Age: 70
Having kept close contact with many cardinals from around the world in his role as secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, this Belgian has diplomatic ties that improve his chances for the papacy.

Lucas Moreira Neves
Age: 73
A Brazilian strongly in favor of celibacy in the priesthood, and a firm opponent of birth control, Neves is touted as the pope's preferred successor. He was recently brought from Brazil to head the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops. Neves is well versed in the Curia, the Vatican bureaucracy, but is rumored to have health problems.

Dionigi Tettamanzi
Age: 65
The archbishop of Genoa is highly favored in Italy. Elevated to cardinal in 1998, Tettamanzi is another relatively new member of the Sacred College. He is regarded as a moderate who may be able to mediate between liberals and conservatives.

Francis Arinze
Age: 66
The Nigerian cardinal, a leading church figure in Africa, is a close friend of the pope's and has performed a crucial role in improving the Vatican's dialogue with Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu groups. His conservative theological orientation fits in well with the current Vatican climate.

Pio Laghi
Age: 76
Born in Forli, Italy, Laghi is prefect of the Congregation for Education in Rome. He is an experienced diplomat and was an apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine. Laghi is noted for his gentleness and compassion, though his lack of experience as a pastor may hurt his odds.

Christoph Schoenborn
Age: 54
The archbishop of Vienna and a highly respected theologian, Schoenborn was appointed to the College of Cardinals in 1998. Born in Czechoslovakia, he moved with his family to Austria while he was still young. Schoenborn was charged by the pope with the task of preparing the church's new catechism, but his chances may be hampered by his relative youth.

Bernardin Gantin
Age: 77
A close friend of the pope's, Gantin is another Vatican insider. He is prefect for the Congregation of Bishops and dean of the College of Cardinals. He was born in Benin, Africa, and, like Arinze, may find his chances diminished by his non-European origin.

Joseph Ratzinger
Age: 72
The vice-dean of the College of Cardinals is German-born and was once archbishop of Munich. Known as "the Panzer Cardinal," the conservative Ratzinger is powerful in the Vatican but may be too close to the pope for the cardinals' taste.

Carlo Maria Martini
Age: 72
Archbishop of Milan since 1979, Martini is more liberal than John Paul II on issues such as contraception and the role of women in the church. His odds for the papacy are lengthened by his membership in the elitist Jesuit order, which has been viewed with longstanding mistrust by the greater church.

Roger Etchegaray
Age: 76
A Vatican insider, Etchegaray serves as president of the Vatican Council for Justice and Peace. He is from Bayonne, France, and served as archbishop of Marseilles for 15 years.

Jean-Marie Lustiger
Age: 72
Archbishop of Paris, Lustiger was born of a Polish Jewish family in France. After his parents were deported during the Nazi occupation, he lived with a Christian family in Orléans and converted to Catholicism at the age of 13. He has been criticized by Israeli rabbis and may be a long shot if the cardinals decide his nomination would anger the Jewish community.

[DURHAM D]

15. My vote is on Neves - they need to shore up their Spanish

speaking base. They are losing too many of them to pentecostal and evangelical faiths.

[Henny Penny]

16. "nobody predicted a pope from Poland"...

except the CIA of course! :D

[Walt Starr]

13. Timely as it appears they've given the Pope last rites

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/03/31/pope1/index.html

[crispini]

14. You know, I read a lot about this from Dan Brown,

in "Angels and Demons," about the Camarlengo, and the method of election by acclamation and so on -- which I'm sure would really piss off the higher-ups in the Church since they totally condemned the "DaVinci Code." :7