Papal Transition (what happens between one pope and the next)

America Magazine ^ | March 31, 2005 | Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J

[Salvation]

Excellent information here!

[Salvation]

Conclave: Pope's 'electoral college' has moral values, no exit polls

Rome's Next Choice? [TIME: "Arch-Conservative" Ratzinger is top Papabile]

Lent in the Vatican: The Pope, the Curia, and the Conclave ( Who's On First )

POPE: 117 CARDINALS ON STANDBY FOR CONCLAVE

Papal Transition (what happens between one pope and the next)

Vatican Bracing for Papal Succession

When Sad Day Comes, Eyes of World Will Be on Papal Selection [How next Pope will be chosen]

Mahony Flies To Rome For Solemnities, Conclave (Cardinal from Los Angeles to Visit Vatican)

Papal Election and Succession

[mabelkitty]

I have a very real fear the next Pope could be anti-American. No flames, please. Just an observation based on shifting global powers.

[mabelkitty]

I liked the hanging chad part.
He's a good writer. Procedure, history, and religion could make for a dry read, but I found myself interested.
The smoke thing I was always curious about. I always thought the black smoke meant a person known to the public had been rejected. LOL!

I'm not a Catholic, but my grandfather was Irish Catholic fireman with a son who studied to become a priest.

[mabelkitty]

This person insists on kicking grieving Catholics.

[mabelkitty]

I agree.
I'm sad to say I think Baroness Thatcher will go this year, as well.

[lewislynn]

Papal Transition (what happens between one pope and the next)

Life goes on.

[mabelkitty]

We can just alert on them.
I'm in that sort of mood today.

[Lead Moderator]

Stay off this thread.

[Non-Sequitur]

Curial cardinals may stand a better chance this time around, some theorize.

Who ever it is I don't envy the burden that he will have to carry as the successor to John Paul II. Paul VI learned how hard it was to follow a charismatic leader and labored his entire pontificate being compared to John XXIII. The next pope will find his predecessor's shadow hard to escape from.

[mabelkitty]

May I humbly submit a Chinese Pope to your list, as well?

[Siobhan]

Well said. I think though the next Pontiff will be successful if he understands the worldwide sentiment that this Pope is to be reckoned as Pope John Paul the Great and does not strive against his legacy but rather celebrates it and articulates it within his new apostolic work.

[Siobhan]

Perhaps of related interest for some of you: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1376070/posts

[NYer]

I have a very real fear the next Pope could be anti-American.

That would be uncharacteristic of any pontiff. The Holy Father fosters the unchanging teachings of Jesus Christ. His message is one of encouraging Catholics to apply those teachings to their daily lives, be they American or other nationality.

Last year, Pope John Paul II elevated a Chinese bishop to the rank of Cardinal. Due to the communist agenda of recognizing a 'state approved' Catholic Church, the name of this bishop was never revealed. He shepherds the flock of the underground Catholic Church in China. That does not make the pope anti-Chinese.

[hoagy62]

Now, wouldn't that be something...if the College of Cardinals elected the Chinese cardinal as the new Pope?

Remember what happened the last time a Pope was elected from a Communist nation? The possibilities are awe-inspiring...the Death of Communism in my lifetime!

Even so, I can just imagine God, sitting in Heaven, rubbing His hands gleefully, and joyfully telling the newly-arrived John Paul II "Just wait till you see what I've got cooked up next!"

I can hardly wait!

[mabelkitty]

How do you know that sbout the Chinese gentleman?
Is that information revealed upon death?
That is very exciting!

[NYer]

How do you know that sbout the Chinese gentleman?

On Oct. 21, 2003, John Paul II created 30 new cardinals, including Archbishop Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, in a ceremony in St. Peter's Square.

The Oct. 21 consistory at which the 30 men (plus one in pectore) were made cardinals began at 10:30 a.m. (Rome time) in St. Peter's Square. John Paul gave the zucchetto (a red skullcap) and the biretta to the cardinals at the two-hour consistory. On the following day, he gave them their rings at a Mass, which was celebratd in St. Peter's because of the weather.

One cardinal was created in pectore. The best guess is that he is Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong.

When a person is name a cardinal "in pectore" (in the heart), it means that his name is not made public, and if the pope dies before his name is made public he cannot go to a conclave and elect a new pope. Often, the man himself does not know. In the past, the pope has appointed cardinals in pectore from China or other Communist countries where the government would oppose the appointment. CardinalIgnatius Gong Pinmei of Shanghai, who spent 30 years in a Chinese prison, was made a cardinal "in pectore" in 1979. In 1989, the year after he was allowed to go to the United States for medical treatment, Gong had an audience with the pope and learned that he had been elevated to cardinal. The pope did not announce the choice until 1991.

In 1998, Marian Jaworski, archbishop for the "Roman" or "Latin" Catholics of Lviv in Ukraine, and Janis Pujats, archbishop of Riga) were appointed in pectore but their names were not made public until January 28, 2001. These cardinals received their red birettas at the Feb. 21, 2001, consistory and have seniority over the cardinals created after 1998.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

GOOD POST! - although I was a bit put out by the way the (JESUIT) author of this article just couldn't help getting his little "digs" in at President Bush and America...