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July 21. Who wrote Post No. 1? I see Pete Vere's name after the initial two paragraphs, but who wrote the rest of it?

By the way, Karl Keating said: "No man can be pope unless he is a bishop, just as no man is married unless he has a wife. If our hypothetical man is not made a bishop, either before or just after his election, he cannot be a real pope. There is no such thing as a layman pope or a priest pope. The bishop of Rome must be a bishop."

Karl Keating is wrong. Any male Catholic can theoretically be elected as Pope. He need not be a bishop to be Pope.

Dear Mershon,

"Karl Keating is wrong. Any male Catholic can theoretically be elected as Pope. He need not be a bishop to be Pope."

But upon being elected pope, it would be necessary to consecrate him a bishop. If Pope Benedict XVI had not been Cardinal (and Archbishop) Ratzinger prior to his election, it would have been necessary to consecrate him at that time. In that he was not then consecrated, and in that, according to this line of thinking, there were no validly-consecrated bishops present to consecrate him, then he would be the elected pope, but would not have any way to become the actual Bishop of Rome.

What would be the result of that anomaly?

Would a man elected pope, but who remained unconsecrated as a bishop, continue to be the pope? If he did, what ill effects would his lack of episcopal consecration would exist?

I'd think that he would be even theoretically unable to consecrate any other bishops, or ordain priests. Are there other authorities, responsibilities, rights, prerogatives, privileges or powers that inhere to the pope because of or through his episcopal ordination?

If you have some insight, I'm asking these questions straight, and would appreciate any answers you might have.

sitetest

The Pope is by definition the Bishop of Rome. Ergo, no man upon being elected to the Papacy, can become Pope without also becoming a Bishop. And if he does not become Bishop, he does not become Pope, but must at least tacitly resign the election.

What part of:

If our hypothetical man is not made a bishop, either before or just after his election, he cannot be a real pope. There is no such thing as a layman pope or a priest pope. The bishop of Rome must be a bishop."

do some folks here not understand?
Keating did not say a layman could not be elected pope. He said that he must be or become a bishop. The pope is the Bishop of Rome. Not Bishop of Rome? Then your not the pope. There is only one way to become a bishop and that is through Holy Orders.

From the 1983 Cod of Canon Law:
Can. 332 §1 The Roman Pontiff acquires full and supreme power in the Church when, together with episcopal consecration, he has been lawfully elected and has accepted the election. Accordingly, if he already has the episcopal character, he receives this power from the moment he accepts election to the supreme pontificate. If he does not have the episcopal character, he is immediately to be ordained Bishop.