Monday, December 22, 2008

How the Pope Gets the Job

The College of Cardinals elects the pope. No, the College is not a university like Notre Dame or Boston College, but a gathering of all the cardinals from around the world (Think Electoral College in the United States). The Pope picks bishops to become cardinals and the cardinal's primary duty is to elect a new pope when the current one dies. Since popes tend to average a decade or more in office, cardinals really don't have much else to do besides wait for the pontiff to pass on.

Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for a new pope. The number of electors is limited to 120, but Pope John Paul II appointed so many that the new limit became 137. However, considering that most cardinals tend to be older men, by the time John Paul II died the actual number of under-80, healthy, voting electors was lower than 120.

Theoretically, the College can elect any cardinal, bishop, priest, deacon, or layman from anywhere on Earth. However, if a layman is elected (very rarely, but it has been done), he need to become a deacon, priest, and bishop before he can assume office- since one of the Pope's duties is serving as the Bishop of Rome. Usually, they pick another cardinal since they know each other and there's only about 120 to choose from, rather than 3,500 bishops and 400,000 priests.

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