Centuries-old traditional Catholic meeting to elect new pope starts today

By TASHA GALLEGOS

The College of Cardinals will begin its conclave meeting today to elect the next pope.

“[The cardinals] will take their time discussing the situation, praying and casting ballots,” said Rev. Perry Kavookjian, pastor of St. Paul Newman Center Catholic church, located on Barstow Avenue. “I don’t think it will take more than a few days or so.”

In recent times, the conclave has not lasted more than five days. According to “America Magazine: The National Catholic Weekly,” the last conclave to last more than five days was in 1831. It lasted 54 days and Pope Gregory XVI was elected.

But since the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, the cardinals have silenced themselves to the media. Many people are speculating about who the next pope could be.

Nationality appears to be a factor is the decision-making process.

“The cardinals will look at the world situation and decide what nations might benefit from a new pope,” Kavookjian said. “Therefore, [the pope] could be Asian, Latino or African. Those are the areas of the world where the church is growing most quickly.”

One of the names to come up consistently is Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. Ratzinger, 77, is a conservative who enforces the church’s doctrine.

Another name heard is that of Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze. Many news outlets have said if Arinze, 72, is elected pope, he would be the first African pope in history. But according to information posted on The National Black Catholic Congress Web site, there have been three African popes in history.

“Remember that early Christianity had strong roots in Northern Africa,” Kavookjian said. “St. Augustine, a great theologian of early Christianity, was from northern Africa.”

Other potential candidates are:

•Jorge Mario Barolo, 68, from Argentina,
•Godfried Danneels, 71, from Belgium,
•Ivan Dias, 69, from India,
•Claudio Hummes, 70, from Brazil,
•Norberto Rivera Carrera, 62, from Mexico,
•Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, 62, from Honduras,
•Dionigi Tettamanzi, 71, from Italy,
•Angelo Scola, 63, from Italy and
•Christoph Schonborn, 60, from Austria.

The election process is extremely private. The cardinals will begin the conclave with mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. local time. At 4:30 p.m., they will then go into the Sistine Chapel, where they will take oaths. Then anyone not connected with the conclave is asked to leave, and the Sistine Chapel and the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a Vatican residence, are closed to unauthorized people.

The cardinals are allowed to cast their first ballot on the first day of the conclave. If no candidate receives a two-thirds majority of the vote, the cardinals will vote again the following morning.

Ballots are allowed to take place four times a day, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. Once the ballots are counted, they are burned. Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected and white smoke indicates the election of a successor.

If after three days no one has been elected, then voting can be suspended for one day for the cardinals to pray and discuss.

Another seven ballots take place, followed by a suspension.

The next pope, will be the 266th pope in the history of the Catholic Church.