Papal maze needs some explaining
For the next two to three weeks, Catholics throughout the world will follow the election of the new pope with the kind of attention usually devoted to the election of a new president or new prime minister. The media will stay on it, too.
For Catholics and non-Catholics who worry about overkill here, I offer some papal-election phenomena that may help explain why the upcoming pope election is fascinating for many of us.
The “Papabili” Phenomenon: This Italian word refers to those considered new-pope front-runners. The new pope will be chosen from among 117 cardinal-electors. There are short lists everywhere of the leading contenders, these so-called papabili.
You can see photos, and thumbnail biographies, of all the cardinals on my Journey to Vatican III blog, www. spokesmanreview.com/blogs/journey. Scan the faces and bios and see if you can pick out the papabili.
Almost all the cardinals, 114 out of the 117, were appointed by John Paul II. Imagine if the U.S. Senate were in charge of electing the president, and the current president had chosen most of the senators. The Senate would certainly vote in a new president much like the old one.
You might think this happens in the election of the pope, but often it doesn’t. The Italians have a saying: “Fat pope, skinny pope.” By this they mean that if tradition holds, the new pope will be different physically, emotionally and ideologically from John Paul II.
Why? Because of the next phenomenon.
The “Che Bella Sorpresa!” Phenomenon: To the surprise of many, the pope who is finally elected is often not one of the papabili. This has led to another common saying: “He who enters the conclave as pope leaves it a cardinal.” History tells some funny stories about this “nice surprise” phenomenon.
One of the papabili cardinals was reportedly so certain he’d exit the conclave as pope that he dieted to fit into the special papal clothes. He should have enjoyed his cake instead. Others didn’t prepare at all. Time magazine reported that during the last conclave, one cardinal was so oblivious to the final outcome that he nonchalantly paged through a quarterly review of Marxist theory. That cardinal was Karol Wojtyla, aka Pope John Paul II.
Most Catholics believe these surprises occur because of the next phenomenon.
The “Lo Spirito Santo” Phenomenon: Catholics cannot lobby, campaign or vote for the new pope, of course, but Catholics also know that that incredible “campaigning” is taking place among the cardinals now in anticipation of the conclave, scheduled to begin April 18 in the Sistine Chapel.
Yet many Catholics – especially those who worry that such an important decision rests with 117 mortals – accept the belief that the Holy Spirit is in that room, too. They believe the divine presence is guiding the cardinals to select the best pope for the needs of the time. Catholics joke about “lobbying the Holy Spirit” by praying for the pope they hope will lead the church well in the coming years.
I carry my hope in my digital camera bag. There, I have a small, shiny medallion of Pope John XXIII. He was elected pope in 1958, a compromise candidate agreed upon by liberal and conservative cardinals. They figured he would be a caretaker pope until the right guy came along. They figured he wouldn’t live too long, because he was nearly 77 years old when elected.
Instead, John XXIII called Vatican II, the ecumenical council that changed the church dramatically. Che Bella Sorpresa!
According to Christianity Today magazine, John XXIII wrote this in his journal in 1961: “When the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church chose me … everyone was convinced that I would be a provisional and transitional pope. Yet here I am, already on the eve of the fourth year of my pontificate, with an immense program of work in front of me to be carried out before the eyes of the whole world, which is watching and waiting.”
Watching and waiting. Here we are, once more.