Timing of ballots for election of pope

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Code: ZE05041702

Date: 2005-04-17

Vatican Briefing on the Conclave

Climate Among Cardinals: "One of Great Familiarity"


VATICAN CITY, APRIL 17, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls' briefing to journalists on Saturday on the imminent conclave.

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On Monday, April 18, 115 cardinals from 52 countries representing five continents will begin the first conclave of the third millennium to elect the 264th successor of St Peter: in other words the 265th Pope in the history of the Catholic Church.

The cardinals will move into the Domus Sanctae Marthae tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, April 17. They will all meet together for dinner.

As previously announced, the Mass "for the election of the Supreme Pontiff" will be celebrated in the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m. on Monday morning. At 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the procession of cardinal electors will leave the Hall of Blessings for the Sistine Chapel. This ritual will be transmitted live on television.

Once in the Sistine Chapel, all the cardinal electors will swear the oath. The cardinal dean will read the formula of the oath, after which each cardinal, stating his name and placing his hand on the Gospel, will pronounce the words: "I promise, pledge and swear."

Over these days, there has been frequent talk of the bond of secrecy concerning the election of the Pope. However, I would like to reiterate that this is just part of the oath. First of all, an oath is made to observe the prescriptions of the Apostolic Constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis"; then another oath is made that -- and I quote -- 'whichever of us by divine disposition is elected Roman Pontiff will commit himself faithfully to carrying out the 'munus Petrinum' of Pastor of the Universal Church.'

After the oath, the master of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff pronounces the "extra omnes," and all those who do not participate in the conclave leave the Sistine Chapel. Only the master of Liturgical Celebrations and Cardinal Tomas Spidlik remain for the meditation, once that has finished they too leave the Sistine Chapel.

During the conclave, the cardinals will have the following timetable: at 7:30 a.m., the celebration or concelebration of Mass will take place in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. By 9 a.m., they will be in the Sistine Chapel. There they will recite the Lauds of the Liturgy of the Hours and, immediately afterward, voting will take place according to the prescribed ritual -- two votes in the morning, and two votes in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, voting will begin at 4 p.m. At the end of the second vote will be vespers.

After the two votes of the morning and the two of the afternoon, respectively, the ballots and any notes the cardinals have made will be burnt in a stove located inside the Sistine Chapel. Purely as an indication then, the smoke signals could appear at around 12 noon and at about 7 p.m. -- unless the new Pope is elected either in the first vote of the morning or the first vote of the afternoon, in which case the smoke signal will be earlier.

In any case it is expected that, along with the white smoke, the bells of St. Peter's will sound to mark a successful election.

You know well the indications of the apostolic constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis" as far as the voting goes. The valid quorum for electing the Pope is initially two thirds. After three days of voting without an election, there will be a day at the most dedicated to reflection and prayer, without voting.

Thereafter, voting will resume for seven additional ballots, another pause for reflection, another seven ballots, another pause and yet another seven ballots. After which an absolute majority will decide how to proceed, that is, for either a vote by the absolute majority or with balloting between two candidates.

This will happen only in the event that the cardinals arrive at the 33rd or 34th ballot without a positive result.

As far as the first vote on Monday, the cardinals will decide whether or not to vote after they have entered into conclave on Monday afternoon, April 18. The location for the conclave is the Domus Sanctae Marthae and the Sistine Chapel.

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The route, along the street behind the Vatican basilica, can be followed by the cardinals on foot or, if some prefer, by bus. Naturally this path will be clear of people. Access to the San Damaso courtyard will be sealed.

These days tourists will not have access to either the dome of St. Peter's or the Vatican Gardens. It will, however, be possible for pilgrims to visit the tomb of John Paul II during the hours the Vatican Grottoes are open.

The General Congregations of the cardinals conclude today. At the end of these encounters I wish to add two brief notes.

The climate of these congregations has been one of great familiarity. This has been perhaps an expression of the great responsibility that all the cardinals feel at this time. That allowed them to find great consensus on the general themes faced in the discussions.

I can also confirm that in no congregation were names ever brought up.

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Code: ZE05041721

Date: 2005-04-17

Cardinals to Enter Conclave in Solemn Procession

Take Oath of Secrecy

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 17, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Despite the secrecy of the conclave itself, the rites surrounding the election of a new pope are explained in Vatican documents available to all the faithful.

The document explaining the rites of the conclave is "Ordo Rituum Conclavis," and it was written in accordance with John Paul II's apostolic constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis," which specifies the norms on the election of the Supreme Pontiff.

The entry in conclave will take place on Monday afternoon after the morning Mass "For the election of the Supreme Pontiff," which will be concelebrated at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica by all the cardinal electors. The Mass is open to the faithful.

At 4:40 p.m., the 115 electors will gather in the Hall of Blessings. Once they are all gathered together, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, will begin the rite of entry saying: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The cardinals will respond: "Amen."

Cardinal Ratzinger will continue: "The Lord, who guides our hearts in the love and patience of Christ be with you all."

The cardinals will respond: "And with your spirit."

Then, addressing those present, he will continue: "Venerable Brothers: after having celebrated the divine mysteries we now enter in conclave to elect the Roman Pontiff. The whole Church, united to us in prayer, invokes at this moment the grace of the Holy Spirit so that we will elect a worthy Pastor of the whole flock of Christ. May the Lord direct our steps on the path of truth, so that by the intercession of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary, of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and of all the saints, we will always do what is pleasing to him."

The cardinals will then process to the Sistine Chapel.

The secretary of the College of Cardinals and Cardinal Tomas Spidlik, 85, a non-elector, chosen to give a meditation before the voting begins, will head the procession.

The cardinals will process in the order according to their place in the College of Cardinals: deacons, presbyters and bishops, the deacon who carries the Book of the Gospels, and finally the cardinal dean together with the master of liturgical celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

During the procession, there will be alternating choirs singing the Litanies of the Saints of the East and West, to highlight the universal character of the conclave.

The hymn to the Holy Sprit, "Veni Creator," will be sung at the end of the procession, when all have arrived in the Sistine Chapel.

Once in the chapel, the cardinals will sit in assigned places. The Book of the Gospels will be placed in an appropriate and worthy place, so that it presides over the celebration and deliberations of the cardinals until the new pope is elected.

The cardinal electors will take the oath of secrecy of the conclave: "Each and every one of us cardinal electors present in this election of the Supreme Pontiff promise, oblige ourselves, and swear to observe faithfully and scrupulously all the prescriptions" of the conclave.

The cardinals will continue: "Likewise we promise, oblige ourselves and swear that, whichever one of us, by divine disposition, is elected Roman Pontiff, will commit himself to carry out faithfully the 'munus petrinum' of Pastor of the universal Church and will not fail to affirm and defend boldly the spiritual and temporal rights as well as the freedom of the Holy See.

"Above all, we promise and swear to observe with the greatest fidelity and with all, both clergy and laity, the secrecy on everything related in any way with the election of the Roman Pontiff and on what occurs in the place of the election, directly or indirectly, concerning the ballot; not to violate in any way this secrecy both during as well as after the election of the new Pontiff, unless explicit authorization is given by the Pontiff himself; not to support or favor any interference, opposition or any other form of intervention with which secular authorities or any order or degree, or any group of persons or individuals might like to meddle in the election of the Roman Pontiff."

And at the end, each one of the cardinal electors, according to order of precedence, will touch the Holy Gospels, and take the oath with the following formula: "And I, N. Cardinal N. promise, oblige myself, and swear."

And, placing his hand on the Gospels, each will add: "So help me God and these Holy Gospels which I touch with my hand."

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After the last of the cardinal electors has taken the oath, the master of the liturgical celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff will pronounce the "Extra Omnes" (all out), and all those not participating in the conclave will have to leave the Sistine Chapel, except for the master and the cardinal chosen to give the opening meditation.

The meditation will focus on the grave duty the cardinals face, and on the need to seek only the will of God and look only to the good of the whole Church.

Once the preaching is concluded, Cardinal Spidlik will leave the Sistine Chapel together with the master of the liturgical celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

The doors will be closed and guards will be posted on all the entrances to the chapel.

The cardinal dean, ear of the college of electors, will ask them if the process of election can begin.

If there is nothing to impede it, according to the majority of the electors, one vote can take place the first day.

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Code: ZE05041708

Date: 2005-04-17

Cardinals Poised for Conclave's Opening

Arrived at Great Consensus on the Challenges of the Church

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 17, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The cardinal electors arrived today to the Vatican guesthouse Domus Sanctae Marthae, to prepare for the conclave that begins Monday afternoon.

In preparation for the conclave to pick a new pope, the cardinals have held 12 general congregations, in which cardinal electors and non-electors -- those older than 80 -- participated.

In addition to studying practical questions on the Pope's funeral and the vacancy of the See, the cardinals addressed in particular "the problems of the Church and of the world."

Exiting one of these congregations, a European cardinal said: "There is agreement over the problems; now we must choose the person."

Joaquín Navarro Valls, director of the Vatican press office, said on Saturday that "in no congregation were names ever brought up."

In addition to these general assemblies, as occurred before previous conclaves, some cardinals have held informal meetings in religious residences in Rome.

The participants, whose names in some cases have reached the media, confirm that these meetings were not organized according to "progressive" or "conservative" agendas.

Navarro Valls clarified on Saturday: "The climate of these congregations has been one of great familiarity. This has been perhaps an expression of the great responsibility that all the cardinals feel at this time. That allowed them to find great consensus on the general themes faced in the discussions."

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Bishop Léonard: As Thérèse of Lisieux said, "we receive from God what we hope from him." Therefore, we hope for the most. And he will more than satisfy us. This is what Julian of Norwich meant in the famous phrase "All will be well!"

This is it, folks. The big day is here! Ani.

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ANSI.it VATICAN CITY: - The Vatican has drawn a security veil around its core on the eve of the conclave to elect the 265th pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Ahead of tomorrow's conclave, high-tech tools have swept the Sistine Chapel for bugs and a cloaking device placed around the famed site to black out cellphone signals. Unlike at previous elections, the security blanket stretches to the cardinals' swanky new digs, the nearby Domus Sanctae Martae (St Martha's House). The whole area will be off-limits, ringed by Swiss Guards and other elite forces.

It has been left up to the cardinals whether they want to stroll down to the chapel each day or be ferried back and forth in a special bus. Whichever way they choose to travel, they'll be living and moving in a cocoon without access to newspapers, radio, TV or the Internet. Cardinals held masses around Rome today and stressed they were already asking for divine inspiration. None mentioned any names. Some leading Catholics made public appeals today about the sort of pope they wanted. Swiss liberal theologian Hans Kueng, a dissenter during John Paul's papacy, called for someone to ensure "freedom and openness" in the Church. Conclave literally means "With Keys" and in former times the cardinals were locked in until they coughed up a name.

But the modern era has brought a need for creature comforts like Martha's well-furnished en suite rooms and air-conditioning - mod cons that were badly missed in the sultry days of the last-but-one conclave, John Paul I's election in July 1978. Tomorrow afternoon, the Latin cry Extra Omnes (Everyone Out) will go up and 115 cardinals will huddle under Michelangelo's frescoes to thrash out who should be St Peter's 264th successor. Just to keep the world on sharper tenterhooks, the cardinals will only decide when they're in there whether they're up to voting the first afternoon. But if they do, and remarkably reach agreement at the drop of a hat, the world will have a new pope by tomorrow tea-time.

In the initial stages, a two-thirds majority is needed to claim St.Peter's throne. Two ballots are taken each morning and two each afternoon. If it's no dice, the two sets of ballots are crumpled and burned with special additives to puff black smoke out of the Sistine chimney at about noon and seven p.m. But if there's a deal, additive-enhanced white smoke goes up - perhaps after the first ballots, at around ten-ish or five-ish. Vatican rules officially ban electioneering and deal-making. The cardinals' inner moral compasses and the Holy Spirit are supposed to dictate their choice. But Michelangelo's immortal figures are bound to witness the same sort of nods, winks and whispers they have over the centuries, skeptics think.

And later on, if proceedings drag on, the Vatican is quite prepared to break its own rules, insiders say. Unless there's an early election, like many recent ones, cardinals will toss names around for three days before they get their first break - a day of prayer for greater inspiration. During this time, in flat contradiction of the initial bar on horse-trading, specialist bargainers called 'great electors' reportedly try to cajole the undecided, forge voting blocs and close out the deal. After the first day's pause for a deep breath and deeper thinking, seven more ballots will herald a new day's break, then seven more, another break, and so on. To break the deadlock, new rules drafted by John Paul II say the cardinals can put their heads together after the 30-vote mark and try to find a way out of the impasse.

This has not been specified, but most Vatican watchers think the cardinals have two options: cutting the required vote to a simple majority (50%+1 of the votes), or staging a head-to-head between the front-runners. In recent elections, voting has run to two or three days at most. An average taken over the last two centuries comes out at a week, give or take a day or so. This year could be a short one because the list of front-runners is small, according to the most highly regarded experts on odds and outcomes, the bookies of London.

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Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras and Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Italy are joint favourites for the papal tiara, they say. Maradiaga, 62, is a rising star of the Latin American Church who has some of John Paul's crowd-pleasing quality. He plays the piano, is a trained pilot, and has campaigned for Third World debt relief with Irish rockstar Bono. Despite his youth, pundits say he could get the nod if cardinals end up deciding the Church's new growth areas should be represented at the very top. Tettamanzi, 71, is a cheerful, rotund figure with unparalleled expertise in bioethics. Said to be a natural mediator and a happy mix of dogmatic conservatism and liberal inclinations, he was once described as "a man with no enemies." Behind the two favourites, the bookies say, are Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze, bidding to become the Church's first black pope, and German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's doctrinal enforcer for 20 years. Like Maradiaga, 72-year-old Arinze is tipped because of his origins in an area where the Church is expanding fast. But his unflinching conservatism, especially on moral matters, could play against him. Ratzinger appeals to many because of his tough-guy reputation. But some cardinals could baulk at the austerity of a man who recently said the Church was "full of corruption and filth."

However, Italian newspapers have reported that Ratzinger, who turned 78 yesterday, is making a late surge into pole position. Italy held the papacy for 455 years before Poland's John Paul II. Some Italians fear they may have lost their edge for good if they don't get it back this time. Ratzinger, Tettamanzi, Mariadaga, Arinze: one of these could soon be the next man to swear, like John Paul II and 263 others before him, to carry on the "munus Petrinum," St.Peter's gift and burden to lead what calls itself "the Universal Church."

But there are 37 others not all that far behind in the bookies' rankings. Only one thing is sure so far. The Vatican's solemn assurance that no names were mentioned in pre-conclave meetings has been taken with a large pinch of salt.

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[I'll see if I can babblefish this. But the last time I tried, my computer stopped responding.]

From RAI.it: Chiesa. Al via il primo Conclave del terzo millennio. Ratzinger: chiediamo un papa pastore

La messa "pro eligendo pontifice"

Roma, 18 aprile 2005
P {text-align=left;} "Un nuovo pastore secondo il cuore di Cristo, un pastore che ci guidi alla conoscenza di Cristo, al suo amore, alla vera gioia". E' cio' che chiede il cardinale Joseph Ratzinger, concludendo l'omelia della messa "pro eligendo pontifice" con questa preghiera al Signore. Le parole di Ratzinger sono state accolte da un applauso.
Alla messa, presieduta dal cardinale Joseph Ratzinger, decano del collegio cardinalizio, hanno partecipato i cardinali non elettori, i vescovi, i sacerdoti, i diaconi, nonche' i fedeli laici presenti a Roma. Tra questi anche il leader dell'Udc e vicepremier dimissionario Marco Follini, il presidente della Camera Pierferdinando Casini e il segretario dell'Udeur, Clemente Mastella.

Ratzinger lancia l'allarme: all'interno della Chiesa si fa strada la "dittatura del relativismo"
Serve riscoprire e alimentare una "fede matura" radicata "nell'amicizia con Cristo" capace di non seguire le sirene delle mode imperanti. E', questo, il passo più forte dell'omelia pronunciata dal Decano del Collegio Cardinalizio durante la solenne messa che dà l'avvio al Conclave.
"Avere una fede chiara -ha detto - secondo il credo della Chiesa, viene spesso etichettato come fondamentalismo. Mentre il relativismo, il lasciarsi portare qual è là da qualsiasi vento di dottrina, appare come l'unico atteggiamento all'altezza dei tempi odierni. Si va costituendo una dittatura del relativismo che non riconosce nulla come definitivo e che lascia come ultima misura solo il proprio io e le proprie voglie".

I 115 cardinali che da oggi saranno chiamati a eleggere il nuovo Papa sono entrati ieri pomeriggio nella casa di Santa Marta, la residenza a loro destinata. Una volta dentro, non potranno più comunicare con l'esterno e per muoversi utilizzeranno percorsi "protetti".
I cardinali elettori, infatti, hanno attraversato la piazza interna al Vaticano per recarsi in San Pietro, dove si tiene la messa 'pro eligendo Papa', ultimo atto aperto a tutti. Poi, nel pomeriggio, alle 16,30 i porporati sono convocati nell'aula delle Benedizioni, nel palazzo apostolico, da dove avrà inizio la breve processione che, attraverso la Sala Regia, li porterà alla cappella Sistina: dopo il giuramento ci sarà l''extra omnes', si chiuderanno le porte e si aprirà la
successione.

Quello che inizia oggi è uno dei conclavi più imponenti della storia della Chiesa Cattolica, il primo che consentirà di vedere in diretta tv la chiusura della cappella Sistina, dove saranno presenti i 115 cardinali (solo due aventi diritto hanno dato forfait per motivi di salute: il filippino Jaime Sin e il messicano Alfonso Antonio Suarez Rivera) provenienti da 52 paesi dei cinque continenti, chiamati ad eleggere il 264/mo successore di San Pietro, il Papa numero 265 della storia della chiesa cattolica romana. Per essere eletti serviranno i due terzi dei voti, 77 preferenze, almeno per le prime quattro serie di scrutini. Poi si vedrà.
Al momento non è ancora sicuro che i cardinali inizino le votazioni oggi pomeriggio: decideranno dopo la chiusura delle porte, un momento a cui arrivano con delle posizioni non ancora definite, secondo quanto è stato il dibattito di questi giorni di pre-conclave.

Le votazioni e le fumate
Rispettivamente dopo le due votazioni del mattino e le due del pomeriggio, le schede ed eventuali appunti dei cardinali saranno bruciati nella stufa che sta dentro la Sistina. Come orario puramente indicativo, le fumate potrebbero avvenire verso le ore 12 e verso le ore 19. Sempre che non ci sia l'elezione del Papa ad un primo scrutinio rispettivamente del mattino o del pomeriggio, nel qual caso la fumata sarà anticipata. E' previsto che insieme alla fumata bianca suonino anche le campane di San Pietro.

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Choose a pope to hold the line: Ratzinger

Last Updated Mon, 18 Apr 2005 08:18:24 EDT CBC News

VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger issued a blunt call Monday for the Roman Catholic Church's cardinals to choose a pope who will refuse to be swayed by calls for change to the church's guiding principles. As the secret conclave to elect a successor to John Paul II begins in Rome, Ratzinger, a German cleric seen as a front-runner, delivered the homily at the cardinals' mass Monday morning in his capacity as dean of the College of Cardinals.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger celebrates midmorning mass in St. Peter's Basilica. (AP Photo)

His words were greeted with an unusual round of applause from the 115 cardinals from 52 nations who are eligible to elect the next pope. (Two of the 117 cardinals under the age of 80 are ill and cannot attend the conclave.)

"Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labelled today as a fundamentalism, whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards," the 78-year-old Ratzinger said during the homily.

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."

Liberals looking to modernize the Catholic faith say it should relax its policies on birth control and consider giving women a more prominent role in church affairs in order to remain relevant to more of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

John Paul refused to consider such changes during his 26-year papacy.

Secret balloting to begin Monday or Tuesday

At about 4:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. EDT), the cardinals will proceed in full regalia to the Sistine Chapel.

There, under the splendour of Michelangelo's Last Judgment, showing Christ raising up the chosen and rejecting the wicked, they will vote in a series of secret ballots until a consensus emerges.

The first round of voting will not necessarily take place on Monday. The cardinals may decide to reflect on and discuss their options and delay the balloting until Tuesday.

"The new pope has already been chosen by the Lord," Italian Cardinal Ennio Antonelli said Sunday. "We must only pray to know who it is."

Once in the chapel, the cardinals will hear a "meditation" from 85-year-old Czech prelate Tomas Spidlik "on the need for careful discernment" in choosing the new pope.

They will sit at 12 tables along the frescoed walls of the chapel, where each will write down one name on ballots printed in Latin.

The winner must receive a two-thirds majority, or at least 77 votes.

If no winner emerges, the ballots are burned in a stove, once in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Secret balloting to begin Monday or Tuesday

Black smoke that billows from a chimney above the chapel signals that a decision has not been reached. When a new pope is chosen, white smoke is pumped through the chimney and the Vatican's bells will ring.

The stove on the right is used to burn ballot papers during the conclave, whereas the stove on the left is where canisters of chemicals used to make the smoke white or black are inserted. (AP photo)

About an hour later, the new pope will appear on the balcony of St. Peter's to greet those already assembling in St. Peter's Square for the historic occasion.

No one can say how long the deliberations will take.

But Jesuit priest and journalist Thomas Reese expects this will be a brief conclave.

"If the conclave goes more than five days, the media is going to be outside saying, 'Crisis in the Church; cardinals divided.' And they don't want that message going out," he said in an interview with CBC.

"So I think there's a lot of psychological pressure on them to pick a pope within three or four days."

Before heading into the chapel, the cardinals were to take a final oath of secrecy. As an added precaution to keep results from leaking out, the chapel has been wired to jam cellphone signals.

The cardinals spent Sunday night in a hotel-like building constructed inside the Vatican for that purpose. Between votes, they'll eat and sleep at the Santa Marta residence.

On Saturday, the Vatican ended a traditional period of mourning for John Paul, who died on April 2.

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