THE PAPAL CONCLAVE

To the left, the cardinals are shown processing into the mass in St Peter's Basilica this morning before gathering in the Sistine Chapel to begin the Papal Conclave.

To the right is the Sistine Chapel set up for the for the cardinals meeting in the Papal Conclave to elect the new pope.

The cardinals walk up the aisle toward Michangelo's "The Last Judgement" to place their ballots in the ballot box.

Black smoke issued from the chimney this evening to signal that no pope was elected on the first ballot.  When the new pope has been chosen, white smoke will come from the chimney, and a bell will ring as an additional signal.

The picture of the cardinals in procession made me smile because in my Roman Catholic elementary school such a straggly line would not have been tolerated. We would have heard from the sister in charge, "Straighten that line!"

IS CARDINAL O'MALLEY A CONTENDA?

Cardinal Sean O'Malley

[Cardinal Sean P.] O’Malley has repeatedly dismissed the notion that he is a contender, and he continued to do so Sunday at his titular church. (All cardinals are assigned as honorary patrons to a Roman church; O’Malley’s is Santa Maria Della Vittoria.)

Clad in a red cardinal’s cassock for Mass, he silently climbed the steps of the church — a Baroque masterpiece resplendent with elaborate frescoes and marble sculpture, most notably Bernini’s masterwork, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

The Rev. Rocco Visca, a member of the Discalced Carmelite friars who run Santa Maria Della Vittoria, lavished praise on the cardinal as he opened the service, calling O’Malley humble and a friend to the friars. He said he hoped that this would be O’Malley’s last visit as a cardinal and that the church would be his first stop after he became pope.

Santa Maria Della Vittoria

The titular church of Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the Archdiocese of Boston in the United States, is pictured to the left.

Today, the cardinal priests have a loose patronal relationship with their titular churches (their names and coats of arms are inscribed on plaques in the churches, and many raise funds for their church's maintenance and restoration), but they no longer participate in the actual management of the churches. There are now 143 presbyteral titular churches. Likewise, the cardinal bishops are given only honorary title to the 7 suburbicarian dioceses, and the cardinal deacons are given a similar relationship to the churches of their 69 deaconries.

The Ecstasy of St Teresa

To the left is a photo of Bernini's magnificent sculpture, The Ecstasy of St Teresa. The sculpture follows closely the descriptions in her writings of Teresa of Ávila's ecstatic experiences during prayerful contemplative meditation.

In answer to my playful question in the title of the post, I believe the chances that Cardinal O'Malley or any prelate from the United States will be elected pope are slim to none.  The view of the US and its leaders from the outside is, all too often, as power-hungry and desirous of ruling the world, and few cardinals wish to put the power of the Vatican in the hands of an American.  Besides, the Italian cardinals think it's time to put an Italian back on the papal throne.  Barring an agreement on the election of an Italian, the next choice might be a cardinal from a third-world country or from a country in one of the Americas, but not the United States.  There you have my predictions, which are not specific, nor should they in any way be considered conjectures from an expert in papal elections.

DATE SET FOR PAPAL CONCLAVE

The Papal Conclave to elect the next pope for the Roman Catholic Church will begin on Tuesday, March 12, 2013.  One day after the arrival of the last cardinal in Rome, The Clan of the Red Beanies the College of Cardinals decided on the date.  As Whispers in the Loggia says, "Habemus Datum", and he continues with a description of the process of the election.

While the governing meetings – which have been attempting to shape the desired "profile" of the next Pope – will continue tomorrow and Monday, the appointed day begins with the Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice (for the Election of the Roman Pontiff) concelebrated by all the cardinals at midmorning in St Peter's Basilica. 

Then, late Tuesday afternoon, the electors will gather in the Pauline Chapel, processing from there into the Sistina as the Litany of the Saints is sung.

Following the oath taken by each voter, the traditional "Extra omnes" – "Everybody out" – is sounded, the chapel's doors are locked, and the first ballot is taken; as Cardinal Francis George of Chicago recently said, only then does "what everybody really thinks" become clear.

Read the rest of Rocco's post at his website, which is one of the go-to online sites for frequent reports on the Conclave.

TOP SECRET CONCLAVE TO ELECT POPE

The Sistine Chapel, which will be closed to visitors for the duration of the papal conclave, is being readied for occupation by the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church when they gather to elect a new pope.  Along with the mandatory oath of secrecy taken by all the cardinals before official meetings begin, security to prevent leaks through electronic devices will be put in place in the Sistine Chapel.

Yet while the world will primarily notice the familiar four rows of tables lining the chapel's sides to the rood screen, the most intense piece of the preparation literally begins at ground level – as in 2005, a whole-room platform will be built to lift the floor and provide for the installation of a warren of signal-jammers underneath to ensure that the voting site is kept free of any attempt at wireless communication. 

The jammers likewise surrounded the Domus Sancta Marthae last time to maintain, but given the degree of technological evolution over the last eight years, the de-bugging operation at this Conclave – both to maintain its secrecy and keep the cardinals out of contact with the world – promises to be ever more intense, and is likely to include the confiscation of all devices belonging to the electors before the voting begins. 

Charles Pierce at his Esquire blog asks why the intense emphasis on secrecy.

We are told repeatedly that the cardinal-electors fulfill their office at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (Even silly American TV reporters repeat this, whether they believe it or not.) That being the case, why is it necessary to cloak the work of the Spirit in secrecy? Scripture tells us that the Spirit is available to us all. It came upon the disciples and the first thing they did was run right out and proclaim it, gobsmacking the daylights out of the people who'd come to Jerusalem just to buy a goat or two.

Exactly.  What is so secret about the movement of the Holy Spirit that The Clan of the Red Beanie (Thank you, Charles) must conduct the business of electing a new pope under tight security?  Of course, word will get out.  The princes of the Roman Catholic Church are not entirely above harmless leaks about the process, and not long after the election, we'll be reading articles and a little later entire books about what took place inside the walls of the Sistine Chapel. 

PLUS ÇA CHANGE, PLUS C'EST LA MÊME CHOSE

Garry Wills in the New York Times:

Wistful Catholics hope that on this and other matters of disagreement between the church as People of God and the ruling powers in the church, a new pope can remedy that discord. But a new pope will be elected by cardinals who were elevated to office by the very popes who reaffirmed “eternal truths” like the teaching on contraception. They were appointed for their loyalty, as were the American bishops who stubbornly upheld the contraception nonsense in our elections.

Will the new conclave vote for a man who goes against the teachings of his predecessors? Even if they do, can the man chosen buck the structure through which he rose without kicking the structure down? These considerations have given the election of new popes the air of watching Charlie Brown keep trying to kick the football, hoping that Lucy will cooperate.

John Paul II and Benedict XVI, two conservative, traditionalist pontiffs, had 34 years to appoint members of the College of Cardinals. What are the chances for a progressive pope to be elected? Close to zero, I'd say. The few progressive cardinals (if there are any at all) in the college would be too old.  Of course, surprises do happen. Choosing the next pope will hardly be an exercise in democracy, since no clergy, lay people, or even a large number of bishops have a say in the appointments of cardinals.

And, if by a near miracle, even a semi-progressive pope were elected, he would have a hard time implementing progressive policies, considering that Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI had those same number of years to appoint like-minded bishops throughout the world.