Posted on 04/01/2005 7:36:44 AM PST by marshmallow
Vatican, Apr. 01 (CWNews.com) - With the physical health of Pope John Paul II (bio - news) rapidly deteriorating, Church officials are bracing for the dramatic changes that will come at the Vatican with the death of the Pontiff.
Top Vatican officials had gathered around the Holy Father in the morning of April 1. The Pope reportedly met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano (bio - news), the Secretary of State; Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (bio - news), the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar for the Rome diocese; and Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, the sostituto or deputy Secretary of State.
But it would be Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo who would come to the fore with the Pontiff's death. The Spanish prelate, who is prefect of the Congregation for Religious, also holds the office of camerlengo: the key figure in the period of transition between Popes. He would certify the death of the Pontiff, in the presence of Msgr. Piero Marini, the master of pontifical ceremonies; and Msgr. Enrico Serafini, the notary for the papal household.
The Pope's death would then be announced to the people of Rome-- either by the vicar for the Rome diocese, Cardinal Ruini, or by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Ratzinger. The cardinals of the world would then be summoned to Rome for the funeral of John Paul II and the election of the 265th Roman Pontiff.
With the death of the Pope, all offices of the Roman Curia become vacant, with two exceptions: the camerlengo retains his important role, as does the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary (currently Cardinal James Francis Stafford), whose office deals with issues of conscience. All the other officials-- the prefects of Congregations and presidents of Pontifical Councils-- cease operating in those capacities. The workings of the Vatican essentially cease, until a new Pope makes his own appointments, or confirms the current occupants of various Curial posts.
The camerlengo supervises the administration of the Holy See during the transitional period. Among his first duties is the task of securing the papal apartments. The Pope's secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, and the Polish nuns who have handled household tasks for John Paul II will remain in the apostolic palace until the Pope's funeral; then the papal apartments are closed off.
The camerlengo is responsible for destroying the Pope's official seal, which is placed on formal papal documents, and the "fisherman's ring" that is the sign of his office as Successor to Peter. The College of Cardinals will set up temporary committees to oversee the necessary work of administering the Holy See, and to arrange the papal conclave. But the cardinals hold no power to govern the Church during the interregnum.
In his apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis in 1996, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed that no act of Church governance-- such as the appointment of a bishop or acceptance of a bishops' resignation, or the publication of any teaching document-- is valid until a new Pope is elected. Nor can the cardinals amend or correct the acts of previous Popes-- including those that govern the process of a papal election.
When the Pope's death is announced, all cardinals are called to Rome for the funeral. There are currently 183 cardinals, of whom 117 are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to participate in a papal election. Pope John Paul II has elevated 170 of the living cardinals, and all but 3 of those who will choose his successor.
Don't count on getting to see the Sistine chapel.
That's what I'm afraid of.
Brown knows even less about any form of Christianity than Clinton knows about abstinence. Ignore him.
I just hope that whoever will become the next pope will be a pope who shares the same views as the current one, otherwise the Catholic Church will become a disaster. Personally, I don't trust the European nor North America cardinals, I think that it should be an African, Asian, Latino or a member of Oceania.
It's been a long week. I read the title as "Vatican Bracing for Paypal", and thought it was some new way to take donations. I really need some sleep.
Is there not an ellipsis (.....) between Gloria Olivae (Olivae is a genitive singular, hence the Golry of the Olive) and Petrus Romanus or Peter the Omega, suggesting an unknown number of intervening popes between the two?
In #27, Golry obviously = Glory
Not really. I was 4 and don't remember anything about it.
How sad that we have to think like this nowadays.
I wouldn't let anything Dan Brown writes concern me.
Don't worry ... the "views" of the Church aren't changing no matter who is elected Pope. We have a special guarantee on that point.
Which means Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, Archbishop Emeritus of Milan. Is not the martini the glory of the olive?
Let's play with this a bit. A Benedictine pope? Any ideas who this could be? According to a Google search I just did, "The more than ninety year old Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer is actually now the only Benedictine Cardinal in the Sacred College." Of course the nomination need not go to a cardinal. It's doubtful that Mayer is papabile, unless he were to come up as a compromise candidate unlikely to live very long. That would bring us very quickly to the last pope in the prediction.
If not Mayer, can anyone think of a likely Benedictine candidate?
I was 18 and was a cluedog, even having been raised Catholic.
Seem to recall the inductee being carried in a chair amid a sea of people - some of them extremely close to the Pope.
Prayers for the safety of all concerned.
I have a vague memory of a new pope in the fifties, and the smoke from the ballots coming out wrong. Everyone thought a pope had been elected due to the white smoke but then it turned black and everyone was confused.
Does anyone remember this?
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