The week began with news of international importance:Pope Benedict XVI , the German Joseph Ratzinger , announced his resignation from the highest ecclesiastical position of Catholicism, due to health problems that have afflicted him for some time. According to the official statement, Benedict XVI he will remain at the head of the Catholic Church until Thursday, February 28. Papal resignations are not very common in history, previously Celestine V had resigned (he was pope for only a few months during 1294) and Gregory XII (who began his term in 1406 and resigned in 1415, in a climate of multiple controversies and disputes in the College of Cardinals. As of February 28, 2013, the Church has between 15 and 20 days to meet in Conclave and elect the new Pope, according to procedure and traditions that have not changed for centuries.What does the election of the new Pope consist of?
As we have been able to notice in the information that arrives from the Vatican, the Cardinals from all over the world (there are currently 148) are already making preparations to travel to the headquarters of Catholicism and participate in the conclave. It will be the second time in the era of information in real time that the world will observe this ceremony in detail. The images prior to the announcement of Benedict XVI, 265th, are still remembered. Pope from Saint Peter, with the cardinals entering the Sistine Chapel in a solemn and reflective attitude, all dressed in red, heading to the enclosure where they will be isolated from all contact with the outside world until the new Supreme Pontiff is elected.
Security measures are very strict to keep the votes of the Cardinals confidential, who are prohibited from using their cell phones, computers, receiving correspondence, watching television or reviewing newspapers. While this kind of spiritual retreat takes place inside, behind closed doors, squads of security experts walk every inch of the enclosure to detect the presence of indiscreet cameras or microphones that threaten the absolute secrecy imposed by ecclesiastical protocol.
This Conclave (word that comes from the Latin “cum clavis” or “locked up”) can last for hours, even days. According to canon law, up to three breaks between votes are contemplated, if they do not result in a winner. The voting process has three stages (pre-scrutiny, scrutiny and post-scrutiny), and every two votes make up a session or round. For a cardinal to be elected as the new pope, he must obtain a two-thirds majority, if the 11th. day no candidate obtains said majority, voting is limited to the two cardinals who have the greatest number of votes and is elected by absolute majority. No Cardinal can carry out propaganda either personally or to support any of his colleagues.
Every time a round of voting concludes, and after an official record of the results has been drawn up, the ballots must be burned to announce that the Supreme Pontiff has not yet been elected . This moment is a peak for the parishioners – and the press – who wait outside the Chapel of San Pedro . If the smoke produced by the incinerated ballots is black, it means that there has been no winner and that the Conclave will continue. If the smoke is white, it means there is already a winner.
Inside the church, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks the elect if he accepts the position and under what name he wishes to rule. According to this tradition, each Pope can freely choose a name:that of one of his predecessors, that of a saint of his devotion, or a Latinized version of his own name. A curious fact:in almost two thousand years of Papacy, no one has chosen to be called Peter, out of respect for the apostle of Jesus, the first Pope in history.
Once this formality has been completed, the Dean of the College of Cardinals goes out onto the balcony and exclaims the Latin phrase “Habemus Papam!” (“We have a Pope!”), thus concluding the election. The new Pope steps out onto the balcony and pronounces his first blessing, Urbi et Orbi (To the city and the world).
The current Supreme Pontiff, 85 years old, assumed the Papacy in April 2005, just days after turning 78, after four rounds of voting. At that time, taking into account the profile of papal performance that he had imposed Karol Wojtyla, John Paul II , it was already commented that the new Prelate was very old. As we all remember, John Paul II was known as "the Pilgrim Pope" because of his intense face-to-face evangelizing work, which required him to travel around the world, sometimes uninterruptedly, covering long distances in relatively short periods. However, Benedict XVI took up the challenge and although his style as an authority of the Catholic Church was different from the beginning of his term, the tensions that running the Vatican produces have dented his health and hence his decision to resign.