Who will become pope after John Paul dies?

good question

ME, kiss my ring.

i asked a friend, he said some people go into a room and smoke comes out when they have a new pope.

sounds like they all just get stoned to me.

Pope John Paul III

I hope some negro priest. Now that would be funny

Actually you're right. The next in line is some black pope from Nigeria.

No April Fools either.

Conclave.
it will be on the news.
I remember when this guy became Pope.

Take your pick!

Key cardinals

* Giovanni Battista Re, a 67-year-old Italian, is prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, which enables him to advise the pope on episcopal appointments around the world.

After a successful career as a Vatican diplomat, with posts in Panama and Iran, he became deputy to the Secretary of State, giving him a key role as the pope's chief of staff.

Described as a workaholic, he is regarded as papabile - a possible pope.

* Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was born in Hue, Vietnam, and was imprisoned by the Communist regime for 13 years, nine of them in solitary confinement. He is now president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.


* Claudio Hummes, 66, is Archbishop of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He is seen as a moderate, and has spoken out on human rights issues.

* The Polish-born Zenon Grocholewski has a top Vatican job as prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

* New cardinals from the United States include the Archbishop of New York, Edward Egan, and the Archbishop of Washington DC, Theodore McCarrick.

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster
* There is also a red hat for Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, and spiritual leader of the four million Catholics in England and Wales.

* Also included is Karl Lehmann, the liberal-minded head of the German Bishops' Conference. He has been named as a cardinal despite concern at the Vatican over the involvement of the church in Germany in abortion counselling.

He caused consternation last year by suggesting that the pope would be prepared to resign if he became too ill to carry out his duties.

Acid Pope

www.acidpope.com

So, how do they decide who's gonna be the next Pope ? Do they hold elections or something ?

They don't need another fucking pope. They need a CEO. The Catholic church is a multi-billion dollar business. It's like Amway for the weak-minded.

I heard it was going to be some italian dude

How do they elect a new Pope you ask?

The Conclave

One of the primary duties of the Cardinals of the Catholic Church is the election of the Bishop of Rome who becomes thereby the Supreme Pontiff of the Church. The election is held in what is termed the conclave. The name is derived from the Latin cum (with) and clavis (key), and implies the fact that the cardinals are locked together in a room until a new pontiff has been chosen. This form of papal election began in 1274 and is considered the third period in the historical evolution of choosing the successor to St. Peter. Central to the full understanding of the conclave is the firm belief that the entire process of election is guided by the Holy Spirit.

they ask to you.Wait for their call.Its almost coming ))

I found myself wondering the other day if that site was still around.

Michael Jackson..

at least he has some experience with kids (required)

They already have plenty of attorneys, accountants, business advisors that guide them but essentially the Pope is the CEO of the Church.

They vote one in.

My vote is for John Paul Jones.

Vatican City is worth $48.5 billion

I believe the Bishops pick someone, then they burn some paper, and if the smoke is white, they have their man.


Nope, I believe they pick what they're called.

who wants to be pope dot com

go ahead you know you want to register it!

yeah, i think it was mentioned at "Angels and Demons" the requirements of the next pope. im not sure if that part was factual though

where is that pic of Juicy in Pope when we need it

Angels & Demons rocked.

They didn't mention the election process though. Just that 1 dude gets chosen out of hundred+ cardinals.

Im not even catholic and Im shocked at how many clueless responses there are in this thread so far.

Yes, that is correct, but its not a place, its an action. They (elected cadinals, 120 of them if I no not mistaken) locked (conclave means key) into the St Peters Valcilica where they play and ask gods personal guidence on who they feel the next pope should be. There is no conversations at all between each of the 120 cardinals at all during the time they are locked down, meaning, there is no internal debate on who the next pope should be. I can be nearly any Cardinal from around the world and certinally does not have to be from the list stated above, in fact, highly doubtful.

The private paper votes are cast nearly 24/7 for up to 21 days. Once each read, they are thrown into a fire thats black smoke can be seen rising from the top of St. Peters. A pope is selected once there is agreement in the private voting process. Remember, no Cardinal knows what the other Cardinal has voted, nore are they allowed to speak to eachother, yet the vote will come down to one man. This is why it is beleived that the Pope is picked by God. Which, if the process they require is factual, I guess it makes sense.

Once a Pope is selected, the fire that has been burning the ballots cast by he caridnals is put out by water, causing white smoke or steams to come out of the chimney above St Peters. This is to let the world know that a new Pope has been selected.

Thats how its done kiddies.

All of you owe me a dollar.

POPEye?

Ask and you shall receive my son!

this will have to do for now

Like BusterPorn already said, he is elected by the Cardinals. All Cardinals are locked in a room together, and they discuss who is to be the next pope. One of the cardinals will become the new pope. While they choose there is black smoke rising and once they chose who it will be the smoke changes to white so the public knows they have a new pope.

As far as I know they work on a unanimous decission (man my english spelling sucks ass) on who it will be, and thus it tends to take rather long, has taken multiple days in the past as far as I know.

Wow, shooting manic was better than me <G> great explanation, did not know half of that myself.

Well this next Pope will be my the fourth in my lifetime. I watched as John Paul the 1st and 2nd were selected. Since those two Popes came only 30 days apart the world got a crash course in how it all works. It was interesting and I watched it. That was in 1978. Yep, before MTV and cable for that matter.

And yes, I'm an old fuck, but I'm smarter and I have a way bigger penis that all of you so shut up.

No they will elect a new pope. He will be about 68 years old, and he will nake himself Pope John Paul the 3

Question for ya: What happends if after 21 days there is noone chosen?

And I just heard on TV that your explanation is not true, they discuss it and it is not a vote that everyone has to vote for the same.

It took one google search:
http://www.catholic-pages.com/pope/election.asp

Electing a Pope

Popes are elected by the College of Cardinals meeting in Conclave when the Apostolic See falls vacant.

Pope Paul VI significantly changed the rules for conclaves in 1975 when he promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Romano Pontifico Eligendo. He excluded all cardinals 80 years old or over from the conclave and made provision to prevent any bugging of the Sistine Chapel.

It was according to these rules that Albano Luciano, Patriarch of Venice, was elected Pope John Paul I and that a little over a month later, Karol Wojtyla, Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow, was elected Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul has himself now promulgated a whole new set of rules in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (see the full text of the Constitution).

He has not departed radically from the traditional structure. But he has made some significant changes:

* if no cardinal has been elected by two-thirds majority after a certain number of ballots, the cardinals may agree by absolute majority (half + 1) to elect the Pope by an absolute majority instead of a two-thirds majority
* rather than stay in uncomfortable, makeshift quarters in the Papal Palace, the Cardinals will stay in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, hotel-style accommodation in Vatican City
* the only remaining method of electing the Pope is by scrutiny, ie, silent ballot -- the methods of election by acclamation and by committee have been excluded
* the older cardinals are still unable to enter the conclave, but they are invited to take an active role in the preparatory meetings
* the rules on secrecy are tougher

The maximum number of Cardinal Electors allowed at any one time is 120. The Pope cannot raise more than 120 men under 80 to the Cardinalate at any one time.

The Pope dies
When the Pope dies, the Cardinal Camerlengo (currently Eduardo Cardinal Martinez Somalo) must verify the death, traditionally by calling the Pope three times by his name without response. He must then authorize a death certificate and make the event public by notifying the Cardinal Vicar for the Diocese of Rome (currently Camillo Cardinal Ruini). The Camerlengo then seals the Pope's private apartments. He would also arrange for the "ring of the fisherman" and the papal seal to be broken. He then makes preparations for the Papal funeral rites, the novemdieles, the nine days of mourning.

During the interregnum, it is the Camerlengo who is responsible for the government of the Church. He must arrange the funeral and burial of the Pope. He directs the election of a new pope, assisted by three Cardinals, elected by the College of Cardinals, with three new Cardinals elected every three days.

All heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia are suspended from exercising their authority during the interregnum (and are expected to resign their posts immediately on the election of the new Pope). The only exceptions to this are the Cardinal Camerlengo, the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, the Major Penitentiary (William Cardinal Baum), the Cardinal Archpriest of St Peter's Basilica and the Vicar-General for Vatican City (both offices are held by Virgilio Cardinal Noe). These continue in their posts during the interregnum.

After 15-20 days of "General Congregations", sermons at their Titular Churches and mourning for the Pope after his funeral, the Cardinal Electors enter the Conclave to choose which of them will emerge as Holy Roman Pontiff.

The Cardinals must take an oath when they first enter the Conclave that they will follow the rules set down by the Pope and that they will maintain absolute secrecy about the voting and deliberations. The penalty for disclosing anything about the conclave that must be kept secret is automatic excommunication.

The Cardinals all take seats around the wall of the Sistine Chapel and take a ballot paper on which is written "Eligo in suumum pontificem" -- "I elect as supreme Pontiff...". They then write a name on it, fold it, and then proceed one by one to approach the altar, where a chalice stands with a paten on it. They hold up their ballot high to show that they have voted, then place it on the paten, and then slides it into the chalice. The votes are then counted by the Cardinal Camerlengo and his three assistants. Each assistant reads the name, reads the name aloud, writes it down on a tally sheet and then passes it to the next assistant. The third assistance runs a needle and thread through the centre of each ballot to join them all together. The ballots are then burned, as well as all notes made. If a new Pope has been elected, the papers are burned with to give white smoke. Otherwise, they give off black smoke, so that the waiting crowds, and the world, know whether their new Holy Father will soon emerge from the Sistine Chapel.

To be elected Pope, one Cardinal must receive more than two-thirds of the votes. Except that if 30 elections have taken place without any one Cardinal being elected Pope, then the Cardinals may then elect by simple majority. This is an important change and may well be the most important change made. In the past, it has often been the case that a particular candidate has had solid majority support but cannot garner the required two-thirds majority, eg, because he is too conservative to satisfy the more moderate Cardinals. Therefore a compromise candidate is chosen, either an old Pope who will die soon and not do much until the next conclave (which is what was intended with John XXIII!) or someone not so hard-line wins support. The difference now will be that if, in the early ballots, one candidate has strong majority support, there is less incentive for that majority to compromise with the cardinals who are against their candidate and they simply need to sit out 30 ballots to elect their man. This may well see much more "hard-line" Popes being elected, and given the conservative trend of most appointments to the College by Pope John Paul II, it is almost certainly going to be a man cut from the same cloth.

The cardinals vote on the afternoon of the first day, then twice each morning and once each afternoon. If they have not elected someone within the first nine votes, then they may devote up to a day to prayer and discussion before resuming. They may do the same every seven unsuccessful votes after that.

The Cardinals are not permitted any contact with the outside world: no mobile phones, no newspapers or television, no messages or letters or signals to observers. There will be regular sweeps of all relevant areas for listening devices. The Cardinals will for the first time be visible, at least twice daily, to the observing world, when they move the 350 metres from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Sistine Chapel and back again. No doubt, Vatican "experts" will be hired to expound at length on what the countenance of certain key Cardinals indicates as they are filmed moving to and from the Chapel!

Once a Cardinal has received the required number of votes, the Dean of the College of Cardinals asks him if he accepts election and by what name he wishes to be called as Pope. On giving assent, the Cardinal immediately becomes Pontifex Maximus, the Holy Roman Pontiff.

The Cardinals then pledge their obedience to His Holiness in turn. The Pope vests in his Pontifical clericals (white soutane and skull cap) -- the Italian family business in Rome that makes all the Papal vestments has several different sizes prepared in readiness for His Holiness, no matter what his shape or size!

The Dean of the College of Cardinals then steps onto the main balcony of the Vatican and declares to the World: "Habemus Papam!" "We have a Pope!" His Holiness then appears on the Balcony and delivers his Apostolic Blessing to the waiting World.

Within a short time of his election, before the Cardinals return home, a formal ceremony of inauguration takes place at which the woollen pallium is bestowed upon him. One of the few things Pope John Paul I managed to do in his short papacy was to abolish the traditional Papal Coronation, which Pope John Paul II did not resurrect. Traditionally, the Pope would be carried around St Peter's Square on the Sedia Gestatoria (the Papal Throne) and have the Papal Tiara placed on his head. These last two popes have done away with the monarchic symbolism of the papacy (including the use of the Royal "we") in favour of a heightened concentration of their role as "Servus Servorum Dei" -- Servant of the servants of God.

They dont discuss possiblities I said and there is no debate on the person/persons that they would want to elect. I also dont beleive nore did I say the all had to vote the same way for someone to be selected, but with any vote, majority rules.

My understanding is that Cardinals are bound not to debate or speculate on whom the feel or would like to Pope to be. With anyone, even after then are locked down. It's a private voting process.

Thanks, I was damn close for not being Catholic.

A large majority of popes have been Italian.

Well then, if you heard it on TV, it's got to be true.

who ever wins the popetoral college......then if there is a tie.......it goes to the supreme court of the vatican.....I thought everyone knew that......hell im not even catholic and I know.......

After "Da Vinci Code", i was hooked to "Angels and Demons".. im starting to like conspiracy theories. And now, im on my 3rd book by Dan Brown, "Deception Point". Highly Recommended!

How the next Pope will be elected

whoever the new pope is, he probably has a very very dark secret history of child molestation.

I have never ever in my entire days at GFY EVER called anyone a name (although I resisted so many temptations). The prize is yours. Idiot.

lol. honored...

it was a joke. but I am honored.

If that was your idea of a joke then you should honor yourself by studying this saying:

It is better to remain silent and appear a fool than to speak up and remove all shadow of a doubt.

Someone called Pierre
remember you read it here first

I've heard that, but I don't see it happening.

do you not agree though that there is a slight chance that the new pope could have molested a little boy?

just because he is the pope doesn't mean he never done wrong.

look at all the priests that got caught up in that. the pope had to start somewhere

it was a joke/half truth.

sorry i disrespected your next pope, religion is b.s. lies anyway