Popes and the Papacy

Pope Benedict XVI's Letter To The Irish Catholics (March 20, 2010)

The full text of the pope's pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, in multiple languages (but, curiously not in Latin) can be found here along with what is called the 'synthesis of the document.' My goal here is to make sure that you have easy access to the original letter IF you ever want to refer to it.Thank YOU. Good luck.

Anura Guruge
Author 'The Next Pope'

The Next Cardinal Creating Consistory – Looking At Trends Since 1903 [Part II]

by Anura Guruge

For Part I of this consistory thread

As of today [March 18, 2010] it has been 2 years and 3 months [845 days to be precise] since there has been a cardinal creating consistory – Benedict XVI's (#266) last having been on November 24, 2007 – during which he created 23 cardinals, five of them non-voting [i.e., they were already over 80].

After that consistory there were 201 cardinals, 120 of them eligible to vote – Paul VI (#263) having specified a 120 elector maximum (though John Paul II (#265) unhesitatingly exceeded this twice). [q.v., pages 123-124 of 'The Next Pope' book on Google Books.]

As of today [March 18, 2010] we are down to 182 cardinals of which 110 are electors.

On March 20 we will lose another elector, and yet another by the end of the month – two birthdays coming up close together. Twelve more will turn 80 within the next 12 months.

These the least number of electors since Paul VI enacted the 80 year cut-off rule – effective as of January 1, 1971.

But there are no rules or even norms saying that you need close to 110 electors.

Between 1586 and 1958 the total size of the College was capped at 70!

The chances are that the pope will hold a cardinal creating consistory within the next year. But, he has to also deal with the ongoing sex abuse scandal. Creating cardinals in this current climate is unlikely to be well received. He will also have to be ultra careful as to who he creates to avoid any accusations that he is rewarding prelates who may have been aware of some of the problems. So this is a big issue. There is also the matter of costs. Creating cardinals costs money – for the Vatican, as does holding a consistory. So these are all factors.

The following two tables provide cardinal creating consistory trends as of Pius X (#258) in 1903. Click on them to make them bigger.

Last Pope To Abdicate [i.e., Resign], Last Cardinal To Resign [Properly]

by Anura Guruge

With the apparently never-ending clergy sex abuse scandal now in a new, and even more dramatic, chapter, with Germany, the pope’s ‘home court’ at its epicenter, there is growing speculation that the pope may resign. This, at present, is UNLIKELY – unless even more damaging allegations, further implicating the pope, surface.

Canon Law, per the 1983 Code, and the current Apostolic Constitution dealing with the sede vacante [i.e., the ‘absence’ of a pope at the Vatican], viz. John Paul II’s (#265) 1996 Universi Dominici Gregis (the Lord’s whole flock), both PERMIT papal resignations.

Canon 332 § 2, of the 1983 Code, does explicitly address papal resignation.

Clause #3 of Universi Dominici Gregis confirms this – citing Canon 332 § 2.

That John Paul specifically included this in his Constitution is significant since resignation is NOT mentioned in Paul VI’s (#263) equivalent Constitution, the 1975 Romano Pontifici Eligendo (the election of the Roman Pontiff). Per Paul a sede vacante could only occur when a pope died. Paul, atypically, was ‘off mark.’

Read the relevant pages in my ‘The Next Pope’ book using the FREE Google Books, per the link shown at right (>>)

Keeping The Facts Straight
There is an article today on CNN.com where Mr. John Allen claims: ‘Vatican analyst John Allen told CNN, referring to the pope. "The last pope to resign was in the 12th century. To date, very few Catholic bishops of any sort have resigned over mishandling the crisis."’

NOT TRUE!

Mr. Allen is three centuries OFF. Not good.

For a start, Celestine (Pietro del Morrone) V (#193), who I think of as the God-Father of today’s conclaves, abdicated, in a very orderly and dignified manner on December 13, 1294.

Three days prior to abdicating he issued a papal bull, Constitutionem felicis recordationem, that mandated that all of his prior edicts would still hold true even if he abdicated.

So that was the 13^th century.

But, Celestine was NOT the last.

The last pope to have abdicated was Gregory XII (#206), who resigned in July 1415 to bring to an end the Great Western Schism that came to be in 1378, following the election of Urban VI (#203), the last non-cardinal to be elected pope.

So, that was the 15^th century.

Popes Are Loath To Resign
Their biggest, and genuine, fear is that it would result in a schism – with some constituents refusing to recognize the resignation.

Even Celestine ran foul of this. Though he resigned because he wanted to go back to being a monk – her was NOT permitted to do so.

Celestine was succeeded by his supposed ‘confidant,’ Cardinal Benedetto Caetani who had assured him, as an expert in Canon Law, that it was perfectly permissible for a pope to resign. Cardinal Caetani, at the pope’s behest, even drew up the statement of abdication. However, when Caetani became Boniface VIII (#194), eleven days after Celestine’s abdication, he imprisoned Celestine! Celestine died, a prisoner, in May 1296.

Again read the relevant pages in my ‘The Next Pope’ book using the FREE Google Books, per the link shown at right (>>) Pages 167-168.

Resignation Of Cardinals
There is also talk that an Irish cardinal may be forced to resign. Cardinals can resign provided the pope accepts their resignation.

Cardinal Bernard Francis Law is thought by many as the last cardinal to have resigned. NOT SO. Law is still a cardinal! What he did resign was his Boston Archbishopric. He is still an Archpriest – in Rome.

The last cardinal to have resigned his cardinalate was the French, S. J. Louis Billot in 1927. he did so over a political disagreement with Pius XI (#260). The pope accepted his resignation.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

The Oldest Popes, The Oldest Known Having Been Leo XIII At 93

by Anura Guruge

Pope Benedict XVI (#266) will turn 83 on April 16, 2010.

When elected on April 19, 2005, he had just turned 78. The conclave that elected him started two days after his birthday.

At 78 and 3 days he was the 5^th oldest to be elected pope (as on 1400). Dates pertaining to the popes prior to 1400 are either unreliable or unavailable and as such are impractical for meaningful analysis.

Benedict XVI was the oldest to have been elected in 274 years. The prior pope older than him was Clement XII (#247) who was elected on July 12, 1730. Clement, was also 78, but was 83 days older.

The oldest popes when elected, as of 1400, are:

1. Clement X (#240) who was 79 years 9 months when elected on April 29, 1670.
2. Alexander VIII (#242) who was 79 years 5 months when elected on October 6, 1689.
3. Paul IV (#225) who was 78 years 10 months when elected on May 23, 1555.
4. Clement XII (#247) who was 78 years 3 months when elected on July 12, 1730.
5. Benedict XVI (#266) who was 78 years 3 days when elected on April 19, 2005. << current pope

[Note that Clement X and Alexander VIII were separated by just one pope, Innocent XI (#241) was 65 when elected.]

---

Alexander VIII papacy lasted 15 months while that of Paul IV was just over 4 years long. Clement X's papacy was over 6 years long while that of Clement XII 9 and ½ years long.

The oldest pope since 1400 was Leo XIII (#257) who was 93 years, 4 months and 18 days old when he passed away on July 20, 1903.

The list of the oldest popes, as of 1400, is as follows:

It is interesting that only 5 of the 11 are as of the 19^th century [during which we had 15 popes].

Hope this helps.

Grace, and may peace be with you.

The Next Cardinal Creating Consistory – Looking At Trends Since 1900 [Part I]

by Anura Guruge

John Paul II (#265) held his first cardinal creation consistory on June 30, 1979 – 257 days [8 months] following his election. It was the first such consistory of the twentieth century to be held on a Saturday. The prior 27 such consistories going back to March 24, 1924 had all been held on a Monday.

Prior to John Paul II, Monday, by far, was the most popular day for cardinal creation consistories.

Since 1900 we have had 55 cardinal creation consistories. 42 [76%] of these were held on Mondays. Here is the distribution:


John Paul II liked to create cardinals on a Saturday. 4 of his 9 cardinal creation consistories were held on a Saturday.

His 'protégé,' Benedict XVI (#266) appears to be partial to this trend. One of his but two cardinal creating consistories was on a Saturday [Nov. 24, 2007] while the other was on a Friday [Mar. 24, 2006].

John Paul II was also partial to February 21 and June 28. He held successive consistories on those days, June 28, 1988 & 1991 and February 21, 1998 & 2001. No other pope had done this, since 1900, probably because of the 'tradition' to have cardinal creation consistories on a Monday. Pius XI (#260), who held 17 cardinal creation consistories, did hold two on December 16 – i.e., 1929 & 1935, but these were separated by two others in 1930 and 1933. Both of Pius XI's December 16 consistories were on a Monday.

John XXIII (#262) held two successive cardinal creating consistories on adjoining days in December; December 15, 1958 & December 14, 1959. Both were Mondays.

Paul VI (#263), John XXIII (#262), Pius XII (#261), Benedict XV (#259) and Pius X (#258) only held cardinal creating consistories on Mondays.

15 of the 17 such consistories held by Pius XI (#260) were also on Mondays. He was the first twentieth century pope to deviate from the 'always on a Monday' trend. His second cardinal creating consistory was on a Wednesday and the third on a Sunday. This is the only such consistory on a Sunday.

There may have been a significance to February 21 and June 28. Each preceded a major Vatican-related feast day. February 22 is the feast day for the 'Chair of St. Peter,' while June 29 is the feast days for Saints Peter and Paul.

December and June, traditionally, have been the most popular months for cardinal creation consistories.

December consistories, prior to Christmas, makes sense. But the last one was in 1959. The 'earliest' cardinal creating consistory we have had is January 12 – and that was in 1953 [the year of my birth]. The closest we have had one to Christmas was on December 20, 1926. Three years earlier there was also one on December 30. In each instance just two cardinals were created. Both of these were called by Pius XI, who was partial to December consistories, 8 of his 17 having been during this holiday month.

Pius XI was also parsimonious in his creation of cardinals – part of it being that he wished to stay within the 70 cardinal limit set by Sixtus V (#228) in 1586. In 7 of his 17 consistories he created just two cardinals. In one, on July 15, 1929, he created but one! Pius X had also done that. In December 2, 1912. The recent popes, unhindered by a ceiling on the size of the College, have been more generous. The least number of cardinals created at a given consistory by John Paul II and Benedict XVI is 15. Pius XI only went above 15 once. Benedict XV never exceed 11 at a single consistory. The 42 cardinals created by John Paul II in his February 21, 2001 consistory was more than all the cardinals created by Benedict XV in his 5 consistory.

Here is the distribution for the 55 such consistories since 1900.

John Paul II Was Pope For Nearly A Third Of His Life, But Not Quite (31%)

by Anura Guruge

John Paul II (#265) became pope on October 16, 1978, when he was 58 years old. His reign, the second longest, lasted for over 26 years. He was thus pope for 31% of his life. If you want to look at this in terms of his 'adult' age, i.e., since he was 18 – then he would have been pope for 39% of his 'adult' life.

In marked contrast, his beguiling predecessor, the 'smiling pope,' only held office for a fleeting 0.14% of his life.

There has only been one pope, since 1400 (dates prior to that not being reliable), who has held office for more than a third of his life. That was the indomitable 'Pio Nino,' Pius IX (#256), who reigned from June 16, 1846 to February 7, 1878. That papacy, lasting 31 years, 7 months, 3 weeks and 1 day [i.e., 11,559 days], is the longest to date – John Paul II's reign coming in next. Pio Nino was elected pope when 54 and was 85 years old at his passing (a year older than John Paul II).

He was pope for 36.5% of his life. [46% of his 'adult' life.]

The current pope, Benedict XVI (#256) has been pope, to date, for 6% of his life.

Bl. John XXIII (#262), who managed to do so much to change the very complexion of the modern Church [including increasing the size of the College of Cardinals], was only pope for 4.9% of his life. He only got elected when he was 76 and died 55 months later.

As far as we know, given the unreliability of dates prior to 1400, Leo XIII (#257), who earned the sobriquet 'the eternal father' from his cardinals given his long tenure, was the oldest of the popes. He died when he was 93 years, 4 months and 18 days old. Despite being the oldest, he was only pope for 27% of his life. He was elected when he was 67 (and supposedly of frail health) and reigned for 25 years and 5 months. His is the third longest papacy.

Pius VI (#251), who with 24 years and 6 months had the fourth longest papacy, was pope for 29.6% of his life.

Here is the list of the popes that held office for more than a quarter of their life:

1. Pius IX (#256) 36.5%
2. John Paul II (#265) 31.0%
3. Pius VI (#251) 29.6%
4. Pius VII (#252) 28.4%
5. Clement XI (#244) 28.2%
6. Leo XIII (#257) 26.9%
7. Urban VIII (#236) 26.3%

After that it is Eugene IV who held office for 23.8%.

Grace, and may peace be with you.

Virtual Tours Of The Papal Basilicas

by Anura Guruge

Chasing down a heads-up I got in an e-mail about a breathtaking virtual tour of the pope’s cathedral Basilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano [Basilica of St. John Lateran] I eventually found this ‘obscure’ page on the Vatican site [albeit doing a search on the Italian version of the site].

It deals with the papal basilicas and chapels.

There are virtual tours, of some form, associated with the four basilicas shown in the top row. There is also a virtual tour of the ‘Necropoli Vaticana’ [the Vatican Grotto].

The virtual tour of San Giovanni in Laterano is definitely worth taking.

Pretty amazing. Turn the volume up. Once you are ‘room,’ hold down the left-button on your mouse and then use the direction arrows on your keyboard to change your orientation. Don’t forget to look at the ceilings.

There is a similar tour for Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura [Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls].

Enjoy.

"The Next Pope" Book Is Now On Google Books

 

"The Next Pope" by Anura Guruge is now available on Google books.

So you can now peruse through much of the book at will. I, albeit considerably biased, think you will like what you see. Let me know. Any and all feedback much appreciated.

The permanent, portal for this book can he found <here>.

Thank you. Enjoy.

Anura Guruge

 

The Next Pope -- The Book by Anura Guruge, Publisher of This Blog

'The Next Pope -- After Pope Benedict XVI' by Anura Guruge, 322 letter size pages, 1.7 pounds [.77kg], 150,000 words is meant to be the definitive, no stones left unturned handbook for the next papal election -- whenever that may occur (hopefully later than sooner).

This book, my second second papal, is in many ways an adjunct to this blog. The book was inspired by the interest afforded to some of the posts on this blog -- in particular to my list of papabili. This book augments the information I am able to provide on this blog.

There will be a permanent, fixed page on this blog that will serve as the portal (or gateway) to this book. It is titled 'The Next Pope' and you can visit it by clicking <here>.

In this book I describe, in detail, my rationale for picking the papabili that I did. I also provide biographies of my ten papabili to illustrate and highlight their credentials.

This book, as was the case with my 'Popes and the Tale of Their Names,' contains a significant amount of unique information and a lot of hitherto uncaptured statistics.

You can find a detailed Table of Contents (ToC) and previews at the portal. From my perspective this book is a collaboration with you ... my readers. My goal is to satisfy your needs and curiosity. Nearly every topic I have covered in this blog has been expanded upon in this book. I would contend that at least 20% of what is in this book is new or refined information.

I have also ventured into hitherto unchartered territory; e.g., in addition to providing a detailed analysis of John Paul II's 1996 Universi Dominici Gregis Apostolic Constitution that will govern the next sede vacante I also point out the inconsistencies in this Constitution! Yes, this constitution isn't as watertight as one would assume, let alone hope. Even the most inexperienced US corporate lawyer would not have allowed this document to go out in this form. But, that is the beauty of an Apostolic Constitution. Though legally binding, within the Church, it is still but a covenant between the Pope and his flock rather than being a sterile legal contract.

Your comments on the book will be most appreciated. You can use the comment feature of this blog or email me directly at: anu@wownh.com.

As with 'Popes and the Tale of Their Names' my goal with this book was to enhance, expand and educate. Per my style I labored to present the information in accurate, consistent form with lots of tables and statistics. Please have a look at the Previews I provide. Click <here>.

Thank you. All the best.

Anura Guruge
www.guruge.com

Grace, and may peace be with you.

Sketches Of Five Of My 2009 Papabili By Matt Kirkland

by: Anura Guruge

Just under a year ago I published my first papabili list -- under the heading 'Next Pope.'

Since then I have had over 18,000 views of that list. It does seem popular, particularly if the pope is in the news.

For the last 15 months I have been working on a handbook for the next papal election -- whenever it may come to be. The further out the better.

It is called 'The Next Pope' and is now available.

Please click here to visit the home page for this book.

My papabili list is a key component of this book. The first chapter, titled 'The Papabili' goes into the criteria I used to select my current top 10 in addition to providing biographies that highlight their qualifications.

While writing my 'Pope Names' book I had the fortune of getting to know Matt Kirkland, a talented artist and part-time papal historian.

Matt, though very busy, agreed to draw five sketches of my current top ten papabili for me. These sketches belong to Matt, and I am only using them here and in the book with his permission.

So here are five thumb-nail sketches from my papabili list, viz. Cardinals Scherer (Brazil), Antonelli (Italy), Ouellet (Canada), Napier (South Africa) and Vallini (Italy).

The thumbnails appear in the order of the names above. Please 'hover' over the thumbnail and the name of the cardinal will appear.

Please note that these images are subject to Matt's copyright.

Thank you, Matt. I love these sketches