How does the pope get elected?

Answer 1

Who ever goes the longest without molesting a kid wins.

Answer 2

A Papal Conclave works like this:

+ A pope dies and is buried

+ The cardinals come to Rome for the conclave that will elect the new pope. The word conclave (Latin, *** + clavis, literally, "locked with the key") designates:
. • The place in a locked section of the Vatican where the cardinals elect a new pope.
. • The actual gathering of the cardinals.

+ The conclave begins 15 to 20 days after the pope's death.

+ The cardinals pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit during a Mass

+ The cardinals, sealed in the Sistine Chapel, vote every morning and afternoon.

+ A two-thirds majority plus one is required for election for the first 30 ballots. After that, a simple majority is required.

+ After each vote, they burn the ballots and add special chemicals to make the smoke white or black.
. • Black smoke means no new pope yet.
. • White smoke announces the election of a new pope.

+ The cardinals may elect any baptized male they wish. There have been occasions in the past where they have elected a layman. After their election, the layman has to be ordained priest and bishop.

+ They ask the one elected if he accepts. The moment he accepts, he is pope.

+ The pope chooses his “Papal” name.

+ Then the new pope is announced to the world.

For more information, see:
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/johnpaulii/transition/PapalConclaveCU.asp
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/JohnPaulII/transition/CNS.asp

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

By a closed vote of about 125 unmarried males only. The Pope is not elected by a democracy at all since women cannot vote for the Pope at all. Neither can ordinary pew renters.

The 125 unmarried males belong to the College of Cardinals; some of the Cardinals in recent years have been forced to resign over child crimes. Those Cardinals technically could have been the next European Catholic Pope for life.

All non-Catholics are forbidden from ever voting for the Pope which means the only president of the United States who could ever have voted for the Pope of Europe would have been President John F. Kennedy.

Answer 4

By Gray or Black smoke. There was a time In History when there were No Popes, and a Time when there was 2 Popes.Go Figure.

Answer 5

A bunch of dudes in funny hats have a drinking competition. The one who can drink the most and still recite the Lords prayer wins.

Answer 6

:)

some people sit around the tables. Do some math and SWOT analysis, and bingo.. a name come out. If no name is agreed yet, burn all paper works and start all over again.

So, if you see some smokes over on top of the palace, money are not distributed yet.


peace

Answer 7

Something about a bunch of guys and some smoke. I think they need to re-elect.

Answer 8

He elected himself.

Answer 9

Archbishops.

Answer 10

I took the following from the website posted below


The current pope does not designate a successor nor is the pope elected by popular vote of all Catholics, although both of these methods have been used at various times in the past. Instead, the pope is elected by 120 elector cardinals. Cardinals are bishops who are directly appointed by the pope at various points during his pontificate. Although they have lots of other jobs to keep them busy during a pope's often lengthy tenure, the primary role of cardinals is to elect the next pope. There are usually more than 120 cardinals at any one time, but not all are elector cardinals. Under current church law, cardinals must be under 80 years of age, of sound mind, and present in person at the elections to be eligible to vote.

Currently there are 184 cardinals, 121 of which are eligible to vote. Pope John Paul II appointed 42 of these in 2001 and 26 more on October 21, 2003. Naturally, the pope chose cardinals who agree with him on issues that are important to him, so it is likely that under the next pope "we will see more continuity than change."

Currently, the cardinals who are eligible to vote hail from 54 different countries around the world. Sixty cardinals are from Europe (two from the U.K.), 18 are from North America (11 from the U.S.), 18 are from Central and South America, 12 are from Africa, 11 are from Asia, and two are from Oceania (one from Australia and one from New Zealand).

No earlier than 15 days and no later than 20 days after a pope's death, the College of Cardinals meets in conclave to elect a new pope. The word conclave comes from the Latin *** clavis, meaning "with key." The word can be used for any secret meeting, but it is especially suited to the papal elections - the cardinals are literally locked into a room until they have elected a new pope. Cardinals are not permitted to have any contact with the outside world (no television, no newspapers, no letters, no phone calls) during the papal elections under pain of excommunication.

All cardinals are allowed entry into conclave, even those who do not vote. Each voting cardinal is also permitted to bring with him a secretary and a servant (and, in the case of illness, a doctor). All those admitted into conclave who do not vote are sworn to secrecy and completely sequestered as well.

Conclave takes place in the Sistine Chapel, a small room with the famous ceiling painted by Michaelangelo within St. Peter's Basilica. Pope John Paul II approved the continued use of the Sistine Chapel for papal elections, calling it a place "where everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God."

During conclave, which can take days, the cardinals sleep in St. Martha's House, an area inside the Vatican (just 350 meters from the Sistine Chapel) with 130 rooms. Other Vatican employees live in these rooms, but they will vacate them during conclave. The provision of St. Martha's was introduced by Pope John Paul II - previously, the cardinal electors lived in uncomfortable makeshift quarters within the Basilica.

The pope is elected by write-in vote on a secret ballot. Each cardinal is given a small rectangular ballot with the Latin words Eligo in Summum Pontificem, "I elect as supreme pontiff," printed at the top. He silently indicates his vote by writing a person's name with a pen below those words.

After writing his vote, the cardinal folds the ballot twice, holds it in the air, and carries it to the Sistine Chapel's altar. He declares aloud, "I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected." He places his ballot on a paten (plate) that is resting on a chalice (cup), then uses the plate to drop the ballot into the chalice. He bows before the altar, then returns to his seat. The use of the paten and chalice for this purpose is significant in two ways: they are the vessels used to serve the sacred bread and wine in Mass and using the plate makes it hard for a cardinal to cast more than one ballot.

Tallying the Votes
After all the cardinals have voted, the votes are tallied by three scrutineers, who are chosen from among the electors by lot at each new vote. The scrutineers sit at a table in the front of the Sistine Chapel by the altar. The first scrutineer uses the paten as a cover and shakes the chalice to mix the ballots. The third scrutineer then counts the votes without unfolding them. If the number of the ballots does not match the number of cardinals voting, all the ballots are immediately burned and the voting starts again.

If the right number of ballots has been received, the tallying procedure begins. The steps are as follows:

The first scrutineer takes a ballot, notes the name on it, and passes it to the second scrutineer.
The second scrutineer notes the name and passes it to the third scrutineer.
The third scrutineer reads aloud the name on the ballot, pierces the ballot with a needle through the word Eligo at the top of the ballot, and slides the ballot onto a string of thread.
Each elector notes the name that is read.
Once all ballots are read, the scrutineers write down the official count on a separate sheet of paper.
The third scrutineer ties the ends of the thread on which the ballots are placed in a knot to preserve the vote.
The ballots are placed in a receptacle.
After the vote, all the ballots and notes are burned. If the proper majority has been reached and the elected person has accepted, white smoke appears above the Vatican to inform the anxiously-awaiting world that a pope has been elected. If a pope has not been elected, water or a special chemical is added to the ballots so that black smoke appears. The vote is repeated for as long as it takes until a pope has been elected. In 1978, Pope John Paul II was elected after eight ballots over two days.