VERSION|0.5.1|SUBJECT|The Papal Conclave |CONTENT|[url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap130217.html][img=images/2013/02/pic130217.jpg popup=false float=right][/url]The Vatican has been dropping hints that the forthcoming conclave to elect the Pope might be [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21483138]brought forward[/url]. Normally there has to be a gap of at least 15 days between the See of Saint Peter becoming vacant and the election of a new Pope taking place. This is to give all the eligible cardinals the opportunity to make their travel plans.

However, knowing the date when the papacy is to become vacant makes this rule slightly irrelevant. There&#039;s no real reason why they couldn&#039;t get on with it the day after Pope Benny steps down.

It&#039;s a widely held belief that only one of the cardinals present in the conclave can become Pope - widely held but wrong. This is, in fact, only a convention. It has been adopted since the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism]Western Schism[/url] where the conclave in Rome were forced by the mob to elect an Italian as Supreme Pontiff, in this case the Bishop of Bari, who was not a cardinal at the time. 

As soon as they could get out of Rome, they declared the election null and void because they were not free to choose the person that the Holy Spirit preferred, namely one of their number. So they elected a second Pope who promptly set himself up at the old papal palace in Avignon. For several generations there were rival popes in the two cities. This continued until a council was called at Pisa which deposed both Popes and elected another. Unfortunately, neither of the other Popes was prepared to stand down, so there were now three Popes.

Important as the convention of always electing a member of the conclave has become, it is nevertheless not a strict rule. They are perfectly at liberty to elect any male (sorry, it has to be a male ladies) baptised Catholic. Those are the [i]only[/i] conditions that must be adhered to. It may therefore surprise many people to learn that I meet all the required conditions and am perfectly eligible to be elected Bishop of Rome. 

This is not without precedent. [url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08429b.htm]Pope John XIX (XX)[/url] was elected as a lay Catholic and ordained in all the orders of priesthood one after the other. (If you&#039;re confused about why Pope John XIX is also Pope John XX, it is all explained with [url=http://www.platitudes.org.uk/platblog/index.php?entry=entry100915-082511]great clarity here[/url].)

I&#039;d therefore like to point out to the cardinal electors that I am available for the job. I&#039;ll admit that my Latin is a bit rusty - I never got beyond O&#039;Level - but that&#039;s not unusual even among cardinals these days. My misogyny and homophobia probably aren&#039;t quite up to the required level either, but I&#039;ll still relatively young by papal standards and have plenty of time to work on this.

I&#039;m not particularly keen to move out of my house in Southend-on-Sea. I&#039;ve just spent the weekend putting some new shelves up in the living room and we got a new gas cooker installed just before Christmas. I can&#039;t see that it makes much difference where the Bishop of Rome resides these days though, what with Skype and social networking, and I&#039;m fairly sure Southend Borough Council would welcome the extra tourist revenues.

So if the cardinals feel that they&#039;re all too busy to take on the job, I&#039;d just like to point out that [i]I&#039;m free[/i]!|CATEGORIES|11|IP-ADDRESS|94.168.119.214|CREATEDBY|admin|DATE|1361111625