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Edward Peters

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Notes on the 1922

"Canonists' Conclave"

 

   Cardinal Piffl (Vienna) kept private records during the papal conclave that elected Achille Ratti as Pius XI. These were discovered after Piffl's death in 1932, and published in The Tablet on 5 Oct. 1963, at 1060. They are also available in J. Noonan, Power to Dissolve (1972), at 407.

 

   According to Piffl, 15 candidates received at least one vote in the course of 14 ballots held during the four-day conclave. Below, candidates names (canon lawyers in bold) are listed by greatest number of votes attained in one or more ballots:

 

Ratti   42

Gasparri   24

La Fontaine   23

Merry de Val   17

Maffi   10

Belmonte  8

Laurenti   5

Bisleti   4

Van Rossum   4

De Lai   2

Pompilj   2

Giorgi   1

Lega   1

Mercier   1

Sbaretti   1

 

   These records suggest what I think might well be called "The Canonists' Conclave of 1922." PS: Retaining personal notes such as Piffl did is now forbidden by papal law (UDG 71). Of related interest: The Men behind the Man behind the 1917 Code.

 

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See also Blogs on:

  

An Ineligible

Papal Elector

 

Violating

Conclave Secrecy

 

Catholic Issues Other


The Next Papal Conclave: Current Eligible Electors

by Dr. Edward N. Peters

     The election of the Roman Pontiff has been reserved to the College of Cardinals since late in the 13th century. Under current ecclesiastical law (John Paul II, ap. con. Universi Dominici gregis, 22 February 1996) all those, but only those, cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, except that cardinals whose names remained reserved by the pope "in pectore"  (currently none) would be ineligible (UDG 33, 36). There are presently 125 cardinals, some of them retired (emeritus) from their last posts, eligible to vote in the next papal conclave (a papally self-imposed limit of 120 is occasionally exceeded). Voting is secret and politicking is prohibited (UDG 79-83), but the following "blocs" are noteworthy: approximately 35 Europeans (outside Italy); 30 Italians; 22 Latin Americans; 12 Americans (plus at least 5 more from heavily Anglo-cultures); and 7 Emergent Africans.

Cardinal

Country

Posted to

Turns 80

Appt.

Year

Quezada Toruńo Guatemala Guatemala City emer Mar 08, 2012

JP2

2003
Egan USA New York emer Apr 02, 2012

JP2

2001
Vlk Czech Repub. Prague emer May 17, 2012

JP2

1994
Schwery Switzerland Sion emer Jun 14, 2012

JP2

1991
Stafford USA Roman Curia emer Jul 26, 2012

JP2

1998

Rosales

Philippines

Manila emer

Aug 10, 2012

B16

2006
Murphy-O’Connor England Westminster emer Aug 24, 2012

JP2

2001
Rubiano Sáenz Colombia Bogotá emer Sep 13, 2012

JP2

2001
Arinze Nigeria Roman Curia emer Nov 01, 2012

JP2

1985
Martino Italy Roman Curia emer Nov 23, 2012

JP2

2003
Schied Brazil Rio De Janiero emer Dec 08, 2012

JP2

2003
Lozano Barragán Spain Roman Curia emer Jan 26, 2012

JP2

2003
Husar Ukraine Kiev and Halych emer Feb 26, 2013

JP2

2001
Kasper Germany Roman Curia emer Mar 05, 2013

JP2

2001
Poletto Italy Turin emer Mar 18, 2013

JP2

2001
Sandoval Íńiguez Mexico Guadalajara emer Mar 28, 2013

JP2

1994
Danneels Belgium Mesch.-Brussels emer Jun 04, 2013

JP2

1983
Errázuriz Ossa Chile Santiago emer Sep 05, 2013

JP2

2001
Farina Italy Roman Curia Sep 24, 2013 B16 2007
Agnelo Brazil S. Salv. d. Bahia emer Oct 19, 2013

JP2

2001
Meisner Germany Cologne Dec 25, 2013

JP2

1983
Vela Chiriboga Ecuador Quito emer. Jan 01, 2014 B16 2010
Re Italy Roman Curia emer Jan 30, 2014

JP2

2001
Pham Minh Mân Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Mar 05, 2014

JP2

2003
Tettamanzi Italy Milan emer Mar 14, 2014

JP2

1998
Monterisi Italy Roman Curia May 28, 2014 B16 2010
Hummes Brazil Roman Curia emer Aug 08, 2014

JP2

2001
Amigo Vallejo Spain

Seville emer

Aug 23, 2014

JP2

2003
Sardi Italy Roman Curia emer Sep 01, 2014 B16 2010
Cordes Germany Roman Curia emer Sep 05, 2014 B16 2007

Rodé

Slovenia

Roman Curia emer

Sep 23, 2014

B16

2006
Bertone Italy Roman Curia Dec 02, 2014

JP2

2003
Darmaatmadja Indonesia Jakarta emer Dec 20, 2014

JP2

1994
Lajolo Italy Roman Curia emer Jan 03, 2015 B16 2007
Naguib Egypt Alexandria Mar 18, 2015 B16 2010
Rigali USA Philadelphia emer Apr 19, 2015

JP2

2003
Baldelli Italy Roman Curia Aug 06, 2015 B16 2010
De Paolis Italy Roman Curia emer Sep 19, 2015 B16 2010
Abril y Castello Spain Roman Curia Sep 21, 2015

B16

2011

da Cruz Policarpo Portugal Lisbon Feb 26, 2016

JP2

2001
Mahony USA Los Angeles emer Feb 27, 2016

JP2

1991
Terrazas Sandoval Bolivia Santa Cruz Mar 07, 2016

JP2

2001
Dias India Bombay emer Apr 14, 2016

JP2

2001
Lehmann Germany Mainz May 16, 2016

JP2

2001

Levada

USA

Roman Curia

Jun 15, 2016

B16

2006
Okogie Nigeria Lagos Jun 16, 2016

JP2

2003
Turcotte Canada Montreal Jun 26, 2016

JP2

1994
Rouco Varela Spain Madrid Aug 24, 2016

JP2

1998
Ortega y Alamino Cuba Havana Oct 18, 2016

JP2

1994
López Rodriguez Dom. Repub. Santo Domingo Oct 31, 2016

JP2

1991
Antonelli Italy

Florence

Nov 18, 2016

JP2

2003
Sarr Senegal Dakar Nov 28, 2016 B16 2007
Bergoglio Argentina Buenos Aires Dec 17, 2016

JP2

2001
George USA Chicago Jan 16, 2017

JP2

1998
Bačkis Lithuania Vilnius Feb 01, 2017

JP2

2001
Assis Brazil Aparecida Feb 15, 2017 B16 2010
Nicora Italy Roman Curia Mar 16, 2017

JP2

2003
Martínez Sistach Spain Barcelona Apr 29, 2017 B16 2007
Veglio Italy Roman Curia Feb 03, 2018

B16

2011

Romeo Italy Palermo Feb 20, 2018 B16 2010
Coccopalmerio Italy Roman Curia Mar 06, 2018

B16

2011

O'Brien Scotland Edinburgh  Mar 17, 2018

JP2

1985
Monteiro de Castro Portugal Roman Curia Mar 29, 2018

B16

2011

Cafarra

Italy

Bologna

Jun 01, 2018

B16

2006
Amato Italy Roman Curia Jun 08, 2018 B16 2010
O'Brien USA Roman Curia Apr 08, 2019

B16

2011

Dziwisz

Poland

Krakow

Apr 27, 2019

B16

2006
Hon China Hong Kong Jul 31, 2019

B16

2011

Brady Ireland Armagh Aug 16, 2019 B16 2007
Monsengwo Pasinya Congo Kinshasa Oct 07, 2019 B16 2010
Grocholewski Poland Roman Curia Oct 11, 2019

JP2

2001

Vallini

Italy

Roman Curia

Apr 17, 2020

B16

2006
Toppo India

Ranchi

Oct 15, 2020

JP2

2003
Wuerl USA Washington DC Nov 12, 2020 B16 2010
Zubeir Wako Sudan

Khartoum

Feb 27, 2021

JP2

2003
Napier South Africa Durban Mar 08, 2021

JP2

2001
Pell Australia

Sydney

Jun 08, 2021

JP2

2003
Scola Italy Milan Nov 07, 2021

JP2

2003
Rivera Carrera Mexico DF Jun 06, 2022

JP2

1998

Urosa Savino

Venezuela

Caracas

Aug 28, 2022

B16

2006
Bertello Italy Roman Curia Oct 01, 2022

B16

2011

Ravasi Italy Roman Curia Oct 18, 2022 B16 2010
Vingt-Trois France Paris Nov 07, 2022 B16 2007
Rodríguez-Marad. Honduras Tegucigalpa Dec 29, 2022

JP2

2001
Calcagno Italy Roman Curia Feb 03, 2023

B16

2011

Bagnasco Italy Genoa Feb 14, 2023 B16 2007
Tauran France Roman Curia Apr 05, 2023

JP2

2003
Duka Czech Repub Prague Apr 26, 2023

B16

2011

Sepe Italy Naples Jun 02, 2023

JP2

2001
Versaldi Italy Roman Curia Jul 30, 2023

B16

2011

Comastri Italy Roman Curia Sep 17, 2023 B16 2007
Sandri Argentina Roman Curia Nov 18, 2023 B16 2007
Cipriani Thorne Peru Lima Dec 28, 2023

JP2

2001
Njue Kenya Nairobi  =, = 2024 B16 2007
Ouellet Canada Roman Curia Jun 08, 2024

JP2

2003

O'Malley 

USA

Boston

Jun 29, 2024

B16

2006
Pengo Tanzania Dar-Eo-Salam Aug 05, 2024

JP2

1998
Piacenza Italy Roman Curia Sep 15, 2024 B16 2010

Ricard

France

Bordeaux

Sep 26, 2024

B16

2006

Gracias

India

Agra

Dec 24, 2024

B16

2007

Schönborn

Austria

Vienna

Jan 22, 2025

JP2

1998

Alencherry India Maj. Abp. Syro-Malabra Apr 19, 2025

B16

2011

Ryłko

Poland

Roman Curia

Jul 04, 2025

B16

2007

Sarah

Guinea

Roman Curia

Jun 15, 2025

B16

2010

Puljić

Bosnia

Vrhbosna

Sep 08, 2025

JP2

1994

Cańizares Llovera

Spain

Roman Curia

Oct 15, 2025

B16

2006

Filoni Italy Roman Curia Apr 15, 2026

B16

2011

Collins Canada Toronto Jan 16, 2027

B16

2011

Betori Italy Florence Feb 25, 2027

B16

2011

Braz de Aviz Brazil Roman Curia Apr 24, 2027

B16

2011

Ranjith

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Nov 15, 2027

B16

2010

Burke

USA

Roman Curia

Jun 30, 2028

B16

2010

Turkson

Ghana

Cape Coast

Oct 11, 2028

JP2

2003

Robles Ortega

Mexico

Monterrey

Mar 02, 2029

B16

2007

Bozanić

Croatia

Zagreb

Mar 20, 2029

JP2

2003

DiNardo

USA

Galveston-Houston

May 23, 2029

B16

2007

Scherer

Brazil

Sao Paulo

Sep 29, 2029

B16

2007

Nycz

Poland

Warsaw

Feb 01, 2030

B16

2010

Dolan USA New York Feb 06, 2030

B16

2011

Koch

Switzerland

Roman Curia

Mar 15, 2030

B16

2010

Barbarin

France

Lyon

Oct 17, 2030

JP2

2003

Erdö

Hungary

Eszt.-Budapest

Jun 25, 2032

JP2

2003

Eijk Holland Utrecht Jun 23, 2033

B16

2011

Marx

Germany

Munich & Friesling

Sep 21, 2033

B16

2010

Woelki Germany Berlin Aug 18, 2036

B16

2011

 

See generally Salvador Miranda's superb Cardinals of the Catholic Church (biographies, photos, and much more).

 

Read More About Papal Election Law: Rev. John Foster, "The election of the Roman Pontiff: an examination of Canon 332, § 1 and recent special legislation", The Jurist 56: 691-705 (1997).

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What do Canon Lawyers think is funny?

 

     At one point during the post-Conciliar process of reforming canon law, a great "Plenaria" was held in Rome to discuss various difficult legal issues. One such controversy concerned a rule established by Pope Paul VI whereby cardinals, upon reaching age 80, lost the right to vote in papal conclaves.  The discussion of this point is recorded in Congregatio Plenaria diebus 20-29 octobris 1981 habita (pp. 374-375). Cardinal Pericles Felici, a very influential Roman canonist, chaired the meeting.

 

     What follows is my very free translation from the Latin of an exchange during that meeting:

Cdl. Felici

 

* * *

    OFFICIAL: Question Four, octogenarian cardinals lose the right to elect the Roman Pontiff. There are eleven Fathers asking for discussion of this point [all names are listed, led by Cdl. Seper's].

 

    FELICI: We move next to Question Four, which refers to draft canon 290, whereby octogenarian cardinals lose the right to vote for the Supreme Pontiff. Now, before this question is discussed and the one who first brought it up explains his reasons, it is my duty to tell you that I have already spoken about this matter with the pope while going over various topics to be looked at in this session, and I asked him whether he thought it was a good idea to include this question among the six to be reviewed. And the Supreme Pontiff told me he was not pleased. True, he did not revoke permission to discuss the topic, but he would prefer that it not be included among the topics, basically because this issue concerns the Supreme Pontiff, but for all that, he did not forbid debate if the Fathers still want to talk about it. That said, it's time for someone who has asked for this discussion to explain his reasons. ............. Anyone? ............. Come on, there are eleven signatures on this sheet! ............. Card. Seper.

 

    SEPER: I may say, there doesn't seem to be much point in discussing this now. [Seper briefly explained that he was not opposed to the rule itself, but that he wanted it treated outside of the new Code.]

 

    FELICI: Okay, is there anyone else who wants to say something on this? ............ Nobody? .......... Well, let's vote.

 

    OFFICIAL: How many are left to vote on Question Four?

 

    FELICI: Not many. Most of them have left to attend an audience with the Pope. Fine.

 

* * *

Postscript: By special secret ballot, 41 of the 53 cardinals who stayed for the vote asked that the disqualification not be included in the 1983 Code, and in fact the rule does not appear in the new Code. But it is still contained in the special law governing papal elections, and thus is still in force.  Anyway, I thought the little exchange above was funny. Maybe one had to be there.

 


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