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"Today's document," said Archbishop Mejia, "is not an isolated document, nor is it related to any special situation of the pontiff who is promulgating it. It is worth noting that St. Pius X's apostolic constitution 'Vacante Sede Apostolica' was published only a year and a few months after his election."
"What moved St. Pius X to deal with the election of future pontiffs," he clarified, "was, at least partly, as historians know, the unpleasant experience, during his election, of Emperor Francis Joseph's veto of the election of Cardinal Rampolla of Tindaro and the violation of secrecy, which was a necessary consequence. Therefore, the pontiff declared such an intervention null in the future, imposed very serious punishments on whoever dared to present it again and confirmed the obligation to rigorous secrecy for all participants in the Conclave."
Archbishop Mejia referred - with words from the apostolic constitution - to the motive that impelled John Paul II to deal with the topic of the election of the Roman Pontiff: "awareness of the Church's changed situation today and the need to take into consideration the general revision of Canon Law...with the publication and promulgation...of the Code of Canon Law...and the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches." The Holy Father adds: "In conformity with this revision...I then took up the reform of the Roman Curia in the apostolic constitution 'Pastor Bonus.'"
"Whoever wants to find, or hopes to find, substantial changes in the current norms," added Archbishop Mejia, "will clearly be disappointed. On the other hand, we cannot exclude that the 'Church's changed situation today' requires that 'wise and venerated tradition' be newly ratified. Not every 'changed situation,' especially in the life of the Church, requires always and in and of itself a total change of existing norms and structures."
"What are the new elements within such a traditional framework? There are essentially three, small but significant:
"a) the new headquarters for the lodging of the elector cardinals and those accompanying them, for clear reasons of comfort and functionalism, will be the 'Domus Sanctae Marthae'.
"b) of the three election modes of the past, that is, by two-thirds majority vote, by 'inspiration' or (as it was also called) acclamation (when all the electors spontaneously coincide with one name) and by 'compromise' (when the electors delegate to some of themselves, after various fruitless attempts, the right-duty of election and commit to accepting the result), the only one left is the first: the two-thirds majority...The modification is understood without difficulty if one considers, on the one hand, the increase in the number of electors, and on the other, the 'loss of responsibility' and the uncertainty that can result from the election modes that are now excluded (and were little used in the past, it is worth noting)."
"c) the already referred to withdrawal and isolation that have always characterized the Conclave - avoiding contact with the outside world and with TV, radio, telephone, etc. - even for often contingent reasons, is accented now, giving above all the underlying reasons, in other words, the very serious responsibility that is involved in choosing the one who, for the Catholic Church, and even for the whole world, 'tout court,' represents the maximum spiritual authority, and this because he is, in and of himself and in principle, the most immediate and visible vehicle of the presence of Christ among us."
"This explains the fact that, in the present apostolic constitution," he went on, "the whole Church participates, guided by its pastors, and in particular those cardinals over 80 years of age to whom the task of presiding in Rome, and in other places, over this universal prayer of intercession is now entrusted."
"In fact, this way," added the secretary of the College of Cardinals, "is certainly not secondary or banal, if we at least believe in the meaning of intercession and if the importance of the act of electing a new pope is recognized, 'the election of the new pontiff will not be an isolated act of the People of God that concerns only the College of electors, but rather in a certain sense it will be an action of the entire Church."
A journalist asked Archbishop Mejia to comment on the reason behind the publication of this apostolic constitution at this moment in the pope's pontificate, whether it had anything to do with his health. He responded that it had nothing to do with his health. "I saw him not long ago and he is in great shape, as some journalists saw well during his recent visit to Latin America: the journalists were tired and the Holy Father was fine." He added that "this document is being published now because this is when its study and writing has been completed. Besides, it was signed on such an appropriate day, February 22, feast of the Chair of Peter."
Another question referred to the motive for eliminating the election of the pope by compromise. The secretary of the College of Cardinals said that this type of election "would lead to a lack of responsibility on the part of the electors, because in this way they would not express their own vote; they would accept - this is what the compromise consists of - what just a few of them decided.
The document, whose Latin edition is 40 pages long, has been published in seven other languages. It has an introduction, two parts and a promulgation. The first part, "The Vacancy of the Apostolic See," is divided into five chapters, and the second, "The Election of the Roman Pontiff," is divided into seven. The following is a summary of the apostolic constitution:
"Like every Pope in the present century, with the exception of Popes Benedict XV and John Paul I, Pope John Paul II has been conscious of the need to update the norms regulating the vacancy of the Apostolic See and the election of the Roman Pontiff. With these new norms Pope John Paul II has introduced a number of changes to the 1975 Constitution 'Romano Pontifici Eligendo' of Pope Paul VI, hitherto in force.
"The new Constitution is entitled 'Universi Dominici Gregis' and is dated 22 February 1996, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.
"While preserving the essential elements of the Conclave and continuing for the most part its centuries-old traditions, the Constitution does present some significant innovations.
"1. The election will still take place in the Sistine Chapel, but the Cardinal electors will reside in the building known as the 'Domus Sanctae Marthae,' recently built inside Vatican City. The building will be closed to all persons not associated with the Conclave. The seclusion of the Cardinal electors is to be at all times stringently respected, especially with regard to the Sistine Chapel, where the actual voting will continue to take place.
"2. Another new element regards the form of the election. Henceforth the only valid form is by balloting. Consequently, the other two forms of election hitherto permitted have been suppressed. These were known as 'per inspirationem,' i.e., by acclamation, and 'per compromissum.' For the election of the new Pope, at least two thirds of the votes are required, calculated on the basis of the total number of electors present. Should t not be possible to divide the number of those voting into three equal parts, one additional vote is needed.
"3. The Constitution confirms the norm laid down by Pope Paul VI whereby the right to elect the Pope is reserved to those Cardinals who have not celebrated their eightieth birthday before the day on which the vacancy of the Apostolic See begins. The restriction of the number of the electors to a maximum of 120 is also reaffirmed.
"Cardinals over eighty years of age can nevertheless take part in the General Congregations held before the beginning of the Conclave. Subsequently, during the Conclave itself, they are invited to lead the prayer of the People of God in the Roman Basilicas and in the Dioceses throughout the world.
"4. The obligation to maintain rigorous secrecy is strongly emphasized, and the nature and limitations of the secret are more clearly stated. The secret covers everything which directly or indirectly concerns the scrutinies and the voting sessions.
"5. Likewise confirmed is the practice whereby two ecclesiastics of proven doctrine and moral authority are charged with giving to the Cardinal electors, before the beginning of the Conclave, two exhortations or meditations on the importance of the act which they are about to carry out. This is in order to foster the atmosphere of profound spirituality which should surround the entire process of the election of the Successor of Peter.
"6. A final consideration about the Cardinal electors. After a reaffirmation of the norm whereby the only legitimate electors of the Roman Pontiff are the Cardinals assembled as a College, the Introduction gives a twofold reason for this. The College of Cardinals expresses the two characteristic traits of the figure of the Pope, namely the 'Romanitas' associated with the Supreme Pontiff, who is such precisely because he is the Bishop of Rome, with the Cardinals representing the clergy of Rome. At the same time, the College of Cardinals, composed largely of residential Bishops from throughout the world and drawn from the most varied cultures, effectively represents the universality which is also characteristic of the Roman Pontiff."
In the final promulgation, the Holy Father writes: "Wherefore, after mature reflection and following the example of my Predecessors, I lay down and prescribe these norms and I order that no one shall presume to contest the present Constitution and anything contained herein for any reason whatsoever. This Constitution is to be completely observed by all, notwithstanding any disposition to the contrary, even if worthy of special mention. It is to be fully and integrally implemented and is to serve as a guide for all to whom it refers.
"As determined above," he concludes, "I hereby declare abrogated all Constitutions and Orders issued in this regard by the Roman Pontiffs, and at the same time I declare completely null and void anything done by any person, whatever his authority, knowingly or unknowingly, in any way contrary to this Constitution."
Archbishop Foley spoke on "The Need and Possibilities of Involving Church in Media." The meeting, organized by the subcommittee of the CEEM (European Episcopal Committee for Media), is being held from February 21 to 24.
Since the fall of communism in 1989, the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe has seen new freedoms and responsibilities arise - many of these in the area of social communications - which it needs to take into account.
Among the most relevant, Archbishop Foley pointed to the importance of developing a Church pastoral plan for communications in Eastern Europe; the creation of formation centers for laity to acquire technical skills and of Catholic news agencies that spread the social doctrine of the Church; more extensive use of radio; trying to influence policy-making on communications in order to have access to electronic media; better use of existing information networks.
Archbishop Foley concluded by asking: "Would it not be wonderful if - by the year 2000 - every person in every part of the world would at least have heard of Jesus Christ?
VATICAN CITY (Feb 23, 1996 7:39 p.m. EST) -- Behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, dozens of cardinals scrawl their choice for the new pope on slips of paper. The ballots are burned after each vote, and the cardinals are sworn to secrecy. Smoke signals communicate their progress to the outside world.
The essence of this secretive ritual -- one of the Roman Catholic Church's most traditional -- isn't about to change. But in the face of rapidly advancing technology, Pope John Paul II is launching a new effort to keep intrigue out of the Vatican's 9th-century walls when it comes time for his successor to be chosen.
On Friday, the Vatican issued a new rule book for papal conclaves that requires technicians to sweep the Sistine Chapel for bugs and bans cellular phones.
Monsignor Jorge Maria Mejia, an Argentine prelate who is secretary of the College of Cardinals, said new inventions like sophisticated listening devices and cellular telephones mean the Vatican's walls "are no longer insurmountable."
Breaches of conclave security are rare. The last known leak was during the election of Pius X in 1903, when the Habsburg emperor, Franz Josef, apparently found out who one of the candidates was and vetoed him.
Nearly every pope this century has revised the rules for papal conclaves, which occur immediately following the death -- or in rare cases, resignation -- of a pontiff.
John Paul, however, has been particularly sensitive to new technology since assuming the papacy in 1978. Vatican documents are now available on the Internet.
The new rule book decrees that in the Sistine Chapel, "careful and stringent checks must be made, with the help of trustworthy individuals of proven technical ability, in order to ensure that no audiovisual equipment has been secretly installed."
Everyone with access to the conclave -- from cooks to housekeepers to doctors -- must "swear to refrain from using any audio or video equipment capable of recording anything that takes place," the pope wrote.
John Paul sternly reminded Catholics of the penalty for revealing details of the voting: excommunication.
John Paul has sat through two conclaves himself -- both in 1978, when he was cardinal of Krakow, Poland. The second chose him as the first-non Italian pope in 455 years.
The Vatican brushed aside any suggestion that the changes in papal elections have anything to do with the fitness of the pontiff, who turns 76 in May and has suffered health problems in recent years.
Concern about his health had "nothing to do with it," Mejia said. He said the pope simply had some ideas based on his own conclave experiences.
In many ways, the new rule book maintains the traditions that have guided the conclaves for centuries.
For one, the meetings will continue to be held in the Sistine Chapel, "where everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged."
The chapel's ceilings are adorned with biblical images of creation and above the chapel's altar is the "Last Judgment" -- all painted by Michelangelo.
As has been traditional for centuries, if a vote fails to yield the mandatory two-thirds majority of cardinals, the paper ballots, hand-written and twice-folded, will be burned on a special plate.
The cardinals will continue to communicate with the outside world using smoke signals: Black smoke means they have not yet decided on a new pope; a plume of white means they have found one.
John Paul also upheld Paul VI's decision to limit the number of voting cardinals to 120, and to require that all be under 80 years old.
But there are some changes, most notably in the cardinals' lodgings.
For centuries, the Vatican has put the electors up wherever it could, improvising bedrooms in such places as hallways or the modern art wing of the Vatican Museums.
John Paul ordered the cardinals to stay in new lodgings just inside the Vatican walls. The residence, completed in the last few months, features private baths and suites with reading rooms.
There are also telephones, TVs and radios. But when the cardinals come to vote, those will be removed.
VATICAN CITY (Feb 23, 1996 08:51 a.m. EST) - Pope John Paul on Friday issued an updated code for electing Popes, introducing modern comforts for cardinals and reaffirming rules against electronic bugging and cullular phones to safeguard the conclave's secrecy.
In his new apostolic constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis" (The Shepherd of the Lord's Whole Flock) the Pope reaffirmed that cardinals 80 and older cannot enter a conclave to elect a Pope. He also kept the upper limit of cardinal-electors to 120.
At a news conference presenting the 63-page document, a Vatican official said he did not know if the traditional way of telling the world of the election of a new Pope -- white smoke from the chimmey of the Sistine Chapel -- would be maintained.
Conclaves are called to elect a new Pope between 15 and 20 days after the death of a reigning Pontiff. Only cardinals can choose a Pope, usually from among their own ranks.
The Vatican said the 75-year-old Pope, who has suffered a colon tumour and broken leg in recent years, was in fine health.
"I can see the Pope is in perfect health ... this document has nothing to do with that particular personal situation," said Bishop Jorge Mejia, secretary of the college of cardinals.
The Pope ruled that while balloting will still take place in the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals will reside in a new residence in Vatican City.
The word conclave comes from the Latin "Cum Clave" (with a key) because cardinals are locked away from the outside world.
Mejia also said the traditional use of white or black smoke to signal whether the cardinals had elected a Pope or not had a "more or less flokloristic meaning and I don't know if this or another method will be used"
In recent centuries cardinals, even elderly ones with health problems, have been locked up in make-shift cells around the chapel decorated with Michelangelo's frescoes.
In future they will stay in the new Saint Martha residence -- which has single rooms and private baths -- and be transported to the Sistine for each voting session.
The document reaffirmed strict rules of secrecy laid down by Pope Paul VI in 1975 which forbade cardinals from bringing electronic equipment into the conclave.
The Pope said two "trustworthy technicians" should check that no sound or video transmitting devices had been smuggled into the conclave area.
"I further confirm by my apostolic authority, the duty of maintaining the strictest secrecy with regard to everything that directly concerns the election process itself," he wrote.
The document reaffirms rules that cardinals and those who help them during conclaves are to take oaths of secrecy and have no contact with the outside world unless in an emergency.
Cellular phones would be included in the ban, Mejia said.
The document eliminated two rarely-used and ancient methods of voting during the elaborate conclave.
One is by acclamation, which allowed for the possibility that the cardinals, under the influence the Holy Sprit, would say aloud and together the name of the cardinal to become Pope.
The other method eliminated was by compromise, which allowed for cardinals in a hung conclave to delegate the election to a committee from among their own ranks.
John Paul ruled that a Pope can be elected only by the traditional method -- a two-thirds majority -- and if that failed after seven ballots, an absolutely majority.
The document outlined elaborate details of how the Church is to be run from the death of a Pope to the election of his successor down to what what cardinals should wear during nine days of mourning.
On the death of a Pope his "fisherman's ring" and the lead seal used for official documents are destroyed. His private apartments are sealed until the election of a new Pope.
Mejia said the document was issued now because a commission of experts that had advised the Pope had recently completed its work.
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