Not catholic myself so take it with a bucket of salt, but i always figured it was because it was all the holy dudes doing the voting. Sacred by osmosis or something
So voting puts you in the wrong mindset. Think of it more as consensus decision making of a group of bishops who have the special honor of being the ones who get to vote on this (that’s the only official difference between a regular bishop and a cardinal), but with everyone secluded to prevent campaigning or discussing their votes.
Theologically this is supposed to ensure that everyone ignores politics and spends the days praying to try to figure out who their god wants.
Practically this does what good consensus aims to do and generally gets someone everyone can live with. Francis was generally seen as pretty radical, but everyone seemed to understand that Benedict had gone very poorly and that the church needed increased modernization and appeals to the international community. The fear last year was that a far right cardinal would be chosen to try to halt the rising schism in the church, but instead Leo was chosen as someone who had been in Francis’s camp but was seen as more moderate.
And yeah, because of the isolation at conclave they’re supposed to be incapable of campaigning. In reality, as the pope gets older and sicker you start seeing increased campaigning from cardinals and by the time the pope dies it’s known who the main candidates are. Upsets can still happen, especially if the main candidates are all unacceptable to another faction, but we knew Leo was a possibility when Francis died.
I still don’t understand how you can elect a holy man. All i can think of is Moses creating campaign ads
Not catholic myself so take it with a bucket of salt, but i always figured it was because it was all the holy dudes doing the voting. Sacred by osmosis or something
College of Cardinals gather to vote on who replaces the Pope. No one over 80 is allowed to vote.
Lmfao bring this age restriction everywhere else
So voting puts you in the wrong mindset. Think of it more as consensus decision making of a group of bishops who have the special honor of being the ones who get to vote on this (that’s the only official difference between a regular bishop and a cardinal), but with everyone secluded to prevent campaigning or discussing their votes.
Theologically this is supposed to ensure that everyone ignores politics and spends the days praying to try to figure out who their god wants.
Practically this does what good consensus aims to do and generally gets someone everyone can live with. Francis was generally seen as pretty radical, but everyone seemed to understand that Benedict had gone very poorly and that the church needed increased modernization and appeals to the international community. The fear last year was that a far right cardinal would be chosen to try to halt the rising schism in the church, but instead Leo was chosen as someone who had been in Francis’s camp but was seen as more moderate.
And yeah, because of the isolation at conclave they’re supposed to be incapable of campaigning. In reality, as the pope gets older and sicker you start seeing increased campaigning from cardinals and by the time the pope dies it’s known who the main candidates are. Upsets can still happen, especially if the main candidates are all unacceptable to another faction, but we knew Leo was a possibility when Francis died.