Election of a pope
in times of prolonged sede vacante
and the total absence of the college of cardinals
Table of Contents
- The Church retains the means of obtaining a pope
1.1. Cajetan’s express teaching
1.2. Billot’s teaching on extraordinary devolution
1.3. Positive conclusion
- An imperfect general council is a traditional remedy
2.1. Bellarmine’s teaching on exceptional cases
2.2. Cajetan’s distinction of powers
2.3. The envisaged solution
- The assembly must genuinely represent the Church
3.1. Bellarmine on the number of bishops required
3.2. Distinction between provincial representation and numerical majority
3.3. Application to present circumstances and the required aim
- The right to elect must be established
4.1. Ordinary reservation by Pius XII and the presupposition of failure
4.2. Distinctions by Bellarmine and Cajetan
4.3. Need to demonstrate competence
- The candidate must be legitimately elected and accept
5.1. Billot and Pius XII on election and acceptance
5.2. Necessary conditions of the election
5.3. The voting threshold and its justification
- Peaceful universal acceptance confirms legitimacy
6.1. Billot’s teaching on the infallible sign
6.2. Distinction from the support of the electoral group alone
- The present practical difficulties
7.1. Bishop Roy’s initiative
7.2. Serious disagreements among groups
7.3. Objections of Bishops Madrigal and Butler
7.4. Nature of the obstacles and the constructive task
7.5. Conclusion and prayer
Sources
Study about the traditional theological teaching on
how the Church can obtain a legitimate pope
when the ordinary electors are no longer available.
- The Church retains the means of obtaining a pope
1.1. Cajetan’s express teaching
Cajetan expressly states that it is impossible for the Church to be left without both a pope and the power to elect a pope. He then considers what happens when all the cardinals are lacking. His conclusion is explicit: if, in that situation, a general council elected a pope in peace with the Roman Church, the man thus elected would be a true pope. These are translations of his Latin text, not merely my own opinion. [1]
1.2. Billot’s teaching on extraordinary devolution
Cardinal Billot likewise considers an extraordinary situation in which a papal election is necessary but the conditions prescribed by the previous papal legislation can no longer be fulfilled. He teaches that, assuming such circumstances, the electoral power would devolve upon a general council. He grounds this in the natural right of a society to preserve itself, limiting the extraordinary competence to what its preservation requires. [2]
1.3. Positive conclusion
The conclusion is therefore positive: the failure of the ordinary electoral means does not make a legitimate papal election permanently impossible.
- An imperfect general council is a traditional remedy
2.1. Bellarmine’s teaching on exceptional cases
Saint Robert Bellarmine expressly teaches that, in the exceptional cases he discusses, an imperfect council can assemble to provide for the Church concerning her head. He adds that such an assembly can be convened by the cardinals or formed by the bishops gathering together themselves. [3]
2.2. Cajetan’s distinction of powers
This does not mean that the bishops without a pope become a collective pope. Cajetan distinguishes the Church’s ministerial power to elect from the supreme power of the papacy itself. The council’s task here is to provide for the restoration of the head, rather than to take possession of all his powers. [4]
2.3. The envisaged solution
The solution envisaged is thus an imperfect general council competent to provide for a legitimate election when the ordinary electors are lacking.
- The assembly must genuinely represent the Church
3.1. Bellarmine on the number of bishops required
Bellarmine discusses the general character of a council in a chapter devoted specifically to the number of bishops required. He does not demand the physical attendance of every bishop. Instead, he identifies a general convocation, the exclusion of no bishop entitled to attend, and participation representing the greater part of the Christian provinces. His discussion also treats the historical role of the principal patriarchs. [5]
3.2. Distinction between provincial representation and numerical majority
This provides a concrete basis for seeking participation from the different parts of the Church. However, it is necessary to distinguish representation of the greater part of the provinces from the numerical attendance of a majority of all bishops.
3.3. Application to present circumstances and the required aim
Bellarmine’s chapter concerns general councils as such. Applying its criteria to an imperfect council in our present circumstances requires theological and canonical reasoning; it should not be presented as though he had supplied a complete electoral constitution for our precise situation.
Consequently, the aim should be to invite all eligible Catholic bishops and obtain a genuinely general and representative assembly. We must establish that representative character, rather than assume it from the assembly’s chosen name.
- The right to elect must be established
4.1. Ordinary reservation by Pius XII and the presupposition of failure
The ordinary law reserves the election to the cardinals. Pius XII expressly maintains this reservation even if a general council is already assembled when the pope dies. An extraordinary election therefore presupposes the actual failure of the ordinary electoral means; the mere existence of a vacancy does not authorise a council to disregard the cardinals. [6]
4.2. Distinctions by Bellarmine and Cajetan
Bellarmine also distinguishes the roles of the general council, the neighbouring bishops and the Roman clergy. In his treatment of an election without cardinals, he recognises a primary authority in the council while preserving the immediate electoral role of the Roman Church. Cajetan likewise expressly includes peace with the Roman Church in the extraordinary election he envisages. [7]
4.3. Need to demonstrate competence
These texts establish a traditional foundation for extraordinary electoral action. They also show why the competence of the actual assembly and its electors must be demonstrated.
- The candidate must be legitimately elected and accept
5.1. Billot and Pius XII on election and acceptance
Billot explains that a successor of Saint Peter receives the primacy through a legitimate election to the Roman See and voluntary acceptance. Pius XII likewise states that, once the required acceptance has been given, the legitimately elected man is immediately the true pope and acquires full jurisdiction over the whole Church. [8]
5.2. Necessary conditions of the election
The election must therefore concern a capable candidate, be performed by competent electors and follow a legitimate procedure.
5.3. The voting threshold and its justification
The voting threshold must also be specified. We should not simply write “a majority of votes” without explaining the applicable rule. Pius XII’s 1945 constitution required two thirds plus one for a cardinalatial election by scrutiny. That provision concerns the ordinary conclave; its application or adaptation to an extraordinary election needs its own justification. [9]
- Peaceful universal acceptance confirms legitimacy
6.1. Billot’s teaching on the infallible sign
Billot teaches that the adherence of the universal Church is, of itself, an infallible sign of the legitimacy of the pope and of the existence of the conditions required for that legitimacy. [10]
6.2. Distinction from the support of the electoral group alone
This concerns the Church’s adherence to him as her head. The support of the electoral group alone cannot be identified with universal acceptance.
- The present practical difficulties
7.1. Bishop Roy’s initiative
I regard Bishop Roy’s initiative as an effort towards this traditional remedy. Its success requires the establishment of a genuinely representative assembly and legitimate electoral competence.
7.2. Serious disagreements among groups
According to the information available to me, serious disagreements obstruct cooperation. The SSPX and the Resistance recognise a reigning pope, while adherents of the Cassiciacum thesis approach the restoration of authority differently.
7.3. Objections of Bishops Madrigal and Butler
According to information I have received, Bishops Madrigal and Butler also object to the sacramental validity of certain episcopal lines. I mention this as personal information, not as an independently documented statement of their precise positions.
7.4. Nature of the obstacles and the constructive task
These obstacles are considerable. Nevertheless, the absence of a numerical majority does not, by itself, prove that an extraordinary election is impossible. Conversely, the agreement of a few bishops does not, by itself, establish their competence to elect.
The constructive task is to bring the eligible Catholic bishops together, examine the evidence, establish the assembly’s representative character and electoral competence, and determine a legitimate procedure for electing a suitable candidate.
7.5. Conclusion and prayer
An imperfect general council is therefore a solution grounded in traditional theology. The remaining task is to establish how that solution can legitimately be realised in our concrete circumstances.
Let us pray and work for the necessary clarity, unity and cooperation.
Oremus.
Sources
[1] Thomas de Vio, Cardinal Cajetan, Apologia de comparata auctoritate Papae et Concilii, chapter XIII, nos. 744–745, pp. 299–300, in De comparatione auctoritatis Papae et Concilii cum Apologia eiusdem tractatus, edited by Vincentius M. Iacobus Pollet, Scripta theologica, volume I, Rome, Institutum Angelicum, 1936. Original: Latin.
[2] Louis Billot, Tractatus de Ecclesia Christi sive continuatio theologiae de Verbo Incarnato, volume I, third edition, Prati, Giachetti, Filii et Soc., 1909, question XIV, thesis XXIX, section 1, pp. 610–611. Original: Latin.
[3] Robert Bellarmine, De conciliis, book I, chapter XIV. Consulted in the French translation preserved in my collection, Les controverses, section on councils, first book, chapter 14. Original: Latin. The consulted translation’s publication details are not established.
[4] Cajetan, De comparatione, chapter XIV, no. 210, pp. 99–100, Pollet edition, 1936.
[5] Bellarmine, De conciliis, book I, chapter XVII, on the number of bishops required for a general council. Consulted in the French translation described in reference 3.
[6] Pius XII, apostolic constitution Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, 8 December 1945, nos. 32–33. Original: Latin.
[7] Bellarmine, De clericis, book I, chapter X, eighth proposition; consulted in the French translation preserved in my collection. Original: Latin. See also Cajetan, Apologia, chapter XIII, no. 745.
[8] Billot, Tractatus de Ecclesia Christi, volume I, 1909, pp. 608–609; Pius XII, Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, nos. 100–101.
[9] Pius XII, Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, no. 68. This reference establishes the rule of the 1945 constitution, not by itself the procedure for an extraordinary council.
[10] Billot, Tractatus de Ecclesia Christi, volume I, 1909, question XIV, thesis XXIX, section 3, p. 620.