Possible for an Eastern Catholic to be Pope

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Bergon said:
x x x.

x x x.

In theory any male Catholic (Eastern, Latin, Oriental) can be elected as the Pope. x x x .
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I think this theory is without basis at all.

If you read closely the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (the special law that governs the eligibility and election of the Pope) not **any Catholic male **can be eligible to be elected Pope.

Because of the immediacy of ordination as bishop if the electee is not yet a bishop, such electee should at least be a priest and unmarried.
 
Amadeus said:
I think this theory is without basis at all.

If you read closely the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (the special law that governs the eligibility and election of the Pope) not **any Catholic male **can be eligible to be elected Pope.

Because of the immediacy of ordination as bishop if the electee is not yet a bishop, such electee should at least be a priest and unmarried.
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I have never been one who refuses to learn anew about anything even if before I thought I was well informed on a subject.

Having had a re-think (is that a word?) I think I was precipitous in saying any male. There are possibly a number of restrictions. Obviously, the one elected must not be married.

First and foremost the Pope is the Bishop of Rome. All his other titles, I believe, originate out of this office. Therefore, as Rome is a Latin see I would contend that possibly a Latin should be elected to that see.

Can you cite where the current special papal election law in force restricts the election of the Pope to a man already sacerdotally ordained?
 
Amadeus said:
Just to set the record straight, there were 8 Eastern Cardinals during the 12 March 2013 conclave: 4 non-voting and 4 voting.

Presently, there are still the same 8 Eastern Cardinals:

Non-voting:

(1) Cardinal Sfeir, 93, Patriarch Emeritus of the Maronites;
(2) Cardinal Delly, 85, Patriarch Emeritus of the Chaldeans;
(3) Cardinal Husar, 80, Major Archbishop Emeritus of the Ukrainians;
(4) Cardinal Muresan, 82, Major Archbishop of the Romanians (Byzantine);

Voting, if a conclave is held today:

(5) Cardinal Naguib, 78, Patriarch Emeritus of the Copts;
(6) Cardinal Rai, 73, Patriarch of the Maronites;
(7) Cardinal Alencherry, 68, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabars; and
(8) Cardinal Thottunkal, 54, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankaras.

Obviously absent is the Melkite Patriarch who, rumors abound, refused (and still refuses) to be elevated to the cardinalate.:confused:
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I think the very phrase “…refused to be elevated to the cardinalate” is part of the problem. Even as a Latin, I have always been scandalized by the very notion, held by some Latins (especially so called “trads”) that a cardinal should “outrank” a Patriarch and Head of an Eastern Church sui iuris. Personally, I would like to see it formally clarified that even simple metropolitans, if they head an autonomous church, outrank cardinals.
 
Maybe an Eastern Catholic pope would disband the Latin Church and forbid the use of the Roman Rite since popes can do any and everything that they so choose. ;)
 
Zekariya said:
Maybe an Eastern Catholic pope would disband the Latin Church and forbid the use of the Roman Rite since popes can do any and everything that they so choose. ;)
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Oh my, that is not true at all. The Pope is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God Bless, Memaw
 
Memaw said:
Oh my, that is not true at all. The Pope is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God Bless, Memaw
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It was a joke. There was a thread here that discussed the pope disbanding the Eastern Churches and what we Eastern Catholics would do if that happened. God forbid anything like that happen. 🙂
 
bben15 said:
Yes, it is possible, though unlikely. The Church could benefit from an Pope from one of the Eastern Churches. The last time the Church has a Pope from the Eastern Churches was over 1,000 years ago.
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If the Holy Spirit can choose the First ever Jesuit Pope, then maybe next time The HS will choose the first Eastern Rite Pope. It could even help with that step towards unification with the Orthodox.
 
jediliz said:
… maybe next time The HS will choose the first Eastern Rite Pope. It could even help with that step towards unification with the Orthodox.
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Or perhaps a Western-Rite Orthodox will be chosen to be the next Patriarch of Constantinople.

😉
 
jediliz said:
If the Holy Spirit can choose the First ever Jesuit Pope, then maybe next time The HS will choose the first Eastern Rite Pope. It could even help with that step towards unification with the Orthodox.
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In all seriousness, this seems (to me at least) like a form of “Easternist” thinking. (Possibly someone will ask “Why is that Easternist thinking?” which is a perfectly legitimate question. Unfortunately the only answer I have is “That’s what common sense tells me.”)
 
Peter_J said:
Or perhaps a Western-Rite Orthodox will be chosen to be the next Patriarch of Constantinople.

😉
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Constantinople??? Is outrage … 😃 :rotfl:
Peter_J said:
In all seriousness, this seems (to me at least) like a form of “Easternist” thinking. (Possibly someone will ask “Why is that Easternist thinking?” which is a perfectly legitimate question. Unfortunately the only answer I have is “That’s what common sense tells me.”)
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Huh??? :confused:
 
jediliz said:
If the Holy Spirit can choose the First ever Jesuit Pope, then maybe next time The HS will choose the first Eastern Rite Pope. It could even help with that step towards unification with the Orthodox.
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What?
Peter_J said:
In all seriousness, this seems (to me at least) like a form of “Easternist” thinking. (Possibly someone will ask “Why is that Easternist thinking?” which is a perfectly legitimate question. Unfortunately the only answer I have is “That’s what common sense tells me.”)
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Um…what?

What’s going on in this thread?
 
Kielbasi said:
Yes.

But as soon as he was elected, he’d be in the Latin Rite.

An Eastern Catholic could be elected pope, but he’d be serving as the ordinary of a Latin Rite diocese (Rome) and necessarily a member of the Latin Rite himself.
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Mmmmm maybe in that case he will have bi-ritual facilities? And, as pope, he can celebrate in wathever rite he wants… but obviously he would not be head of his Church (as he will be “patriarch” of the Latin Church).
 
fdeunha said:
Mmmmm maybe in that case he will have bi-ritual facilities? And, as pope, he can celebrate in wathever rite he wants… but obviously he would not be head of his Church (as he will be “patriarch” of the Latin Church).
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The title, “Patriarch of the West”, was removed by Pope Benedict XVI. There is no Western patriarch anymore. 😃 😉
 
Zekariya said:
The title, “Patriarch of the West”, was removed by Pope Benedict XVI. There is no Western patriarch anymore. 😃 😉
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There is no “Western Patriarch” as a title, but the Pope still has the “Patriarchal” jurisdiction over the Latin Church. The Pope has patriarchal powers over the Latin Church, as he has episcopal powers over the Diocese of Rome and Papal (and therefore universal) powers over the whole Catholic Church. In fact, the title of “Patriarch of the West” was dropped because of its lack of useful usage, that doesn’t mean a renounce to its powers.

I think is easy to understand.
 
Zekariya said:
The title, “Patriarch of the West”, was **removed **by Pope Benedict XVI. There is no Western patriarch anymore. 😃 😉
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Removed, to be specific, from the Annuario Pontificio, where it had been since 1863:

“The title ‘patriarch of the West’ was adopted in the year 642 by Pope Theodore. Thereafter it appeared only occasionally and did not have a clear meaning. It flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries, in the context of a general increase in the pope’s titles, and appeared for the first time in the Annuario Pontificio in 1863.”
Is anyone here a scholar of 19th century Catholicism?
 
fdeunha said:
There is no “Western Patriarch” as a title, but the Pope still has the “Patriarchal” jurisdiction over the Latin Church. The Pope has patriarchal powers over the Latin Church, as he has episcopal powers over the Diocese of Rome and Papal (and therefore universal) powers over the whole Catholic Church. In fact, the title of “Patriarch of the West” was dropped because of its lack of useful usage, that doesn’t mean a renounce to its powers.

I think is easy to understand.
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It was a joke. 😊 I do realize that he acts as patriarch of the Latin Church. 🙂
 
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