Question about non-voting cardinals

[marcaevans]

I know that Cardinals over the age of 80 are not allowed to vote for the Successor of Saint Peter in the upcoming Conclave but are they still eligible to be elected Pope? Say for example Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor?

 

[aemcpa]

I know that Cardinals over the age of 80 are not allowed to vote for the Successor of Saint Peter in the upcoming Conclave but are they still eligible to be elected Pope? Say for example Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor?

Any baptized Catholic male is eligible to be elected Pope. The Cardinal electors are under no restriction to vote for somebody in the room.

 

[tabycat]

Any baptized Catholic male is eligible to be elected Pope. The Cardinal electors are under no restriction to vote for somebody in the room.

If I remember right, he also needs to be 18 years old.

 

[aemcpa]

If I remember right, he also needs to be 18 years old.

You do not remember right.

 

[NovusAugustus]

If I remember right, he also needs to be 18 years old.

Are you sure? There have been popes younger than that in the past. I could be wrong though.

 

[adrift]

Are you sure? There have been popes younger than that in the past. I could be wrong though.

I would be interested in which pope would have been younger than 18. I doubt that there was.

 

[aemcpa]

I would be interested in which pope would have been younger than 18. I doubt that there was.

Some sources list Benedict IX as being younger than 18, but it is unlikely that he was. In any case, that is not a criterion for valid election to the papacy.

 

[DavidFilmer]

In any case, that is not a criterion for valid election to the papacy.

This is true - any Baptized male can be made Pope, even a young child. Of course, that is highly unlikely to actually happen. They could make me Pope, but that is even less likely to happen (and, for the sake of all that is holy, I would promptly decline the election).

Canon Law and various internal procedures impose rules, but rules are not Doctrine, so the College of Cardinals can pretty much do whatever they want. They could have reporters inside the Sistine Chapel if they wanted. They could dispense with this silly straw-burning ceremony and tweet their decision if they wanted (in which case I would actually subscribe to a Twitter feed - something I have managed to completely avoid).

 

[Michael_Allen]

This is true - any Baptized male can be made Pope.

That’s interesting. Could a married man, hypothetically, be made Pope?

P.S. I suppose, on reflection, Peter may well have been in that situation, though we don’t know if he was married or widowed.

 

[DavidFilmer]

That’s interesting. Could a married man, hypothetically, be made Pope?

Yes. I am a married layman (and father of three), and they could name me Pope (but I suppose only if they were completely abandoned by the Holy Spirit).

If I accepted (which I would not, for the good of all that is holy), they would need to first ordain me a Bishop (they could skip the Deacon and Priest parts - an Episcopal Ordination also includes both if not previously conferred). I would be Pope once my Ordination was complete (if I were already a Bishop, I would be Pope once I accepted).

The requirement that a Bishop be unmarried is, again, a rule only. St Paul allowed married Bishops (in Titus and 1Timothy). There is no Doctrine that a Bishop (or Pope) must be unmarried. It is a rule only, and it could change tomorrow. But I doubt it will. So no need to ever address me as “Holy Father.” It’s not gonna happen.