Who let the Pope out?

So the Catholic Church is now an organization literally without a head. Since Pope Benedict XVI abdicated the throne nearly two weeks ago, the Catholic Church has not had a secular head to issue proclamations, Papal Bulls, or credos of any kind. It must seem strange for the religious order to be voting on a new Pope when the old Pope is still living and breathing. Typically, the Pope dies in office and then the conclave gathers to deliberate on who should be the next Pontiff.

I suppose as long as it isn’t Pontiff Pilot everything will be cool with the Catholic Church given time to get their Sistine Chapel in order and send a shaft of white smoke up the chimney to announce the decision for a new Pope.

But one never really knows, does one?

I mean, the media’s handling of the whole conclave things has the ring of sports metaphor. Today, I read a series of snippets about those cardinals who, in the Italian, are called Papabile, or Pope eligible. There are reportedly 12 potential candidates:  Angelo Bagnasco, Joao Braz De Aviz, Timothy Dolan, Peter Erdo, Marc Ouellet, Gianfranco Ravasi, Leonardo Sandri, Odilo Pedreo Scherer, Christoph Schonborn, Angelo Scola, Luis Tagle, and Peter Turkson. And, it appears, everyone wants their guy to win.

Benedict’s choice to retire isn’t exactly unprecedented. The long and storied history of the Catholic Church contains dozens of retirements, some of their own volition, some by poison, and some by deposition. It would seem that selecting a Pope may not be much different from voting for a political office. Influence pandering, power struggles, and nepotism (called simony) abound in the selection of Popes.

Take for instance the Medici popes and the Borgia Popes. It’s not hard to figure out the kind of influence involved in getting their “man” into power. If you didn’t elect the person they wanted in, you got a visit from the equivalent of Don Corleone’s fixer, Lucca Brasi. You remember him, right? He was the guy mumbling his “Thank you speech” during the wedding scene from The Godfather.

Neither the Medici’s nor the Borgia’s at that time had much of a problem concerning ethics. It was pure ends justifies the means, they wanted their guy in and they would do whatever they needed to make it happen.

More recently, the Papal seat seems to have better inhabitants. While the Catholic Church itself has come under the scrutiny of the public for its own problems with Jerry Sandusky Syndrome, it appears they will weather that storm and come out looking like champs.

It’s hard to say which of those 12 candidates will be selected Pope. We may know the players, but we don’t have a stats sheet to go by, or even a projected draft order like they do in the NFL. And really, who has the kind of knowledge it would take to decide which of the 12 might be the best candidate? Mel Kiper? I think not.

I was living in Italy when John Paul I was elected in 1978. His tour lasted 33 days, and he was replaced by John Paul II who lasted more than 26-years, a pretty good long while. When he passed, they moved on to Benedict XVI, whose tour lasted a bit over seven years.

As to how they elect a Pope, I have little or no insight. I am not even Catholic, although my father was Catholic, which I guess makes me ½ Catholic if we can break down religious affiliations that way. Regardless of how they make their decision, the new Pope has a full schedule ahead of him. There are still lots of problems in the Catholic Church, as there are with all religions. All I can say is good luck to whoever they select to lead the church.