How is the next pope chosen?
The so-called conclave meets 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death, and 119 cardinals under the age of 80 are locked up in the Sistine Chapel and sworn to secrecy. They have three possibilities. They can choose a pope by vocal proclamation, set up a committee of nine to 15 guys who will choose a pope, or have secret balloting that they all scrutinize. They have two of those ballots a day. The vote has to be two-thirds plus one. When a candidate gets that, white smoke will come out of the chimney. What does the Catholic Church most need now? A period of quiet and tranquility. They probably need another John XXIII, who lasted five years between 1958 and 1963. He was elected after a 20-year reign by Pius XXII because they thought of him as a transitional pope who would keep things in order before any kind of new, innovative person became pope. Of course, he turned out to be extraordinarily innovative. But they may look for an older man who is a transitional pope who will give this institut
