Religion and Politics 10. How a Pope is Elected
How a Pope is Elected
This is a discussion of a papal election, with special attention to the election of John Paul II. This was a classroom lecture and is an hour and ten minutes long.
There is a discussion of the ideological factions in the church, and the regional divisions. The successful candidate is able to put together a coalition of votes that incorporates the ideological factions and the geographic divisions. The candidate also has to be able to address the issues facing the church. Sometimes those issues are within the church, sometimes they are global or international issues.
This was originally a zoom lecture, one of the first I delivered. There were some bumps along the way so I had to delete some sections. Sorry abut that.
Popes mentioned: Pius XII, John XXIII/Roncalli, Paul VI/Montini, John Paul I, John Paul II/Wojtyla, Benedict XVI/Ratzinger, Francis I, Alexander (1600s)
Names Mentioned: Hans Kung, Sunens, Kroll, Ottaviani, Siri, Bernardin, O’Conner, Kennesaw Mountain Landis, Zbigniew Brzesinski,
Terms: Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Note glitch: Not Defense of the Faith). “Roman,” curia, papabili, habemus papam, heresy, Tubingen University, College of Cardinals, Conclave, St. Peter’s Square, Constantinian Donation, Temporal power, “radical,” ostkardinalaat.
I think it is hard to overstate how proud people were that there was a Polish pope. The Italians had dominated the papacy for perhaps 400 years. But there he was, a Polish pope. Would you like a joke? When JP II visited St. Louis he was introduced to the legendary baseball player Stanley Musial, then retired. Musial said to the pope, "We have two things in common. Would you like to know what they are?" The Pope said he would. "We are both Polish and we are both former cardinals."
Films:
Two Popes: a dialogue between Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bergoglio (Francis)
We Have a Pope (about a reluctant pope, chosen over his objections)
The Good Pope. The story of John XXIII. I have not seen this film but it said to be good.
Eight Men Out: The story of the Black Sox Scandal and Kennesaw Mountain Landis.
The Shoes of the Fisherman. Pure fiction about an unexpected election.