Evening star., 1932-11-29
PAPAL ELECTION
MAY Be CHANGED
Bishops May Be Given Equal
Voice With Cardinals in
Choosing Pontiff.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
VATICAN CITY. November 2s.--
Death has so diminished the number
Of cardinals that some prelates are dis
cussing a theory that Pope Plus may be
delaying calling consistory for the
creation of new wearers of the purple
until he can efTe-t G reorz anization of
the r31tlod CT clect.ng his successor.
It i said t'-st t.cc Foat.T i c-ntem-
r,css!:..'g t-cr---c----,is.g t-.o r.glt to e!cc.
the Pope frcm the cardinals to al the
bishops. including The car incl-. This
would be q ornamental change with
far-reaching consequences to the
church.
Would Give U. S. 101 Votes
If the explanation Increasingly heard
Is true. the next Pope viii be elected
not by so to 65 prelates but by approx
mately 200 bishops The United States
would have lot votes in the enlarged
group instead of four, as at present.
At present there ere So cardinals
out OF a possible total Of 10. Twenty
seven arc foreigners. 26 italians. Two
the Dutcl Van Rcssum and Austrian
Pii-Lie1 this yec-. TIE last consis-
tory held in july, 1880, eevetel only
one cardinal The last in which several
were created wGs in December, 1929
It is very unusual but not rnprece-
dentad, for Pope to allow the Sacred
College to thin out to this extent Gus
tomarily, this college numbers around
63 to 65 leaving a few vacancies for the
succeeding Pope to fill with prelates
whom he wishes to elevate to certain
executive positions, such as that of
secretary Of state.
This fact is believed to lend substance
to the theory that the Pontif has some
superior reason for delaying nominating
new members of the church's senate.
May Break Italian Bloc.
Several important effects might fol-
low such a reorganization. They are:
/. The italian tradition might be
broken, a Pope CT another nationality
chosen Italians always form by far
the greatest bloc in the College Of Car
onals, sometimes majority. But they
vElld be only small proportion Of the
b-nops
2. Other churches. particularly the
Greek Orthodox, might return to Rome,
since their bishops could influence the
electicn of the Pope. This return is
Plus has set for himself as he showed
last year by devoting an encyclical to 1t.
3. The future Pope might be some
one net cardinal, as has happened in
the pact The bishops might elect
bishop, or perhaps even a well known
priest. Canon law permits the election
OF layman, even Of married man.
A. Many nations now unrepresented
would have voice in the election All
the Latin American nations, from Mex-
leo to Argentina, would be of this
number.
Election Held in Secret.
s. The whole procedure of the cleo
tion Of Pope probably would have to
be changed. At present the cardinals
meet in conclave, are locked up within
a wing Of the Vatican, and there eat
and slesp. out of sight and hearing of
the cut5ide wcrld until they have named
the new Pope bv two-thirds vote. This
would be practically impossible with
1900 p-e.ates.
The method Of electing a Pope has
experienced many transformations in
the course Ct tn. churcfs history but
tlle present method is seven and half
centuries ole, dating from the Lateran
Council OF l179.
Tne carly popaS were CHOSEN by
neighboring bishops, the clergy and lay
men Of Rome. After Constantine, the
emperors possessed voice in the nom
mating conventions that varied in
strength.
It was not until the eleventh century
that the famous Hildebrand, Pope Greg
cry VII, successfully fought the inter
ference of emperor, Roman princes
clergy and laymen.
The present conclave dates from the
second Council of LYONS, 1874. This
decreed that within 10 dsys after the
Fopc's Death the cardinals should hold
their electoral rleot!n-. completely shut
in frcm eli outside influence and that
If they do not agree ois candidate
within three days their food is to be
lesscned, fad if five Gays Letter they
have not agreed their food is to be
diminished still further"