(Vatican Radio) Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center,
Fr. Thomas Reese says he believes the conclave will be a short one because the Cardinals
have had one month to get to know each other and sound out their colleagues on the
issues of concern to the Church. He told Vatican Radio's Tracey McClure that the
lengthy interval between the announcement of Benedict XVI's resignation and the start
of the Conclave will have provided ample opportunity for different kinds of discussion
among the Cardinals. Listen:
"Theoretically,"
said Fr. Reese, "the longer they have to talk to one another, especially informally…that’s
where the really important thing happens. Where the Cardinals meet over dinner, over
coffee, just you know, visiting each other. (It’s) an opportunity to get to know
each other, to ask questions: ‘what do you think are the issues facing the Church,
what do you think the qualities we should have in a new pope?’ And what do you think
of this man or that man - this kind of informal discussion. Typically, after a while,
two or three names start to surface. The Cardinals all hear form each other and so
these become kind of the leading candidates. Now, the longer they have to do that,
you figure the better they know each other so once they get into the conclave, it’s
gonna be quick. Unless – unless: let’s say the top two candidates block each other…you’ve
got to have that two-thirds majority. And if the top candidates cannot get a two-thirds
majority, if one third plus one of the Cardinals don’t like him, that’s it… so they’re
going to be watching the votes. The more people move up, if they have momentum, then
that’s a good sign. But if they suddenly don’t get anymore votes and then they start
to decline, well that’s the end of that candidacy.”
Q. So is there a cut-off
point for a conclave- a maximum time period?
“No, absolutely not. They have
to stay in there until they pick a pope…What would happen …if the top candidates,
the front runners get knocked out? Well then you go to your second list. You know
your second choices. And then at that point, you know: I’m not going to get whom I
want; you’re not going to get whom you want. Well, who can we agree on as our second
choice as a compromise candidate? That’s the kind of thing that would make the conclave
go longer. Obviously, (in) the last conclave (the Cardinals) came in and Cardinal
Ratzinger was pretty much everybody’s choice so the election was over in 24 hours.
On the other hand, if they’re deadlocked, it could take two, three days. We haven’t
had a long conclave since 1831. The conclave during the twentieth century never lasted
more than four days. So I would not expect it to last more than two or three days.”