Pope Restores 2/3's Requirement for Papal Election

Vatican, Jun. 26, 2007 (CWNews.com) -

Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) has restored the rule requiring a two-thirds majority among the voting cardinals to elect a new Roman Pontiff.

The Vatican today made public a motu proprio in which Pope Benedict amends the rules that had been established by Pope John Paul II (bio - news) in 1996. With those rules Pope John Paul had allowed for the election of a Pope by a simple majority if a conclave was unable to produce a two-thirds majority after 33 ballots.

With a brief document, written in Latin and signed on June 11, Pope Benedict revived the older standard that had called for a two-thirds majority in every case. In the motu proprio the Pope reported that a number of cardinals had called for the amendment, reasoning that the requirement for a two-thirds majority could discourage cardinals from procedural maneuvers that might stall a conclave and force a simple-majority ballot.

The new norms set forth by Pope Benedict allow for a different means of preventing a deadlock. If the conclave has not produced a decision after 21 ballots, the top two vote-getters will be selected for a run-off ballot. However the requirement for two-thirds support still holds.
Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, observed that the motu proprio was an indication that Pope Benedict "wants to ensure that whoever is elected pope enjoys the greatest possible consensus."