Q: Perhaps you could offer some insight on the issue of the maximum number of electors allowed in a Papal Conclave. It seems clear from the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominci Gregis that the maximum number of electors is 120.
Yet, the current number of “eligible” Cardinals is above that number. What does it mean for the validity of a Papal Election if more than 120 electors actually cast votes? —Mark
A: Now that Pope Francis has been laid to rest, the attention of Catholics worldwide has naturally turned to the upcoming conclave to elect his successor, which will begin on May 7. After Benedict XVI’s resignation in 2013, we took a look (in “Canon Law and the Upcoming Conclave“) at the special law governing papal conclaves: the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (UDG), which Mark mentions in his question, was promulgated by then-Pope John Paul II in 1996, and is still in force. Readers who are curious about papal conclaves are encouraged to refer back to the 2013 article just mentioned for an outline of the basic procedure.
But let’s focus now on Mark’s more specific question, regarding the number of Cardinals who are eligible to vote this time around. UDG is perfectly clear on this subject:
The right to elect the Roman Pontiff belongs exclusively to the Cardinals of Holy Roman Church, with the exception of those who have reached their eightieth birthday before the day of the Roman Pontiff’s death or the day when the Apostolic See becomes vacant. The maximum number of Cardinal electors must not exceed one hundred and twenty. (33)
Fine—except that right now, there are over 130 Cardinals who are by law eligible to vote in this papal conclave
, because they will be under the age of 80 when it begins. Isn’t that a direct violation of UDG? Will it invalidate the election if all of them vote, or what? No wonder Mark is confused!
Fortunately for us, if we take a look at the history behind capping the number of Cardinal electors, and at the scope of papal authority in general, things become a lot clearer. After all, laws aren’t created in a vacuum, for absolutely no reason; and a reason likewise exists for modifying or even overriding them. So let’s look briefly at the history behind the limits on the number of Cardinal electors in papal conclaves, and then see what conclusions we can draw from all of this.
The existence of Cardinals in the Church’s hierarchy can be traced back historically to the very early days of the Church. The Pope had certain clerics around him who acted in an advisory role. The term “cardinal” comes from the Latin word cardo, or hinge; these men were key figures in the functioning of the Church on earth. The College of Cardinals which exists in the Church today continues to serve this fundamental purpose (c. 353). The most well known responsibility of the College today is of course the election of a new Pope, but the Pope also can and does call Consistories, or official meetings of the College of Cardinals, when he wishes to discuss and get their opinions on various important issues in the Church.
It’s important to keep in mind that both the College of Cardinals, and the Cardinals themselves, are man-made inventions. In this they differ from the Pope and from bishops, which the Catholic Church teaches were established by Christ Himself (cf. cc. 330-331). This is directly relevant to Mark’s question—because since the College of Cardinals was created by men, it can be altered (or even abolished!) by human authority. In contrast, because the papacy and the episcopacy are of divine origin, that means their fundamental nature can never be significantly altered (much less eliminated) by anyone other than God.
Consequently, if a Pope wants to place a limit on the number of Cardinals in the Church, he can do that; and if another Pope wants to change that limit, or temporarily override it, or do away with it completely, he can do that too. Remember that as the abovementioned canon 331 tells us, by virtue of his office the Pope possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church. True, he can’t tinker with divine laws, as was discussed back in “Are There Any Limitations on the Power of the Pope?” but he certainly has the power to change merely human laws as he sees fit.
And over the centuries, Popes have certainly tinkered with the College of Cardinals! Back in 1587, Pope Sixtus V decreed that the maximum number of Cardinals would henceforth be 70. This maximum limit appears to have been observed faithfully by successive Popes until 1958, when Pope (now Saint) John XXIII named 23 Cardinals—who, when added to the 51 already existing members of the College, caused their number to be increased to 74. In his allocution to the College at the time, Pope John made a courteous reference to the fact that if there were more Cardinals in the College, their individual workloads would logically be diminished.
A far more significant change to the College of Cardinals was made by his successor: in a 1970 motu proprio, Pope (now Saint) Paul VI declared that Cardinals who had reached their 80th birthday were no longer eligible to vote, or even to participate in a conclave. Ever since, the number of members of the College of Cardinals, and the number of Cardinals who could elect the next Pope, are not the same—because Cardinals over the age of 80 still retain membership in the College, even as they lose their right to vote for a new Pope.
From that point on, the total number of members of the College naturally had to be increased, so as to ensure a reasonable number of electors. Simultaneously, human life-expectancy has also increased, which means that there are ever more Cardinals over the age of 80. On top of all that, the missionary activity of the Church in the 20th century led to the creation of many new dioceses and archdioceses in regions of the developing world which previously had none—and eventually new Cardinals were named from these areas of the globe as well.
The inevitable result, of course, was a much larger College of Cardinals! In 1973, Paul VI increased the number of Cardinal-electors (i.e., those under the age of 80) to 120; the total membership in the College would naturally be even higher. And in fact there have subsequently been several points in time when subsequent Popes have named so many new Cardinals, who were less than 80 years old, that the number of Cardinals eligible to elect a Pope has exceeded 120. Since members are constantly losing eligibility to participate in a conclave as they age, the total number is permanently in flux. As Mark rightly points out, when Pope Francis died, there were/are far more than 120 Cardinals who are under 80 and thus eligible to vote for his successor.
But notice what has happened, since Pope Sixtus V decreed a maximum of 70 Cardinals in the College nearly 450 years ago. Many Popes chose to abide by the number he set, but some did not—and some thought it prudent to make formal changes to the size-limit and to the rules. There is nothing terribly surprising about this: a Pope has, as noted above, supreme authority in the Church, and thus he is not bound by the laws established by his predecessors. As we’ve already seen, these human laws can be changed.
When Pope Francis chose to name new Cardinals, he certainly knew how old they were—and so he must have been fully aware that at some points this caused the total number of Cardinal electors to exceed 120. Yet he did it anyway, which was his prerogative. Francis could have formally declared a new maximum number of Cardinal electors, if he had wished to do so; you could say that the act of naming enough new Cardinals that the 120-max was breached had exactly the same effect. Now Mark has his answer: there is no problem whatsoever with more than 120 Cardinals entering the conclave on May 7, to elect our new Pope. Let’s all pray that regardless of their number, all these men will prayerfully follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so as to choose the right man for the job.
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