The Selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger As the New Pope

RAY SUAREZ:

For more I'm joined from Rome by Father Thomas Reese, editor of America, the national Catholic weekly magazine. He's also the author of "Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church."

Father Reese, welcome. Can you describe the moment when you realized that the conclave may have made a decision?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Well, I heard some people running in my residence. I was staying in the Jesuit curia, which is just about 100 yards from St. Peter's Square. So, I went up on the roof, and we could see smoke. But we weren't quite sure whether it was white smoke or black smoke. And there were no bells ringing, so there was a lot of confusion at first.

And then, you know, the bell rang, and of course it was just the 6 o'clock bell. And then it stopped. So we were — you know, we thought, "Oh, it's just black smoke." And then finally the big bell began to swing, and we saw this slowly, and it took about five times back and forth until it began to ring, and at that point we knew that there was a new pope.

RAY SUAREZ:

So did you quickly get down to the square to see what was up, see who came out on the balcony?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Yes. Yes, absolutely. I quickly went down and there were just scores of people running towards St. Peter's Square. Thousands and thousands of people from all over Rome were running — carrying babies and baby carriages, families, young people — all nationalities were running to St. Peter's Square to see who was going to be the next pope.

RAY SUAREZ:

Why do you think it was such a short conclave?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Well, I think that, you know, the cardinals really came to agreement on who they wanted to be pope faster than all of us pundits thought they would. Also, the change in rules may have had an effect.

In the past for the last 800 years, in order to become a pope you had to have a two-thirds majority vote. John Paul II changed the rules on that. He overturned 800 years of tradition and said that if after 30 votes they couldn't elect someone by a two-thirds vote, they could elect someone by a majority vote.

Well, if Cardinal Ratzinger got a majority vote, say, during the second ballot this morning, I think that the rest of the cardinals would have recognized very quickly that he, you know, basically had won the election, because his supporters could have simply stuck with him for the next, oh, 26 votes, and then voted to change the rules and elected him.

RAY SUAREZ:

Since the death of Pope John Paul II, Joseph Ratzinger was one of the people who was often mentioned as a successor. Does this go against the old cliché, "Go in a pope, come out a cardinal" when it comes to frontrunners?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Well, you know, that old cliché has been wrong before. Certainly when Pope Paul VI was elected everybody knew and predicted he would be the pope. When Pius XII was elected people knew he was going to be the pope. More recently we know John Paul I, John Paul II were both surprises. John XXIII was a surprise. So sometimes — sometimes the guessers get it right.

RAY SUAREZ:

When the cardinal made the announcement to the people waiting in the square, there's that long pause between the first name Joseph, and then the title Cardinal Ratzinger, how was that news received in the square?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Well, the people were quite excited. I mean, when the doors opened, they cheered. When the cardinal came out to address them, they cheered. And he greeted the crowd in Italian and in English, and then he came out and said, you know, habemus papum, and they cheered again.

Then he said, "Giuseppe," and as soon as he said Giuseppe – Joseph – I knew it was going to be Joseph Ratzinger was going to be the new pope.

RAY SUAREZ:

Now, the official investiture is next Sunday. Is Benedict XVI in fact already effectively in charge of the Roman Catholic Church?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Absolutely. As soon as he was elected and as soon as he accepted, when they asked him, "Are you willing to be pope?" And as soon as he said yes, he was pope. And he has all the full powers of the pope. He does not have to wait for the installation that will come later. He is now the pope of the Catholic Church.

RAY SUAREZ:

If I understand the structure correctly, the people who are equivalent to cabinet officers in the Vatican state were no longer in their jobs when the previous pope died. Is that the new pope's, really, first assignment, to run a transition and create a new cabinet?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Yes. Some of the most important decisions that he is going to make will be the appointment of these new heads of these offices. For example, he was the head of the congregation for doctrine of the faith, and he is going to have to pick a successor for himself. And that, of course, is going to be an extremely important job. And there's other positions.

John Paul II kept in office a lot of cardinals who were very old and past retirement age, so as a result there's going to be a lot of vacancies that Cardinal Ratzinger will be able to fill. In fact, he could replace them all if he wants to. My guess is he will reappoint many of them. But he will also have to replace some.

RAY SUAREZ:

The new pope takes office at an older than average age. Can you assume, then, a short pontificate?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

You know, John Paul II was elected he was 59, and he lived for 26 more years as pope. I don't think we can expect Cardinal Ratzinger to live for 26 years.

It seems that when the cardinals voted today they voted for continuity, because Cardinal Ratzinger and the pope were so close together in terms of their theological vision, in terms of their positions on Church policy. But at the same time they may have been voting for a transitional papacy, a shorter papacy than John Paul II.

RAY SUAREZ:

So what will you be looking for in these coming days in trying to figure out where the Church is headed from the top?

REV. THOMAS REESE:

Well, I think certainly I'll be looking to see who he appoints as prefect of the congregation for doctrine of the faith. This is one of the most important positions in the Vatican, and that will be a key person that we'll watch to see who he appoints and if he appoints a new secretary of state.

The secretary of state is really more like a prime minister in the Vatican than a foreign minister like in our country. So that position is really, you know, the number two man in the Vatican. And Cardinal Sodano is up in years, and so he may be replaced.

RAY SUAREZ:

Father Tom Reese in Rome, thanks a lot.

REV. THOMAS REESE:

You're welcome.