The next Pope will be the Internet Pope — will/can the Church use the Internet to help select him? Do we even need the Church, or can we DIY this?
* The choice of the next pope–one of the most influential leaders in the world (spiritual leadership and influence over about 1 billion people)–is one of the least transparent processes around…
* Now suppose someone built (a) a wiki to pool information about the candidates and (b) an online and SMS feedback system to register the global point of view.
* If such a thing were to happen would this be a good thing for (a) the Roman Catholic church, (b) for the Christian community, (c) for the world?
(Thanks, Marko!)
Update: Stephane sez, “Since 1274, and the Ubi Periculum rule, cardinals are fed one meal a day during the election, and only bread and water if they haven’t decided after 5 days. They are held in complete seclusion and the recent Universi Dominici Gregis regulation forbids access to newspapers, radio or television. I guess blogging towards/from the conclave is not an option either.”
Update 2: Dan sez, “the story was true — in the 13th century. The rules were put in place because the intrigue surrounding the elections had become so intense that the church went without a pope (horrors!) for three years. However, while the major principle behind the rules still obtains — isolation of the cardinals to prevent outside interference in their choice — the rules themselves have been repeatedly amended and the conditions under which the electors meet and vote are not nearly as harsh as described. In fact, JP2 had a new domicile built for the cardinals to make sure their conditions during the next election conclave (from Latin: “cum,” with, and “clavis,” key; a place that may be securely closed).”