Pope Looks at ‘Synodal Reforms’ to Papal Election Process

Pope Francis has delegated Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda to develop draft revisions to the papal election process, in light of the approach to dialogue used during the synod on synodality, according to sources close to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. In a move that could see questions raised by members of the Church’s College of Cardinals, the pope has reportedly asked his senior ranking canon lawyer to develop possible amendments to Universi dominici gregis, Pope St. John Paul II’s 1996 apostolic constitution governing the events surrounding the death of a pope, and the election of his successor in a conclave.  Read Full Article »