Papal Conclave Won’t Fit Into the American Political Framework

The Catholic Church is currently undergoing a nine-day period of mourning and prayer for the late Pope Francis, but everyone knows that a papal conclave, the gathering of the College of Cardinals to select a new pope, is coming up soon. Already, headlines and pundits are speculating on whom the next pontiff might be and what views he might hold: Which cardinals are the leading candidates? Will he be liberal or conservative? Will he be left-wing or right-wing? 

But the election of a new pope does not conform to the liberal-conservative, left-right dichotomy commonly applied to American politics, nor to the campaign style of candidacies, nominations, and elections common in the U.S. In fact, in many ways, a papal conclave transcends standard political norms.