Korean Catholic Church Secures Multiple Voting Rights in First Ever Conclave

▲Cardinal Lazarus Yoo Heung-sik (70) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] With the appointment of Archbishop Lazarus Yoo Heung-sik (70) as a cardinal by the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, the Korean Catholic Church has set another milestone by having multiple voting rights in the papal election 'Conclave' for the first time in history.

The voting right to elect a new pope in the Conclave is granted to cardinals under the age of 80. Currently, Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, who is 78 years old, holds the Conclave voting right in Korea, and newly appointed Cardinal Yoo Heung-sik will additionally exercise voting rights.

Although the Korean Catholic Church, with a history of 240 years, has produced cardinals four times, until now, the number of cardinals was either one or two, and due to age restrictions, multiple voting rights were not secured.

Cardinal Yeom will naturally relinquish his Conclave voting rights upon reaching his 80th birthday in December next year, but since Archbishop Jeong Soon-taek (60), the Archbishop of Seoul, is likely to be appointed cardinal, it is widely expected that multiple voting rights will be maintained for some time.

A priest in Rome, Italy, said, "It is difficult to overinterpret that the influence of the Korean Catholic Church within the Vatican has increased just because it has multiple voting rights, but considering the status and weight of our church, the significance is not small."

According to Vatican cardinal statistics excluding the 21 newly appointed cardinals on the 29th (local time), only 14 countries worldwide have two or more Conclave voting rights. Even in Europe, which has the largest number of cardinals by continent, only Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, and Portugal fall into this category. In Asia, only India and the Philippines are included.

According to the Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Conclave, first introduced in 1241, means "locked with a key" in Latin and refers to the sequestered papal election.

When the election that began in 1268 in the Viterbo area near Rome, Italy, remained deadlocked for five years without conclusion, the city authorities and residents, unable to tolerate it any longer, confined the cardinals in one place, supplying only bread and water to encourage a swift election.

The Conclave is held within 15 days of a vacancy such as the pope's death.

Today, the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, famous for Renaissance genius artist Michelangelo's frescoes 'The Creation of Adam' and 'The Last Judgment,' is used as the voting venue.

The voting is conducted by attending cardinals writing the names of their preferred papal candidates randomly on ballots.

Usually, voting takes place twice a day, in the morning and afternoon, and continues until a name receives support from at least two-thirds of the votes.

During the election period, cardinals are completely cut off from outside contact, and photography or recording is prohibited. Their residence is limited to the Vatican guesthouse 'Casa Santa Marta,' which Pope Francis uses as his residence.

As is well known, the outcome of the papal election is confirmed by the color of the smoke from burning the ballots. Black smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel chimney means no decision, while white smoke signifies the birth of a new pope.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.