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Article: Over wine and cigars: the real work of a papal election.(JOHN PAUL II: AN ERA ENDS)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- April 15, 2005
- Author:
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When it comes to electing a pope, there are no Iowa caucuses, no candidate debates, no conventions or platforms. The "campaign" is more analogous to the 2003 California gubernatorial recall than a presidential primary--a quick sprint that flares up unexpectedly and is over before it even seems to begin.
Conclave veterans say most of the heavy lifting involved in electing a pope happens out of public view. Cardinal Franz Konig of Vienna, Austria, in a July 2001 NCR interview, said the real work is done in behind-the-scenes meetings of three and four cardinals, perhaps over glasses of wine and cigars, as opposed to any of the formal events. "An external observer ...