# Every male Catholic is eligible for becoming Pope, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116 "2001-11-02T13:27:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/1 "2001-11-02T13:27:38Z")
OK, so what happens if the Cardinals elect a married man Pope? I know they’ll hardly ever do so, but it is possible, at least theoretically, so there ought to be regulations on what to do in this case. The Pope is a priest, so he cannot be married due to the celibacy dogma. They can’t divorce him either because the Catholic Church regards marriages as unsolvable. Annul it? Need a reason for that. I suppose they’d give him a waiver in this highly hypothetical scenario, but are there any canonical regulations about this? ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/2 "2001-11-02T13:47:54Z")
I don’t think there’s a rule about being Catholic to become Pope. Those wacky Cardinals can pick _anybody_. But since their choice is directed by God, or his Junior Partner, The Holy Spirit (who used to be a Ghost, but got better) only the Right Guy gets the nod. Don’t get started on the whole [Pope Joan](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_139.html) angle. It never happened . Unless it did. But it didn’t, so don’t sweat it. -Rue. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/3 "2001-11-02T14:02:14Z")
On a side note, you would think that after a couple of thousand years of electing his infallibleness, they would figure out how to make a decent white or black smoke. Every time we go through a papal election, we get such a lovely gray. (For all you heathens out there, papal elections are held behind closed doors. Tradition dictates that after a vote, smoke is released from a special chimney to indicate the results. Black smoke means that there wasn’t a sufficient consensus to elect a new poobah, white smoke indicates that Florida voted for Bush). ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/4 "2001-11-02T14:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Schnitte \* > The Pope is a priest, so he cannot be married due to the celibacy dogma. I think that there are a few married Roman Catholic priests. Married priests who left the Church of England in protest at the ordination of women were allowed to be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church and I think there might be some other categories of married priest as well. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/5 "2001-11-02T14:18:47Z")
And there’s that bishop who married a Moonie… ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/6 "2001-11-02T14:20:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TomH \* > \*\*I think that there are a few married Roman Catholic priests. Married priests who left the Church of England in protest at the ordination of women were allowed to be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church and I think there might be some other categories of married priest as well. \*\* My mother-in-law’s priest is married and has four children. I don’t pretend to understand. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![kpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c57346/32.png) [@kpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kpm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/7 "2001-11-02T14:22:07Z")
There are priests who were married - they are widowers. I know there are a few of them around. I would think divorced men would not be welcome but I don’t know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/8 "2001-11-02T14:30:12Z")
Yes you [do](http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0837525.html) have to be Catholic (and an adult male) to be elected Pope. In actuality, tradition limits the “real” candidates to the College of Cardinals…so the chances of having a married Pope are quite slim…kinda like the chances of an American Pope…or, these day, a Pope to the left of Joseph Ratzinger. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/9 "2001-11-02T14:40:01Z")
According to the [Catholic Encyclopedia:](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11456a.htm) > [@](#): > > **A layman may also be elected pope, as was Celestine V (1294). Even the election of a married man would not be invalid (c. “Qui uxorem”, 19, caus. 33, Q. 5). Of course, the election of a heretic, schismatic, or female would be null and void.** Since there is no requirement for the Pope to be a priest, there is evidently no requirement for him to be unmarried either. Also, note that there are several Eastern Rite churches that recognize the Pope’s authority, but do not require that priests be celibate. Therefore there are Catholic priests who are married. Celibacy is only required for priests in Latin Rite Catholic churches. It would be possible for the Church to elect a married priest Pope. However, within the Eastern Rite churches themselves, bishops must be celibate. ---
**Author:** ![Phouchg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/41988e/32.png) [@Phouchg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phouchg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/10 "2001-11-02T14:53:04Z")
Bishops must be celibate in Eastern churches? I was under the impression that a man may be ordained to the priesthood if he is married, but may not become married after being ordained? Phouchg Lovable Rogue ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/11 "2001-11-02T15:16:02Z")
I read a news story about a guy who was married about to become a priest. The way I undersood it was if you are married, then converted to Catholicism then took a vow of celibacy but remained married, you were eligible. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-male-catholic-is-eligible-for-becoming-pope-right/91116/12 "2001-11-02T15:20:14Z")
> [@](#): > > They can’t divorce him either because the Catholic Church regards marriages as unsolvable. Married men consider marriage unsolvable. The Catholic Church considers marriage insoluble. Interesting words, though. The most common definition of ‘insoluble’ is ‘difficult to dissolve’ but it does have a secondary definition of ‘difficult to solve’. ‘Unsolvable’, OTOH, means only ‘difficult to solve’. So while the words can be synonyms, they’re not in this case.