# What happens if terrorists attack the College of Cardinals? \[new title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836 "2005-04-11T19:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/1 "2005-04-11T19:15:07Z")
If terrorists were to attack the Vatican during the Conclave and succed in killing all of the assembled cardinal-electors, who picks the next Pope? I know Jaime Cardinal Sin is staying home in the Philippines due to ill health; would he then have the power to appoint the next Pope? (I don’t think he could make himself Pope since cardinals can’t vote for themselves.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/2 "2005-04-11T19:23:11Z")
Methinks that the rest of the bishops of the Church, with the “guidance of the Almighty,” would meet and select a new Pontiff. The Church would continue, as it always has. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/3 "2005-04-11T19:36:22Z")
I have changed the title of this thread. No bigee, I just thought the original title might lead some to assume that terrorists had already attacked the College of Cardinals. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/4 "2005-04-11T19:48:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Methinks that the rest of the bishops of the Church, with the “guidance of the Almighty,” would meet and select a new Pontiff. The Church would continue, as it always has. But would that election be valid under Canon law? ---
**Author:** ![wonderwench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/35a633/32.png) [@wonderwench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderwench)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/5 "2005-04-11T19:54:17Z")
Considering that the Catholic Church is based upon nearly 2,000 years of apostolic succession, it is safe to guess that the succession plans for Cardinals are already in place. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/6 "2005-04-11T19:57:06Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > But would that election be valid under Canon law? I’m sure it would be. I don’t have my reference materials in front of me right now, but things like this are surely covered after all the Anti-Popes and Babylonian Captivity and all. I shall try to find my references when I get home from work. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/7 "2005-04-11T19:57:24Z")
The Catholic church benefits here in it’s organizational similarity to Al Queda. It’s wide spread and can survive a decapitation. To even more advantage, they’ve got written records and traditions on how to get things done. It would be a little like the board game Life. Your boss and your boss’s boss got blown up. Move up two spaces. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/8 "2005-04-11T20:07:51Z")
The rules for a papal election are [here](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html). There’s a clause in there that says only Cardinal electors (i.e., cardinals under 80 years old) are allowed to elect a new pope. So if there’s nobody alove who qualifies as an elector, there wouldn’t be any legal way to elect a new pope. The document doesn’t give a minimum number of electors, so if only Cardinal Sin survived, then he would be a College of one (or two - I seem to recall there was another Cardinal who was too ill to attend), and be allowed to select the next Pope. Assuming that, in addition to killing those at the Vatican, the terrorists managed to track down and assassinate the cardinal-electors who didn’t make it to Rome, what I suspect would happen would be that non-elector Cardinals (i.e., those over 80) would be tasked with the election, as they would be considered the most qualified non-electors. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/9 "2005-04-11T20:09:51Z")
[http://www.americamagazine.org/papaltransition.cfm#always](http://www.americamagazine.org/papaltransition.cfm#always) They would probably revert to the traditions of the 11th Century. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-terrorists-attack-the-college-of-cardinals-new-title/298836/10 "2005-04-11T20:15:26Z")
Popes have spent the last half-millennium trying to root out the vestiges of concilirianism (the idea that a General Council is superior in authority to the pope) so I’m sure there is no provision in current canon law for such an extraordinary circumstance as the near-complete destruction of the College. Howerver, I expect that any General Council called in the wake of such an attack would make sure that all was on the up and up, promulgating any new canon law necessary to make legal the election of a Pope by a Council when extraordinary circumstances require it.