Papal Election - Authority & Episcopate
            QUESTION from Mark Bleasdale on August 9, 2002

If I may, I would like to contribute to the discussion of when the Pope assumes his authority after election if he is not yet a bishop. First, I think consideration needs to be made on how quickly after election the Pope(-elect) should be ordained after election (if not a bishop). I suspect it could suggested IMMEDIATELY - before the conclave closes. Therefore, the Pope(-elect) would be ordained a bishop before he ever exercises his papal authority. Second, the conclusive answer to this question rests with the Pope who alone makes the rules for papal elections. I hope this in some way adds to this discussion. Regards, Mark Bleasdale.