"I will observe absolute and perpetual secrecy:"The historical background of the rigid secrecy found in papal elections

From: The Catholic Historical Review | Date: April 1, 2003| Author: | Copyright information

The title of this address is taken from the oath that cardinals participating in the next papal election will swear repeatedly in the course of a conclave. The oath is found in Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution on papal elections published in 1996.1 It is an oath that all others-secretaries, physicians, confessors, and housekeepers-who are present within the precincts of the conclave also swear under pain of excommunication. If I were to provide all of the text in that Constitution on the obligation of maintaining secrecy and how it is to be done, there would be little time to ...

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