Rome & the World: Pelosi responds • walk through Jerusalem of Jesus’ time • & more …

There is no conclave on the horizon, but analysts are already looking at the rules for the election of the next pope. In this article, Jesuit Father Thomas Reese looks back at the changes made by John Paul II and Benedict XVI regarding the conclave. While two-thirds of the votes have always been required to validate the election of a cardinal to the Throne of Peter, the Polish Pope changed the rule and decided that after the 34th round, the election would simply be by majority vote. Benedict XVI modified the same rule, asking that after the 34th ballot, only the two best candidates be in the running. These adjustments were intended to shorten the conclave and not display a divided college of cardinals to the world. However, Father Reese criticizes these two changes for not being widely consulted and for limiting the possibility of finding a compromise candidate. The two-thirds rule obliges the college to choose a widely accepted cardinal. With the introduction of the possibility of a simple majority election, a group of 51% of the cardinals could wait until the 34th round to impose their candidate. 

Religions News Service, English

“I come from a largely pro-life, Italian-American Catholic family, so I respect people's views about that, but I don’t respect us foisting it onto others.” This is how US Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, replied to news that the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, barred her from Communion in his diocese for her positions on abortion. The Archbishop issued a press release last week and spoke about his decision in an interview. A handful of other bishops have supported Archbishop Cordileone’s conclusion, while some other Catholics worry it politicizes the Church. Pelosi frequently cites her Catholic faith as motivating her politics, but her support for legal abortion has put her at odds with Church teaching, America explains. She met with Pope Francis during a private audience in Rome last year. The Pontiff has urged bishops not to politicize the Eucharist.

America, English

It is now possible to immerse oneself in the Jerusalem that Jesus walked in. Equipped with the latest virtual reality glasses, pilgrims passing through the Christian Information Center in Jerusalem will now be able to virtually walk through the ancient streets of the Holy City. The Franciscan friar Tomasz Dubiel developed this multimedia tour after six years of work, reports Terre Sainte. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, the center, which has been welcoming tourists since 1973, offers a tour of six thematic rooms. “The idea is for visitors to get a global idea of the issues that affect the city and the Holy Sepulcher, in around 40 minutes," explains Brother Tomasz. This project, supported by the Custody of the Holy Land, aims to help evangelize. 

Terre Sainte, French  

In Nigeria, Father Hyacinth lormem Alia, 56, has been suspended by his Bishop after running for governor of Benue State under the banner of the presidential party, reports La Croix Africa, which recalls that the priest has had political ambitions for some years. The candidate's team has accepted this decision and considers that Hyacinth lormem Alia is now "free to continue his efforts to save the city of Benue from total collapse.” It further explains that the priest will resume his ministry once his term in public office is completed. Canon law prohibits clerics from holding public offices that involve exercising civil power, excluding some exceptional cases. 

La Croix Africa, French 

French radio France Bleu tells the sad story behind the song “Roma,” sung by Corsican artist Doria at a European song festival and based on a text by historian Paul Turchi Duriani. This "lamentu" (a Corsican folk genre that sings about difficult situations), tells of an event that took place in Rome in 1662, at a time when King Louis XIV of France was at odds with the papacy. As a consequence he sent "the worst of his ambassadors," the Duke of Créquy, whose men took great pleasure in provoking the soldiers of the Corsican Guard, a corps of elite mercenaries working for the pontiff since the 15th century. An island guard died in one of these scuffles, and to retaliate, the Corsican soldiers besieged the Farnese Palace in Rome, residence of the French ambassador. France decried the diplomatic incident everywhere in Europe, to try and put pressure on the pontiff. This first "historical opposition between the Corsicans and France," called the affair "of the Corsican Guards," led to the dissolution of the pontifical body. However, a Corsican community remained in Rome, in particular in Trastevere around the church of the Corsicans and the Sardinians, the basilica San Crisogono. 

France Bleu, French