Why is the pope involved in choosing the president? Because the pope, the bishop of Rome, is primate of the Italian Church. Therefore, the Italian episcopal conference has always wanted to maintain a special bond with him. Indeed, in recent years, the idea of changing the conference’s statutes and defining the president as a “delegate president” was raised precisely to testify to this bond.
At the start of his pontificate, Francis had asked the Italian bishops to change the election procedure and discuss how to elect their president. This was not new. As early as 1983, John Paul II had asked the bishops to reconsider the election process. On that occasion, a large majority of Italian bishops voted in favor of the direct election of the president. But John Paul II informed the bishops that he preferred to keep his right to appoint the president and secretary-general of the bishops.
After Pope Francis’ request, the Italian bishops took a different view and eventually told the pope that they still preferred him to choose their president. To meet the pope’s requests, they thus set up a complicated electoral mechanism.
During the upcoming assembly, any residential bishops can be voted president. After that, the names of the three with the highest number of votes will be presented to the pope. But, as mentioned, the pope is also free to choose someone outside the three. That the pope has absolute power of choice will undoubtedly lead many to vote for candidates who are most likely to be preferred by him.
The pope may also be called to choose a new secretary-general along with the new president. Bishop Stefano Russo, number two at the episcopal conference since 2018, could leave earlier than the end of his term, which is scheduled for 2024.
Andrea Gagliarducci is an Italian journalist for Catholic News Agency and Vatican analyst for ACI Stampa. He is a contributor to the National Catholic Register.