Politics, secrecy and excommunication in a conclave — and before
Who is bound to secrecy, and when? And what can and can’t the cardinals talk about, even among themselves? And what are the penalties? It’s complicated.
The conclave to elect a new pope is one of the most famous and famously secret processes in the world.
But while most people know — or think they know — that promising favors and appointments for votes is a crime in canon law, and that no one can ever discuss what happens in the election process, the rules and laws are as detailed as the actual balloting process.
So who is bound to secrecy, for how long, and under what kind of penalties? And what can and can’t the cardinals talk about, even among themselves?
It’s a little complicated.