Between Popes, Time-Honoured Rituals
The Catholic Church has time-honored answers to the centuries-old question of how to run its affairs between popes.
The period known as "Sede Vacante" ("Vacant See") lasts between the death -- or in this highly unusual case the resignation -- of a pope until his successor is elected.
It is the cardinal camerlengo, or chamberlain, who is not only the interim head of state but also the one charged with an array of rituals steeped in traditions, many of them aimed at preventing skull-duggery and thieving.
It is the camerlengo, always a cardinal, who officially certifies the death of a pope -- he once did so by tapping the pontiff's forehead three times with a special silver mallet and calling to him in his native tongue using his birth name.
The camerlengo must then seal the papal apartments to ensure that no one enters them throughout the Sede Vacante.
This task was performed Friday by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, whom Benedict appointed camerlengo in 2007, leaving the seals and bright red ribbons on the doors of the apartment and the lift that serves it in the Apostolic Palace.
The camerlengo is also in charge of making sure the pontiff's "Fisherman's Ring" -- a gold signet ring -- cannot be used to forge papal documents during the Sede Vacante.
In the past the rings have been smashed beyond recognition, but more recently the camerlengo merely etches an "X" across the face of the ring -- an act that must be performed in the presence of the other cardinals.
The camerlengo takes custody of papal properties at the Vatican, in Rome as well as at Castel Gandolfo -- the palace near the Italian capital where Benedict XVI began his retirement on Thursday.
The symbol of the Vacant See -- a striped umbrella over crossed keys -- is used on official documents, as well as on a postage stamp for use during the interim between popes.
It even featured on Friday on Benedict's old Twitter account @pontifex, which has been suspended until a new pope decides whether to continue using it.
Under a decree by Benedict's predecessor John Paul II, all members of the Roman Curia -- effectively the government of the Catholic Church -- must resign their posts, with two exceptions.
Bertone of course stays on as camerlengo while losing his post as secretary of state, the Vatican's number two job.
The only other official who does not have to resign is the Major Penitentiary, who heads up the Vatican's court for forgiveness of sins, "so that souls may continue to benefit" from absolution.
Benedict's decision to resign leaves Bertone with a far lighter load than he would otherwise have had, as the organizer of all the rituals surrounding a papal death.
Source: Agence France Presse
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