foone:
foone:
I wonder what the implications would be if the Pope became a zombie
Like say the Pope is off visiting Canada when the zombie outbreak starts and his little popemobile is overrun and he becomes infected and turns.
Can they elect a new pope right away? Or do they need to wait for someone to kill the zombie pope?
And if someone does, is that a sin for them? Or do you get like automatic sainthood, for services towards the catholic church?
What if the zombie!Pope isn’t killed and is instead captured. Does the catholic church try to get him to continue to serve as the Pope? Or do they figure out how to declare him unfit to serve as pope and elect a new pope? Or do they kill him/put him out of his misery? If so, how? Is there a papal executioner?
Also, in case of a zombie apocalypse, does the Pope declare a crusade against the undead?
Are there holy knights of zombie killing?
From my sister (a devout Catholic, consecrated virgin (yeah that’s a thing; don’t ask), with a masters in theology, currently studying canon law to practice for a diocesan tribunal):
“First, we’d need to define whether a zombie, as ‘undead,’ should be classified as alive or dead.
If being a zombie is like being infected by a virus that makes you go crazy, you couldn’t kill the pope. Technically, you couldn’t just kick him out of office, either. But other officials could confine him and limit his actions.
A physical assault on the pope is automatic excommunication, so you definitely wouldn’t get automatic sainthood.
Probably even if a zombie counted as dead, the attack on the pope’s body would still be wrong, although justifiable if that’s the only way to save yourself from the zombie pope as he’s attacking you. If the zombie pope counts as alive, you’re still morally allowed to defend yourself, and while the penalty of excommunication is automatic, it’d probably be lifted right away by whoever is in charge and not zombified.
There’s some theological tension in the idea that the Pope is the ‘first among equals;’ he’s in charge, but he’s also just a bishop among bishops. So a zombie Pope would definitely shift power more to the diocesan level, which could have interesting implications on the debate. In the past, sometimes rulers sent a pope into exile and a new one was elected. That’s not allowed under current law, but in a desperate circumstance, if a foreign power captured the zombie pope because of the threat he posed and would never release him, there might be a way to allow for the election of someone new. It’d mean treating the laws more like guidelines, though.”
Me: Fascinating contribution. Thank you! And I presume that if zombies did count as dead, the Church could proceed with electing a new Pope?
Her: Yes.
Cool! Thanks and thanks to her.