Explained: Why Irish cardinal Seán Brady won't have a say in Pope selection process
Irish cardinal Seán Brady will not have a say in the papal selection process due to his age.
Any baptised Catholic male is eligible to be Pope, but only cardinals have been selected since 1378.
Advertisement
Whoever is selected must have received at least two-thirds of the vote from cardinals under the age of 80 and thus be eligible to participate.
Cardinal Seán Brady, the former Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, will not have a vote in the next papal conclave because he is 85 years of age.
Only cardinals who are under the age of 80 at the time the papacy becomes vacant (either by death or resignation of the pope) are eligible to enter the conclave and vote for the new pope.
This rule is meant to ensure that the voting body is made up of relatively active and involved cardinals, who are presumably more in touch with the current needs of the Church.
Because Seán Brady passed the age threshold, he is no longer eligible to participate in any future conclaves, regardless of his previous standing or title.
He still holds the title of cardinal, but he is considered non-elector status.
However,
cardinal Kevin Farrell
, 77, will have a say.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
13 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Melania Trump wears bright floral pants to picnic
Again, Trump raised eyebrows after sporting Dolce and Gabbana peony-print cotton jacquard pants and pink suede Manolo Blahnik pumps while greeting guests during the event. The List, an entertainment and lifestyle site geared towards women, said the "eye-popping pants look like grandma's couch." Melania Trump wears black veil to Pope Francis' funeral as President Trump dons blue suit Trump's fashion choices, which are thought to reveal subtle hints about her mood, are the subject of fierce controversy and constant attention. On Jan. 20, she emerged in a dark navy silk wool coat and skirt with an ivory silk crepe blouse designed by Adam Lippes for her husband's second inauguration ceremony. Although she often surprises watchers with her bargain buys and luxurious looks alike, the low-key black dress (and viral matching wide-brim hat) at the swearing-in was a stark departure from the Jacqueline Kennedy-inspired powder blue dress that she wore for her husband's first inauguration in 2017. The former fashion model -- and first practicing Catholic to serve as first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy -- also made headlines when she attended the April 26 service of Pope Francis in a double-breasted coat dress paired with a traditional veil, gloves and black stilettos.
The National
15 hours ago
- The National
A Scottish writer looks to James Joyce for answers on how to free
The text of Ulysses redefined Irish national identity and is the text of Ireland's national liberation, a book preoccupied with, even obsessed with, Irishness, the problems of raising national consciousness and the forging of a better Ireland. This might surprise readers unaware that Joyce was a nationalist. The theme of politics and Anglo-Irish relations has not been central to readings of the novel and this might be, as many critics claim, because the work was hijacked at an early stage by leading Modernists, who assumed that its Irishness was secondary to its Modernist aims. Later, post-Modernists redefined the novel as a 'guerilla text' attacking the discourses and regimes of colonial power. No coincidence, they said, that the gestation of the book between 1914 and 1921, parallels the gestation of the Irish Free State, and that it was launched the day after the signing of the Irish Treaty. READ MORE: 'Naked and Unashamed' cements Nan Shepherd's place in Scotland's literary canon On the same day, Joyce wrote a letter to Arthur Griffith congratulating him on the Treaty. This proves that Ulysses was always meant to have a political as well as cultural impact. Famously of course he was to spend most of his life abroad. He left Ireland but it never left him. We in Scotland urgently need to frame our national narrative in the context of our long march towards sovereignty. We need to redefine our national identity in this much more diverse 21st century and bring a new perspective of cultural change to the journey. Many are becoming aware of it, not least Believe in Scotland and a plethora of podcasters, culture groups and social media channels within the independence movement. Scotland needs to personify – to see itself in purposeful motion, as people, individuals, characters doing, achieving, empowering ourselves and our nation on its journey. And Joyce can help us, or at least, excellent examples found in his work can show the way. In Ivy Day In The Committee Rooms from his Dubliners collection, Joyce found a method of combining the personal and the political, the individual and the national. It's a telling little story and the only one in the collection overtly 'about' grassroots politics at the beginning of the 20th century. The story is set in Dublin, the committee room being of course a metaphor for Ireland itself with six characters, albeit all male, standing in to represent the nation as Joyce saw it – contentious, disunited, dissolute, over-sentimental, self-deluded and out for what they can get. It is satiric, a little jaundiced even in the wake of the death of Charles Stewart Parnell, the great leader who was surely and steadily building the foundations of an independent Ireland. Since Parnell's death, the nationalist cause had been stuck in a lethargy which has allowed the British to continue to rule and the status quo to be maintained. In my teens, I was a student friend of Alex Salmond and can't help seeing Salmond as our Parnell. There are definite parallels. In the committee room, we meet Old Jack the caretaker of the hall or hired room, subservient, self-effacing, careful not to extrude a personal view that might offend his employers, then enters the political agent, O'Connor, who we soon realise is doing nothing at all to promote his candidate, the publican Tierney who is paying him to promote his campaign to be elected to the local authority. Overtly concerned with when his money is coming – and constantly suspecting that he will not be paid – he impugns the character of Tierney, 'Tricky Dicky' and does not show much, if any support for him. READ MORE: Val McDermid to premiere new play exploring Christopher Marlowe's death His colleague Henchy seems to be worse that O'Connor in that as a paid agent, he does not support Tierney. He is a man who changes his mind at the drop of a hat, has no fixed views. The third character, Hynes, is clearly some sort of spy, possible for Tierney's rival Colgan. He is a shiftless character, desperate for money, yet it is his sentimental poem for Parnell which, read out to the company temporarily unites all. Father Leon, a priest or actor, is manifestly not religious, a poor deluded soul, who does not quite join the company or even enter the room, hovering in the doorway, apologetically, as if he is the soul of the dead killed in the various uprisings. The candidate himself, Tierney, does not appear though is referred to by all. O'Connor and Henchy suppose he is a nationalist but suspect that he will vote for the Address to King Edward on the King's visit despite that. The story mocks the heroic romantic nationalism of the past by portraying the shabby compromises and venality of activists who are anything but idealistic. There is agreement for the idea that previous times were better, '… them times. There was some life in it then', implying of course that there is no life now. This is another of Joyce's tropes of the living dead, or deadness-in-life, or political stasis, of all the stories in the collection. And Scotland is in exactly the same situation. Stuck. Unable to find a route forward to independence. Narrative is the key I have been engaged with our cause since my teens as an activist in city centre street meetings with the sound of Scotland Is Waking filling my ears from car speakers. I recall the camaraderie and my own zeal of canvassing and leafletting in early by-elections and the sense of a nation on the move, the heady thought of independence being winnable – and close. I've been an activist for more than 50 years including 10 as paid party media man, and a stint as local councillor, alongside my own literary career and its 20 book titles. I have always known that engaging in political struggle provides positive benefits for individuals. Humans need to engage with something deeper than the day-to-day details of existence, focus on something bigger than themselves to give their lives some sense of achievement. As Alasdair Gray said, we need to see ourselves in the pages of a novel to be able to live better lives. We need a story arc, from beginnings to a resolution that takes us to a better place. Narrative is the key and we need to know how to form it and refine it so that it parallels the common thinking and expressions of our people – embodies it and leads it, so that all willingly share in it. And from that early time, my thoughts as a young writer were engaged with the idea of what that narrative might look like, how to put the cause down on paper in fiction, to magnify it, personify it, explain it, make more of it, so that others would be inspired to take up our cause. READ MORE: Scots group becomes first multi-venue firm to gain prestigious B Corp certification The book that summed up for me then what I wanted to achieve was a Scottish novel, AJ Cronin's 1937 bestseller The Citadel. This highly readable and exciting character novel about a young Scotsman and his early career as a young married doctor successfully promoted a political campaigning aim – in Cronin's case creating widespread support for a national health service that led to early legislation. But writers write and publishers publish. Quite soon I began to realise how difficult the struggle had been for the writers of the 'Scottish Renaissance' in the early 1930s led by Hugh MacDiarmid and others, and how quickly the movement had been snuffed out in a variety of ways although of course, not before providing a head of steam for the early national movement, in particular the NPS and then the SNP. But the political movement in Scotland, unlike in Wales, swiftly dropped the wild-haired poets, and looked askance too at the bearded folkies of the 1960s, in favour of hard-headed politics and businessmen. Early leaders broke the essential connection between the artists and writers and the politicians. The movement became obsessed with economics, business, income, taxes and wealth. Important yes, but not as important as story. Story and narrative are the backbone of life and without it, life is mere existence. But writers need to make a living which is why so many of our writers are forced to use any political references in codified, oblique ways in their writing. Like others, I wrote novels that publishers would accept and didn't write the ones I wanted to write, because I needed to get published. The numerous organisations that support our cultural community, Creative Scotland, the Scottish Book Trust, Live Literature, etc are publicly funded bodies and keen not to rock the boat, or to vote themselves out of existence. One leading Scottish literary agent responded to my pitch of a political novel a few years back with an astonishing reply: 'No-one would want to read …' she said, 'brings back all the divisiveness of 2014 …' So, it was the biggest event in our history since 1707 and we writers are not supposed to write about it in case someone is offended? Despite this, for the last few years, I have been drafting and redrafting short and long-form fiction that combines the personal and the political, focusing especially on the diversity of our movement and the variety of issues individuals might have in daily lives that include some level of commitment to the cause. Some of the stories have been published in literary magazines. My story, We Are An Island appeared in Causeway/Cabhsair, the journal of Irish and Scottish writing. It focused on an elderly English couple and their dog moving to live on a remote island to remind us how much we have benefitted from inward migration and how it is possible for incomers to assimilate even in a Gaelic-speaking community if the will and the tolerance is there. The Galway Review published Greater Love Hath No Man in which the loss of Scots lives in British foreign wars is made apparent, when an intelligent young man, a YSI member, is seduced into the army and death at 19 in Afghanistan, like his great-grandfather before him. My story of the lost potential of Scotland's working class through addiction is the subject of Last Refuge published in Literally Stories. A series of four stories has now started to appear in the SNP's Independence magazine. In Hinterlands, published in March/April's issue, a veteran activist tries to convey to his son during a by-election the importance of remembering and recording even the tiniest details of the struggle. Everything must be remembered so that those who were not there cannot rewrite our story. In the May/June issue, TheWummin Inside, an 80-year-old woman takes a stand against moaners, regretting the missed opportunities of her generation, some of whom could have 'run a small country like Nicola'. More of the stories, some narrated by me, are set to appear on indy podcasts and websites and I hope the collection, Speaking For Ourselves/Unspeakable Things when published might prove something of an outlier that brings together a wider readership. Not every writer wants to get involved in a movement or a national group. Writers write for themselves, express individual concerns and everybody is different. But to me at least, under the influence of Joyce and others, creating and deploying characters that live and breathe within our movement can help to heal the divisiveness and discord of our attritional politics and let us look to bluer skies of opportunity and the potential to create better, fairer and more balanced lives for all in life, and on the page. Andrew Murray Scott is a writer and novelist: He writes a monthly culture column in the Scots Independent.
North Wales Chronicle
a day ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Irish citizens released from detention in Egypt
Simon Harris also expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East after Iran bombarded Israel with hundreds of missiles overnight in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its nuclear bases. Mr Harris, who is also the Irish foreign affairs minister, held calls with Ireland's ambassadors to Israel, Iran and Egypt on Saturday morning. He said he had been briefed on developments and all embassy staff are 'safe and well'. Mr Harris called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy, adding: 'This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East. I am deeply concerned about the continuing exchange of air attacks between Israel and Iran.' He also spoke with a politician who has been released from detention in Egypt. Paul Muphy, a TD (MP) for People Before Profit-Solidarity, had been detained on Friday while attempting to march to the Rafah crossing into Gaza as part of a large demonstration and effort to get aid into the region. The opposition politician said his phone and passport were confiscated before he and others were put on a bus to Cairo airport, where they believed they would be deported. Mr Murphy and party representatives urged Mr Harris and the Department of Foreign Affairs to intervene. We were finally released late last night at airport. Police still have our phones. We are back in Cairo and meeting shortly to decide next steps. We're focused on Israel's genocide and starvation of Gaza. Thanks for your support. Free Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸🇵🇸#GlobalMarchToGaza — Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) June 14, 2025 All Irish people who were detained have since been released, but some have not had their phones returned. In a statement on Saturday, Mr Murphy said: 'We were finally released late last night at airport. Police still have our phones. 'We are back in Cairo and meeting shortly to decide next steps. We're focused on Israel's genocide and starvation of Gaza. 'Thanks for your support. Free Palestine.' Mr Harris said: 'I am pleased that following the work of our embassy staff, all Irish people who were detained yesterday in Rafah have been released and have had their passports returned. 'I spoke directly to Deputy Murphy to confirm he and other Irish people have been released from detention, had their passports returned and were receiving consular assistance. The wellbeing and safety of all Irish citizens abroad is always of concern to me and to my department. 'I am aware some Irish citizens have not had their phones returned by the authorities and I have asked our embassy to pursue this.' Mr Murphy's partner, councillor Jess Spear, expressed 'relief' that the group had been released from detention. She said: 'However, they still want to reach Rafah to try and get humanitarian aid into Gaza. That has been the sole purpose of being in Egypt. 'Paul has appealed to Tanaiste Simon Harris to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to let the marchers reach Rafah. The situation of the people of Gaza worsens by the day as they suffer starvation imposed by Israel. 'We need to get humanitarian aid to them as quickly as possible.' Mr Harris said embassies remain in close contact with members of the Irish community to offer assistance, adding that his department is working closely with European counterparts. 'My department continues to advise against all travel to Iran and Israel for Irish citizens. 'Irish citizens in the region are advised to be vigilant and to follow the advice of local authorities, including any orders to shelter in place.'
