Passing the Keys: Modern Cardinals, Conclaves and the Election of the Next Pope - Hardcover

A masterful revelation of the strategies and politics that infuse the election of popes in this century... Dr. Burkle-Young is... the chief American expert on the history of the College of Cardinals and its future. -- George Allan Cate, University of Maryland Well-documented, well-footnoted and well-written. -- Father John T. Myler Catholic Times

Pope John Paul II's successor is already the subject of informal negotiations among the College of Cardinals. In Passing the Keys, Burkle-Young illustrates how the process of electing modern popes operates, providing in-depth case histories of the elections of the popes from Leo XIII in 1878 to John Paul II in 1978. Burkle-Young explores the most pressing theological issues-including the current state of the priesthood and the debates waged over contraception and women as priests and bishops-that now guide the College and influence the future of the Vatican.