Making your own rules

Pope Benedict has changed the rules for the election of the next pope, restoring the requirement of a two-thirds majority for election according to the Associated Press. Pope John Paul II's change to election rules allowed for a simple majority to elect a new pope after several days of balloting.

Changing these rules is nothing new--every modern pope has done it at some point in his career. B16's change corrects a problem with JPII's in that it guarantees a compromise candidate. Many feared under JPII's rules, the strong conservative camp would hold out for one of their own. They probably thought they had one in Ratzinger, but he's proving to be a little bit harder to pin down.

Of course, it's a bit odd that the pope can establish the rules for electing their successors. Glad our politicians can't do that!