Suranis answered and I'm focusing on the bits in her answer I'm interested in:
OK, so according to you, there is no technical reason a Woman cannot be the Pope.Lets look at the question with some seriousness
Well firstly, there is pretty much zero chance that the College of Cardinals is going to elect someone that is not one of them. BUT there is no technical reason under canon law why they couldn't, and Commoners have been elected Pope before. Not for hundreds of years. but only Italians were elected Pope for hundreds of Years before John Paul II as well
And there is no reason why, under canon law, why that commoner cannot be a Woman. Or a Nun. Do they count as women to certain people? Answers on the back of a $10 note to...
No, if you want a female Pope you need to start doing things like nominating worthy candidates to the Cardinals. It's a political process, and you have to do it politically. Don't expect them to nominate a Woman over other worthy candidates just because its a Woman. Present worthy candidates. Credit the fact the people involved are intelligent and that this is a serious matter, and behave like its serious. Then people will listen seriously.
Except that the Pope is not 'just' the 'Head of State' of the Vatican State and the head of the Church, the Pope is first of all the 'Bishop of Rome' And don't Bishops have to be Priests? Yes. Yes they do. A Bishop is a 'kind' of priest. (Just as not all dogs are dachshunds but all dachshunds are dogs; so too not all Priests are Bishops, but all Bishops are Priests).
According to Andrew Boyd: Professor of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue at the Pontifical Beda College, Rome in reply to a question on Quora
To sum up my thoughts, the Pope is a Bishop. Since women cannot be Priests, women cannot be Bishops and ipso facto cannot be the Bishop of Rome.To be elected bishop of Rome, you have to be:Those are the only canonical, non-negotiable requirements. Other canonical requirements for bishops include:[1]
- Male
- At least 35 years of age
- A fully initiated Catholic in good standing
Many of these have exceptions either built into the law or in practice, however. “Good reputation” is too subjective to be meaningful. Even the current pope, as well as many bishops, does not have a doctorate.
- At least five years experience as a presbyter
- A doctorate in theology or canon law, or similar subject
- A good reputation
...
If he is not yet a bishop (whether he is deacon, priest, or lay) he will be ordained bishop immediately after election.[3] So, to be elected pope, one need not be a cardinal nor even ordained, but to be pope, in fact, one cannot be simply a priest (a presbyter), but must be a bishop.
To quote Dr. Boyd again: (another Quora post that I can't figure out how to link)
So yes, things have changed over the years, (like the minimum age, non-cardinals have been elected (600 years ago), non-Bishop(500 years ago); laymen (200 years ago and was ordained immediately) but according to CURRENT canonical law, the Pope CANNOT be female.In various questions, a lot of misunderstanding of the office, title, and various roles of the pope is displayed. I hope this summary of a longer article I’m working on will clarify a bit:
The pope is bishop of Rome.
All other titles and offices are derivative of that one fact: