There's now a conclave in Vatican City which is about to elect a  new pope. Many Roman Catholics are saying that there's politics  involved in choosing a would-be pope. I believe there's really politics  in choosing a pope. We must remember that the pope is not only the head  of the Roman Catholic Church; he's also the head- -of-state of the  city-state of Vatican. Vatican City became an independent state in 1929  by the Treaty of Lateran. Vatican City today is represented in some  international organizations and the pope has envoys on special missions.  Hence, electing a pope also means electing the head-of-state of Vatican  City. Therefore, there's really politics when it comes to choosing a  pope due to the fact that the pope will also be the head-of-state of  Vatican City. The said city-state has an absolute elective monarchy. The  would-be pontiff will assume the position of being the absolute monarch  of Vatican City once elected to the position.

Vatican City has its own military force and police, It has  its own government and flag. It is a key-player in today's global  affairs. The pope, aside from being the leader of the Roman Catholic  Church, will also be the "absolute king" of the city-state of Vatican.  Vatican is the smallest independent state in today's world when it comes  to territory's size and population. The total population of the city is  only more than 800 people.

There are certainly lobbyists among cardinal-electors  themselves who would like to influence the voting of their  fellow-electors. Why? It's because of the fact that such opportunity  might lead them to gain some key positions in the Vatican once the  person they favored to become the pope actually wins the papacy.

The conclave would elect a new pope who must solve such  problems like sex-abuse scandals by clerics, financial difficulties  within the Roman Catholic Church, bureaucratic infighting, charges of  corruption on certain church leaders, shortage of priests and the  decreasing number of church-goers in both Europe and North America.

Many Roman Catholic thinkers want to enlarge the electoral  college that would elect a new pope. Such thinkers want to include  bishops as electors for the would-be pope. Personally, I believe that  all sectors of the Roman Catholic Church should be represented in the  conclave. I think priests, nuns, church workers, active church-goers and  lay-preachers should also be among those who would vote for a would-be  pope. I hope that future conclaves can involve priests, nuns, church  workers, active church-goers and lay-preachers as electors of a would-be  pope to make the process of choosing a new pope a little bit democratic  and truly-participatory. Since the Roman Catholic Church is a  "universal church", future conclaves should involve all sectors of the  church. All sectors of the Roman Catholic Church should have a voice in  choosing a new pope since such would show the universality of Roman  Catholicism.