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How did European monarchs use the right of exclusion in past papal elections?

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By the 17th century, the Roman Catholic Church had tacitly accepted a "right of veto," or exclusion, allowing Catholic monarchs of Europe to influence papal elections.1

To exercise this right, a government would charge a specific cardinal with the mission of informing the papal conclave that certain candidates were considered inadmissible for the papacy. This secular interference successfully prevented the election of various cardinals in 1721, 1730, 1758, and 1830.1

The practice was used for the final time in 1903, when Austria blocked the election of Cardinal Mariano Rampolla. Following this event, Pope Pius X formally abolished the right of exclusion. He further protected the integrity of the electoral process by threatening excommunication against any cardinal who accepted a mission from a government to propose a veto against a candidate.1