At this week’s meeting of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Walter Brandmüller suggested that the rules of a papal conclave might be changed, allowing only the cardinals based in Rome to vote in the papal election.

Cardinal Brandmüller, the retired president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, reasoned that cardinals living outside Rome would not be familiar with the decision-making process at the Vatican, and may not be familiar with each other. Therefore, he said, they might be easily influenced by various lobbying campaigns.

The German cardinal suggested that cardinals not based in Rome would remain members of the College of Cardinals, but not voting members— much like those who are over 80 years of age. Cardinal Brandmüller himself is 93, and ineligible to participate in the next conclave.