While the cardinals flock to Rome so that the Papal conclave decides on the next pope, a movement is underway to bring in a successor which will be more traditional than Pope Francis.
A common belief among people of influence in the Vatican is that Francis, who died on Easter Monday, was loved by the public – but a little too improvised for the more buttoned leadership faction of the Catholic faith.
“They want to calm down and so that the Vatican causes the least stomach burns,” said David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, at Post.
“Pope Francis tended to cause stomach burns. Many cardinals want someone who is less disruptive, more moderate and will cause sorrow at home. They want someone who can run a tighter ship. ”
Francis, born in Buenos Aires, the first pope of the Americas, made many provocative declarations: from the criticism of capitalism to the calls for greater acceptance for divorced and homosexuals by the Church, as well as his support for migrants.
His tone disabled – as to tell the faithful that they did not expect to reproduce “like rabbits” due to a contraception ban – sometimes aroused controversy.
“The cardinals of this enclave will probably wish to return to a model of governance of the church more ordered after 12 years of what has become a very traditional autocracy,” said George Weigel, a Catholic theologian of the public Policy Center in Washington DC, at Post.
But that does not necessarily mean a more “conservative” pope.
“I don’t like these” liberal “or” conservative “categories. The real question is whether the next pope has the ability to teach and embody the fullness of Catholic faith convincingly, “said Weigel.
“At present, there is a large agreement on a candidate for compromise – someone who will preserve the
The autonomy of the bishops by directing their dioceses around the world, rather than reducing them to simple prefects, “said Roberto Regoli, Church history professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
The names are Bandre le Cardinal Pietro Paroline, the Vatican Secretary of State, 70 years old, who has global diplomatic experience, and the Cardinal of the Netherlands, Willem Jacobus Eijk, 71 years old – who opposes the blessings for same -sex couples, therapy between sexes and the ordination of women, making it favored by the Conservatives.
Another is Cardinal Robert Sarah, 79 years old. Organized from Guinea to West Africa, which maintains a strong position on the maintenance of the traditional Latin mass that Francis had made movements to limit.
Anthony Destefano, author of “The Miracle Book: a simple guide to request for impossible”, told the post that “the friends of the hierarchy” shared a global atmosphere: “There is a growing feeling that the church needs to catch its breath and restore part of its balance and its stability.”
A global factors’ celebration should be considered among the voters. Luis Badilla, veteran analyst of the Vatican and former director of Il Sismografo, listed the ongoing wars between nations as well as “the hemorrhage of the faithful, nuns and priests … A revised Catholic sexual morality, relations with China, the financial health of the Church … The Latin Tribidentinelle” and more.
But voters traditionally in mind can have their work cut for them with regard to lobbying during the conclave – in which 10 Americans will be one of those who vote (as many times as necessary until a two -thirds super -majority is reached). This includes Cardinal Timothy Dolan from New York, the Cardinals Robert W. Mcelroy and Wilton Gregory from Washington and Cardinal Blase Cupich from Chicago.
“The problem is that there are not as many conservative candidates at the Cardinals College (that there had been),” said Gibson. “Pope Francis appointed around 80% of Cardinal voters.”
There are questions that the next pope could come from Asia or Africa, where Catholicism is increasing.
In addition to Sarah, a competitor is Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the 77 -year -old archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka – who was described in the post as “perfectly aligned with Benoît XVI”.
Nevertheless, Weigel, author of “The Next Pope”, has his doubts: “Asian and African cardinals will play a considerable role in this conclave, more than ever before, but I think that the chances are very long on an Asian or African pope.”
“The next pope will be almost certainly European – the cardinal and episcopal contingents of Europe remain the clearest to understand the phase that the Church undergoes, because the European churches are the most injured and the most steep,” said Badilla.
He added that “American cardinals will have no realistic chance of electing one of their own … but they can always exert a significant influence.”
A great challenge for the more traditional faction is the unexpected death of Cardinal George Pell of Australia in 2023.
“It was a frequency with Pope Francis, who led him to straighten the finances,” said Gibson. “Pell was almost the conservative campaign director. Now they don’t have a really strong and wise politico inside the conclave. ”
This one leads to the white smoke that arches the Sistine Chapel, indicating that there is a new Saint-Father, Regoli said that a thing is clear:
“By solving the question of succession, the cardinals choose not only the next pope but also renders
Judgment on the inheritance of his predecessor. »»
