,First, the Pope is dead. Where were you when he died? My sexton informed me of it on Monday morning as I entered the sacristy for Mass. Later that day, I was at the uber-secularist University of California, San Francisco, to see an eye doctor. The scheduler kindly made my next appointment and then, noticing my Roman collar, said “my condolences.” I didn’t know what she meant at first, but then realized she was offering thoughtful sympathy for the death of the Pope. From there I popped by Costco and the checkout man, noticing my Roman collar, said with some energy “and what are we going to do now?” I was pleasantly surprised, as one who wears a Roman collar 18 hours a day, that the Roman Pope is still a thing for modern man. It seems that we do want, after all, a papa, even if most of the time we ignore him. When he dies, some of us get rather nervous. Most of our troubles, one sociologist observed, are “daddy wounds.”
From Pope Francis’ death to his funeral, I was offering Masses for his soul. Now that he is safely in the ground, I’ve switched to offering Masses for the Conclave, because…
Second, the Church must elect another Pope. In anticipation of this event, some clever screenwriters came up with a movie called “Conclave,” which I have not and will not see. A friend did see it and told me the music and cinematography are exquisite, and at the end, it is revealed that the new pope is … wait for it! … non-binary. “Of course!” I laughed. “It has to be like that today!” We live and breathe politics and the ideologies du jour that fuel our politics.
The recent papacy had some strengths and some weaknesses, as do all papacies. Pope Francis’ cardinal weakness, it seems to me, was to politicize the Office of Peter. How much of that was his fault is open to debate, but his policy pronouncements and PR statements forced people into one of two political camps: either pro-Francis or anti-Francis. This was a great tragedy for the Church, for the Pope is to be father of us all, the visible source of unity to all his spiritual children. The Pope is the vicar of Christ, not merely a political influencer. The Pope bears the Christian Gospel, the perennial truths that lead to eternal life, not merely human proposals for improving our brief moment in history.
I’ve been a bit disappointed, and quite bored, with both “liberal” and “conservative” speculations on the upcoming Conclave. Most of us are thinking about the papacy now as merely an exercise in politics. The word “Conclave,” con-clavus in Latin, means “locked together. After all 133 cardinals are comfortably seated in the Sistine Chapel, a Vatican functionary locks the door behind them, pocketing the clavus, the key, and there they remain, liberal and conservative, with the Holy Spirit. Their one task is to reach an agreement on the next Pope. Most of us seem to have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is also in the room.
Recently a group of editors from one of my favorite journals speculated on who will be the next Pope. Many gave their best guess, some tongue in cheek, but only one editor kept his Catholic head on straight. He said simply “I think the next pope should be whomever the cardinals elect.” I think that’s the best approach, along with lots of prayers for the Church at this time. As for me, I am offering the Mass pro eligendo summo pontifice every chance I get until the next vicar of Christ is announced.
From Pope Francis’ death to his funeral, I was offering Masses for his soul. Now that he is safely in the ground, I’ve switched to offering Masses for the Conclave, because…
Second, the Church must elect another Pope. In anticipation of this event, some clever screenwriters came up with a movie called “Conclave,” which I have not and will not see. A friend did see it and told me the music and cinematography are exquisite, and at the end, it is revealed that the new pope is … wait for it! … non-binary. “Of course!” I laughed. “It has to be like that today!” We live and breathe politics and the ideologies du jour that fuel our politics.
The recent papacy had some strengths and some weaknesses, as do all papacies. Pope Francis’ cardinal weakness, it seems to me, was to politicize the Office of Peter. How much of that was his fault is open to debate, but his policy pronouncements and PR statements forced people into one of two political camps: either pro-Francis or anti-Francis. This was a great tragedy for the Church, for the Pope is to be father of us all, the visible source of unity to all his spiritual children. The Pope is the vicar of Christ, not merely a political influencer. The Pope bears the Christian Gospel, the perennial truths that lead to eternal life, not merely human proposals for improving our brief moment in history.
I’ve been a bit disappointed, and quite bored, with both “liberal” and “conservative” speculations on the upcoming Conclave. Most of us are thinking about the papacy now as merely an exercise in politics. The word “Conclave,” con-clavus in Latin, means “locked together. After all 133 cardinals are comfortably seated in the Sistine Chapel, a Vatican functionary locks the door behind them, pocketing the clavus, the key, and there they remain, liberal and conservative, with the Holy Spirit. Their one task is to reach an agreement on the next Pope. Most of us seem to have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is also in the room.
Recently a group of editors from one of my favorite journals speculated on who will be the next Pope. Many gave their best guess, some tongue in cheek, but only one editor kept his Catholic head on straight. He said simply “I think the next pope should be whomever the cardinals elect.” I think that’s the best approach, along with lots of prayers for the Church at this time. As for me, I am offering the Mass pro eligendo summo pontifice every chance I get until the next vicar of Christ is announced.
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