Position available: Pope and chief pastor of the Catholic Church

Wanted: a charismatic and capable leader for the Catholic Church, a religious organization responsible for the spiritual and temporal well-being of an estimated 1.3 billion followers, and all with whom they interact. The successful candidate must, first and foremost, demonstrate significant and sustained alignment with the characteristics and approach of the Church’s founder – Jesus Christ, i.e., be compassionate, humble, willing to speak truth to power, and oriented toward serving “the least of my brothers and sisters,” aka, those who are poor and excluded by the world. Must also be willing and able to delegate authority, both spiritual and administrative, to men and women who are committed and capable of preaching the good news of God’s love for all to the ends of the earth.

In the words of our founder, Jesus Christ: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35

Before I go any further in describing what I hope will be the criteria the Cardinals will use in seeking to fill this all-important position, I want to write a bit about the selection process. There are several subtleties and quirks about the 2025 Conclave (and the Cardinals who will participate in it) that distinguish it from previous conclaves. Although I have seen the movie “Conclave,” and read the book it is based on, there are several scenarios in it that make it good entertainment but misrepresent the actual process. I’ll address that as I go along.

Here we go.

Conclave is the word the Catholic Church uses to describe the process of choosing the next pope after the previous pope dies or resigns. It is a secretive and structured process defined by canon law.

In brief, the Conclave to elect the next pontiff of the Catholic Church must happen at the Vatican in Rome, beginning 15 - 20 days after death or resignation of the pope. Cardinal-electors - 133 in number at this time – will vote according to precedence up to four times a day until we have a pope. I believe the movie “Conclave” portrayed this solemn process accurately. There is no debating or discussing allowed during the voting process. As was also accurately portrayed in the movie, actual voting occurs in the Sistine Chapel under the (you choose) inspiring or fear-inducing art of Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment.” The successful candidate must receive two-thirds of the available votes – in this case 89 – to be elected.

The Conclave to select a successor to Pope Francis will officially begin on Wednesday, May 7^th, sixteen days after his death. During that interim period, a series of closed-door meetings, called “general congregations” lay the groundwork for the next pope’s selection. In these gatherings, Cardinals, whether they be candidates for the top job or not, eligible to vote in the coming Conclave or not, discuss where the Church stands in this moment. What are its challenges and its opportunities? What qualities and experience must the next pope have in order to successfully meet the moment?

Although there are over 250 men who hold the position of Cardinal in the church, only 135 of them are eligible to vote during the conclave, and two of those have already declared they will not participate because of illness. A cardinal must be 80 or younger to be eligible to vote. Pope Paul VI instituted this age limit following Vatican II to enable the Church to change, albeit slowly and deliberately. (And, in my opinion, not be strangled by the old guard!)

Although these pre-vote “general congregations” are closed to the public, some information is emerging – in either “off the record” anonymous statements, or in lightly veiled interviews given by various Cardinals. Perhaps seeking to sway opinion inside or outside of the Conclave? The maneuvering and strategizing is something that the movie “Conclave” got pretty right. This is, after all, an election and the way to advance one candidate and block another is to influence the electors. Cardinals are human beings, and they are not immune to “politicking” and counting votes for or against candidates.

One thing I am paying attention to is the actual makeup of the voting members of the College of Cardinals. Because of the length of his papacy, Pope Francis has appointed many of the men who will elect his successor. Of the Cardinals who will vote in this Conclave, 108 or 80% were chosen by Francis, 22 or 16% by Benedict and the remaining 5 or 4% by John Paul II. This is to be expected with any long-tenured Pope.

Does that mean a cardinal in Pope Francis’s style and with his priorities will be elected? Not necessarily. As you may remember from my earlier post, How Bishops are Chosen, Pope Francis preferred to appoint bishops who were good pastors, close to the people they shepherd. In addition, he made a concerted effort to disperse these appointments to parts of the world that never had a cardinal before. The result of this will be to move the center of gravity of the 2025 Conclave away from Western Europe to the wider world. Although the European cardinals (including 17 from Italy!) still make up the largest block, at this Conclave they will not be a majority, making up only about 40% of the total. That means 60% of Cardinal-electors will come from outside of the traditional power center of the Church with 18% from Asia, 18% from Latin America/Caribbean, 12% from Sub-Saharan Africa, 10% from North America, and 3% from the Middle East and North Africa.

This dispersion may impact the choice of the next pope in another way as well. Because of the diversity of backgrounds and geographic homes of the cardinals appointed by Francis, many of these men do not know each other well. Although a majority of Cardinals from around the world came to Rome for the funeral proceedings, a number only arrived after the fact. Those who arrived earlier have the advantage of having had more time to meet informally to get to know one another and begin to assess potential “papabile” - the unofficial term for those considered candidates for this top job.

The short amount of time that the Cardinal electors have to get to know one another could have a couple of other surprising impacts. 1) One group of Cardinals that may have an advantage in this scenario is cardinals who are heads of religious orders. In exercising their authority as head of their orders, they would have traveled around the world meeting priests and bishops in their respective orders, making decisions, solving problems, etc. 2) Cardinals from another group that might be more well-known than average are cardinals who work in Rome as head of the various Dicasteries, or Vatican departments, or that held positions of power under Francis, like his Secretary of State.

As loved by many as he was and as ground-breaking as some of his decisions were, Francis was only human and left behind some issues that his successor will have to address: the sexual abuse crisis, women’s role in the Church, the Synod on Synodality, among others. Will the pendulum of Church leadership swing away from a pastoral, accompanying approach to a clearer, doctrinal approach?

What I think the Church needs most, what the world needs most, is someone who inspires Catholics to act as true followers of Christ – humble, self-sacrificing, and compassionate toward friends and enemies alike, both near and far, and especially to those who are poor and excluded.

I do think doctrinal clarity is important. Holding and teaching clear standards is extraordinarily important in these days of switching sides and tolerance for bad behavior. Calling yourself a Catholic or a Christian has to mean something in the world today. However, it can’t mean just “rule follower.” It must mean follower of Jesus Christ – that compassionate, courageous, patient man who healed, forgave, encouraged, and loved to his last breath. That man who saved his criticism for the proud and the entitled – especially when those people held positions of authority in politics or religion.

Well, we are in the hands of the Holy Spirit. I pray that the spirit of fear is not the abiding spirit of the 2025 Conclave. Rather, I pray that the spirit of hope and trust prevails. We don’t expect perfection in our next pope. There is only one man who can lay claim to that state of grace. Whoever our next pope is, he will need our prayers, our support, and above all our engagement to enable the Church to be what our children need, what the world needs in the days to come.

PS: In the gospel this past Sunday, we heard Jesus ask Simon/Peter that seminal question “Do you love me?” not once but three times. That gospel was also the gospel Pope Francis chose for his funeral service, John 21:1-19). Coincidence? What others call coincidence, I usually call the Holy Spirit. Three times in that passage, Jesus asked Peter, the one who he chose to lead his Church, “Do you love me?” Each time, Peter said “yes,” and each time Jesus told him to “feed, tend,” care for “my lambs, my sheep,” my people.

This feels like advice our Church needs to take to heart in this moment.

Holy Spirit, send our Church a good shepherd. We place our trust in you. AMEN