Analysis: Cardinals face crossroads for the election of the next Pope

The pontificate of Pope Francis deeply shook the Catholic Church.

His 12 -year -old, focusing on a “poor church for the poor,” said Catholicism to leave his comfort zone and settle among the poorest communities.

Francisco opened discussions on topics previously considered unacceptable, such as the role of women. He welcomed LGBTQia+ Catholics as “children of God” and opened the door for divorced who married again to receive communion.

He also attracted attention with his strong criticisms of economic injustice and appeals to the protection of the environment.

Throughout his pontificate, however, Francis faced strong resistance from small but noisy, conservative Catholic groups, as well as some indifference and silent resistance on the part of bishops.

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Now, while 133 voters cardinals prepare for the Conclave, the process at closed doors to elect Francis’s successor, they face a difficult choice: to continue the reforms and vision of the late Pope or slow down and start a change of course.

THE CNN He talked to various cardinals and other church sources for this article. Although some cardinals prefer a more “safe” option, focused on the unit, one that worked closely with Francisco said that such a choice would be the “kiss of death” to the church.

Those who will enter the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to start the process of election of a new Pope cannot fail to notice the demonstration of affection for Francis after his death.

When Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Decano (older member) of the Cardinal College, he spoke warmly about Francisco’s view to the church during the homily on Francisco’s funeral, the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square applauded repeatedly.

And in Timor-Leste, which Francis visited in 2024, about 300,000 people attended Mass by the late Pope on the same day as the funeral. All of this took a retired cardinal to ask his confreres to take note.

“The people of God has already voted on funerals and continued with Francis,” said Cardinal Walter Kasper, 92, Francisco’s theological counselor, to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Francisco’s supporters say that only a Pope willing to continue what Francis has started will be able to continue this.

But the policy of a papal electoral process is subtle. Anyone who campaigns openly to be a Pope immediately disqualifies, and cardinals must vote according to what they understand to be God’s will.

Still, this does not simply mean sitting in your quarters and praying for divine inspiration on how to vote.

Every morning, during the pre-contest period, the cardinals meet in the Paul VI Synod Room for “General Congregations”.

Then, at night, they often continue the discussions as they eat a noodle plate and take a glass of wine, and several were seen eating in Trattorias in Borgo Pio, a neighborhood with airs of village near the Vatican.

A line of fracture is already emerging. Some cardinals want the next Pope to firmly follow the footsteps of Francis and focus on the “diversity” of the Universal Church, whose axis has moved away from Europe and the West.

Others ask the next Pope to emphasize the “unit” – code for a more predictable and constant approach.

Austen Ivereigh, papal biographer and Catholic commentator, puts both positions in this way.

“The first [vertente, de diversidade] He sees Francisco as the first Pope of a New Age in the Church, showing us how to evangelize today and how to unite our differences in a fruitful way, ”he explained.

“The second [vertente, de unidade] He sees the Francisco era as a rupture, an interruption, which now needs to be contained by a return to greater uniformity, ”he added.

Those who advocate the line of “unity” include some of the deceased Pope’s most vehement critics, such as Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a former chief of the Vatican doctrine Francisco replaced in 2017.

Characterizing the last pontificate as an authoritarian divisive, he recently assembled to the New York Times: “All dictators are dividing.”

Most cardinals do not share Müller’s understanding, and clerics have repeatedly expressed appreciation for Francisco’s concern with the marginalized and their ability to connect with people.

But several of them are joining around the slogan “unity” and have much criticism of the last papacy, including their decision to embark on a major process of several years – the Synod – which raised questions about female leadership and how power is exercised in the church.

Some also did not like Francisco’s vehement criticism of priests who like to wear elaborate robes or their offer of blessings to same -sex couples, which was rejected by some bishops in Africa.

The feeling between the “unit” group, which has the support of some retired cardinals, is that the next pope needs less the disruptive style of Francis.

“His first (Pope) duty is to preserve and deepen the unity of the church,” said Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster in London, CNN.

Nichols praised Francis’ pastoral gestures, although he added: “There is probably a balance to be done, but this has not to do mainly with arguments, teachings or doctrine.”

The main candidate for “unity”, it seems, is the cardinal PIETRO PAROLIN Secretary of State of the Holy See.

He would not represent an obvious rupture with Francisco, but his style would be very different. Parolin is an Italian prelate that supervises Vatican diplomacy, which included a provisional agreement with China about the appointment of bishops.

But skeptics point to their lack of experience working on the basis of the church and their superficial homily in a mass for about 200,000 young people in St. Peter’s Square, the day after Francisco’s funeral.

In reading his notes, the cardinal seemed unable to involve the congregation, in strong contrast to Francisco, who often spoke of improvisation and often involved discussions with young people.

Parolin has the support of the large network of diplomats of the Holy See, of which he is part.

Elisabetta Piqué, Vatican Analyst of CNN, who is also a correspondent of La Nación in Argentina, states that retired Italian cardinal and former 83-year-old Dimplomate Beniamino Stella is considered a strong supporter of Parolin.

He would have “surprised” the cardinals on April 30 with an attack on Francis’ initiatives to attribute to the lay papers of governance in the church, stating that the Pontiff made a mistake by separating priestly or episcopal ordination from the Church’s governance power.

Francisco had named the first women to lead the Vatican offices and sought to open more leadership positions for lay people.

Stella’s attack was surprising because he had been Francisco’s trusted collaborator.

Others see the unity’s argument as superficially attractive, but with the wrong focus. One is Cardinal Michael Czerny, who worked in close collaboration with Pope Francis and led the Vatican’s office for human development.

He stated that unity – although essential – cannot be a program or a policy.

“The terrible danger is that if you do this your obsession and try to promote unity as your main goal, you end up in uniformity,” he said.

“And that is exactly what we do not need. We have spent decades trying to learn to go beyond uniformity for true catholicity, true pluralism,” he added.

“It is interesting that words (unity and uniformity) are so close, but the difference is huge. I think one is the kiss of death, and the other is life and abundant life,” he concluded.

“People’s will” in the election of the next Pope

Every night, during the nine official days of mourning that follow the death of a Pope, a cardinal presides over a mass and has the opportunity to reflect on the pontificate of Francis.

It is more difficult for cardinals to openly criticize the late pontiff while others, among them, ask in these masses how cardinals can continue what Francis began.

“I think of the multiple processes of church life reform initiated by Pope Francis, who go beyond religious affiliations,” commented Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar of Rome, in a homily this week.

“People recognized him as a universal pastor. These people carry concerns in their hearts, and I seem to discern in them a question: What will be the processes that began?” He asked.

This need to continue the reforms that began by Francis may favor a candidate like Cardinal Mario Grech, who leads the Synodal Office and has shown the diversity of the Church.

The German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, of a reformist mentality, has been among those who defend a Pope who continues on the line of Francis, as well as Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, who played a leadership role in the Synod.

A “diversity” candidate could come from Asia or be closely linked to the church’s front line missions. In this sense, there is talk of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Philippines, but he is not the only possibility.

Resulting result to predict

The group of cardinals that chooses Francisco’s successor is a diverse body from virtually every corner of the globe.

During his pontificate, Francisco dramatically reshaped the body of cardinals, making nominations to countries that had never had a cardinal before.

But this means that many of them do not know each other well, and during discussions in the Paul VI Synod Room, cardinals have used badges.

The intense interest of the media also seems to have scared clerics, unaccustomed to be surrounded by groups of reporters and cameras upon entering or leaving the Vatican.

It is much harder to predict how such a diverse group will vote. However, it seems that the cardinals of the “peripheries”, which represent the change of axis of the Catholic Church away from Europe, largely share Francisco’s view and are focused mainly on how the next Pope will respond to the crises that the world faces.

Charles Bo, the first cardinal of Myanmar, appointed by Francisco in 2015 and who wants the continuity of the Pope’s reforms, told the CNN by email that the next church leader must “seek peace without truce” and be a voice of moral authority that “call humanity back from the edge of destruction.”

“Religions must come together in a common cause to save humanity. The world urgently needs a new breath of hope – a synodal journey that chooses life rather than death, hope rather than despair. The next pope must be this breath!”

The cardinals who will enter the Sistine Chapel next week for the Conclave are not just voting for a new Pope, but making a crucial decision that will impact the church in the coming years.

Research: Brazilians approve Francis and ask for progressive successor

This content was originally published under review: Cardinals face crossroads for the election of the next Pope on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil