The world’s attention has been on Rome, as people eagerly await the outcome of the papal conclave, so I’ll use my monthly column here to offer my own thoughts about a new pope.
In a word, he is a leader. Christ made Peter the “rock” upon which he built his Church, and the authority of the Petrine office has been passed down through the centuries to newly elected pontiffs.
While it is a bit simplistic to say that the Holy Spirit picked him, as if the cardinal-electors were divinely possessed when they cast their ballots, it is true to say that God, in his providence, has willed this man to become our new pope. He is the Vicar of Christ, and the visible sign and principle of unity for the universal Church.
Our new pope will certainly be called to exercise this aspect of his office, as he leads the Church through any number of challenges, from liturgical disputes to diverging views of moral theology.
I can also safely say that our new pontiff will be a teacher. As supreme pontiff, his ordinary teaching, or authentic magisterium, regarding Catholic faith and morals requires “religious submission of intellect and will” from all the faithful. This means Catholics should receive his teaching with reverence and strive to understand it, even if it is not defined infallibly.
The Church — and the world — will look to the new Holy Father to apply the truth of the Gospel to contemporary phenomena ranging from artificial intelligence to transgenderism.
And finally, our new Holy Father needs our prayers! Being the universal shepherd of 1.4 billion people is no easy task. The Holy Spirit certainly guarantees that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church, but it’s also true that our new pope can use our intercessory efforts.
Now, as you might have anticipated, here’s a caveat. Everything I’ve said above is true. And yet, I have no idea, while writing this, who our next pope will be.
As providence would have it, I’m filing this column the day before the papal conclave begins May 7. By the time you read it, the cardinals could have elected our next pope. Or they could still be discerning who to choose as Pope Francis’ successor.
However, even without knowing who they will pick, everything I said applies: our next pope will be the Vicar of Christ; he will teach with authority; and he will be responsible for leading the universal Catholic Church at this particular, challenging moment of history, for as long he holds the Petrine office. All of this will be true whether he comes from Asia or Africa, whether he has experience working in the Roman curia or not, or even whether he is more of a reformer or a stabilizer.
Of course, who the pope is matters, too. God doesn’t work in abstractions but through people. The personality of our next pope and the priorities he establishes will make a significant difference in this coming chapter of the Catholic Church. The way he speaks will matter. The gestures he makes will matter. His approach to evangelization will matter. The spiritual devotions and canonization causes he promotes will matter. The countries he chooses to visit will matter. The decisions he makes regarding everything from pastoral outreach to moral theology to ecumenism to the liturgy to Vatican finances to the sex abuse crisis to international diplomacy will matter.
But at the end of the day, he will be the pope. And like the 266 popes before him, we all will be called to receive his teaching, respect his authority, and to pray fervently for him — whoever he may be.
Liedl lives in South Bend, Indiana, and is senior editor for the National Catholic Register.
