Will papal conclave reject Pope Francis' legacy of inclusion?

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24-04-2025

He was a man of many firsts. The first Latin American pope. The first Jesuit to lead the faith. The first to adopt the name of Francis of Assisi. And, one must imagine, the first pope to ever ask aloud, 'Who am I to judge?' when asked about a gay priest.
In a career studded with moments I didn't expect, there I was on St. Peter's Square, March 13, 2013, watching smoke pouring from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, and when it turned white, the electricity that shot through the throng of thousands was unlike anything I'd ever covered. It's a fair moment to point out that I am not Catholic, but it was impossible not to feel the weight of the moment. Two thousand years of history, and in a moment we would meet the 266th pope.
It wasn't easy to put the pieces together at first. The man who emerged on the balcony wasn't on many of the short lists of the papabile, those considered in the running to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. And even Vatican watchers in the know were asking each other, 'Bergolio? Really?'
But it took very little time for Jorge Bergolio to carve out his own path as Pope Francis, a name chosen for being synonymous with tending to the poor.
Eschewing the red shoes of his predecessors, he was instead shod in a humble black pair that you might refer to as 'sensible.'
His ardent fans would suggest that many of the changes he envisioned for the church were exactly that, sensible, a return to the simplicities of a shepherd. He declined an apartment in the papal palace. And in one of his first acts as pope, he chose to wash the feet of the faithful, not in a church, but in a prison.
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But it will take you no time at all to scan social media to find those who feel his collisions with tradition and tinkering with doctrine were part of a wider global collapse into liberalism.
In 2014, I traveled back to Rome to write and produce a documentary for WDIV called 'Crossroads: The Francis Factor.' I wondered aloud whether a faith can or should change. Must it evolve to keep up with a mutable world, or is a faith built on timeless foundations that must remain rigid against the whims of man?
Pope Francis sought change on a number of fronts.
He clearly saw an expanded role for women in the church (though, it must be noted, he did not see them destined for priesthood). He voiced clear compassion for LGBTQ+ Catholics, including priests.
But I'll long remember a conversation in Rome with author and Vatican journalist John Thavis. He told me that whatever change Pope Francis might wish to ignite, those changes would only go as far as the willingness of the world's bishops to carry them out.
For example, in what seemed to me a profound flourish of Christian eloquence, Francis said, 'The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.' And yet, many divorced or remarried American Catholics remain frustrated by a local parish priest or bishop who feels them unworthy of communion.
Pope Francis inspired debate and conversations in the church that had seemed unimaginable for ages — about whether priests should be allowed to marry, about celibacy, and on and on. The hopes of progressives were in direct inverse proportion to the fears of traditionalists. The true measure of his papacy may come as those issues either survive or fade.
But for many, Pope Francis will be remembered less for what he did than for who he was. His sense of humility and his never-ending pleas for mercy will long be the totems of his legacy for many. And in that way, it seemed very Francis-like that he would dutifully make his final appearance on Easter Sunday and go to his final rest the next day.
So now what?
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It's not lost on me that as football fans wait breathlessly for Thursday night's NFL draft, the preparations are underway for another selection. The Arizona Cardinals are headed to Green Bay, but the rest of the world's cardinals are headed to Rome.
'With the only pick in the 2025 Papal draft, the College of Cardinals selects …'
Who?
There is a sense that the selection of popes moves in a pendular way, that the church moves to the left, the church moves to the right, the church moves back to the middle. And in a different time, that might seem logical. But how will the cardinals gathered in the chapel see the road ahead?
I'm mindful that of the 135 cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave, 108 ― 80% ― were appointed by Pope Francis. And at a time when the world's wealth is concentrated in the hands of so few, one can see the will of many of the electors to stay the Francis course and keep the compass calibrated on the tired, hungry, and poor. (Pope Francis taking on the Trump administration over its immigration policies will ring as a continuing battle cry to some, no doubt.)
But I'm also mindful of those eager to move the church back to a more conservative standing, for example those who didn't take kindly to Francis' restricting use of the traditional Latin Mass after his predecessor, Pope Benedict had allowed it to be celebrated more freely. A number of cardinals, most notably Peter Erdő of Hungary, have spoken out openly against Francis on matters like the blessing of same-sex unions and divorced parishioners taking communion. They will no doubt have their say before we hear habemus papam ('we have a pope') on St. Peter's Square.
Every conclave is worth watching. But in this one, we will bear witness to the way an institution that sees itself as constant and eternal deals with a world in flux.
Proverbs tells us that 'in an abundance of counselors, there is safety.'
Here's hoping 135 is enough.
Devin Scillian is a veteran journalist, author and former Detroit news anchor, serving Detroit viewers for 30 years on WDIV-TV (Channel 4). Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pope Francis' passing leaves Catholic Church at crossroads | Opinion