Diplomacy, abuse, and rifts: Pope Leo XIV's challenges

Kuwait Times

10-05-2025

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV faces an array of challenges, from disputes over the place of women in the church, the Vatican's financial woes and the ongoing clerical child abuse scandal. After the death of the late Pope Francis, the then-cardinal Robert Francis Prevost said there was 'still much to do' within the Church. 'We cannot stop, we cannot go back,' he added.
Unity
Uniting a divided church by making peace between the Church's conservative and liberal wings will be one of his main tasks. The speed of his election — in barely 24 hours — augurs well for broad support from the College of Cardinals. But he will have to perform a delicate balancing act regarding Francis's legacy. During his 12-year papacy, Francis often riled traditionalists, particularly in the United States and Africa, with his efforts to open up the Catholic Church. The issue of 'synodality' — the involvement of Church actors at all levels in decisions of policy — will also be central.
Sexual abuse
Francis brought in measures to combat sexual abuse, from opening up Vatican archives to lay courts to making it compulsory to report abuse to Church authorities. But victims' associations say he did not do enough, and the issue remains a major challenge for the Church, with the scandals showing no sign of abating. It will not be an easy one to solve. In many African and Asian countries, the subject remains taboo. Even in Europe, Italy has yet to launch an independent investigation into abuse allegations.
Diplomacy
As well as being leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the pope is the head of the tiny Vatican City State. His voice carries weight in a world wracked by numerous conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza and Sudan. The pope's opinions have consequences. Francis at various times angered Israel, Ukraine, Russia and the United States with his comments on conflicts and immigrants. Relations with Washington will be particularly scrutinized, as some have suggested Leo XIV's election shows the Church distancing itself from the Christian nationalism growing in the US. The rise of populist politics, the development of artificial intelligence and the climate emergency are all issues that will demand the pope's attention, as will immigration. And then there are the delicate relations with China, not least the thorny issue of appointing Catholic bishops in the country.
Women's place
The place of women in the Church will also continue to spark debate. Francis appointed women to key positions, including in January naming the first woman prefect of a Curia department. Hopes that he would allow women to be named as deacons — a job seen as a step on the road to priesthood — were dashed, however, at the last assembly on the future of the Church in October last year. Francis also increased the role of the laity in the Church, another measure that was opposed by traditionalists and yet didn't go far enough for reformers.
Fewer priests
Leo XIV inherits a Church that is growing in the southern hemisphere but is declining in Europe. The total number of priests spreading the faith is also falling — albeit slowly. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of priests around the world dropped by 0.2 percent to 406,996, despite an uptick in Africa and Asia. Though church attendance is different from one region to another, the rise of evangelical churches, particularly in Africa, is creating stiff competition.
Finances
Pope Francis reformed the Vatican's scandal-tainted finances, but there remains much to be done—and cardinals were briefed on the situation ahead of the conclave. The Holy See continues to face a chronic budget deficit, amid a decline in donations from the faithful. The Vatican reported a consolidated loss of almost 70 million euros for 2023, from a revenue of 1.2 billion euros ($1.35 billion).
Style
Francis ripped up the rulebook for popes, eschewing papal apartments to live in rooms in the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse, making his own phone calls and writing his own replies to letters. But he also faced criticism for an authoritarian management style as well as his tendency to speak his mind, often leaving diplomats scrambling to explain his public statements. Leo XIV will have to find a way to show his own closeness to the faithful without trying to imitate Francis, forging his own path. - AFP