Abuse scandals, disunity and diplomacy the new pope's challenges
An artist painting a mural of Pope Francis in the Villa 21-24 neighborhood is seen during a pilgrimage in Buenos Aires on April 26. PHOTO: AFP
Vatican City - Pope Francis' successor will face a litany of challenges, from the place of women and the LGBTQ community in the Catholic Church, to diplomatic challenges in a conflict-riven world.
Unity
Uniting a divided church will be one of the main tasks facing the new pope.
During his 12-year-long papacy, Francis often came under fire for his more liberal policies, such as welcoming migrants and restricting the use of the Latin Mass.
Traditionalists in the United States and Africa in particular were angered by his efforts to give lay people and women a greater role in the Church, and his decision to open the door to blessing same-sex unions.
His successor will have to make peace between the Church's conservative and liberal fringes.
'A pope always brings people together,' Luxembourger Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich told reporters.
'That unity in the church will be very important. But you don't unify the church by going backwards.'
Sexual abuse
Though he brought in a series of measures to combat clerical sexual abuse, victims associations said they were disappointed with Francis, accusing him of not doing enough.
The issue remains a major challenge for the Church, with the scandals showing no sign of abating.
And it will not be an easy 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 Vatican 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.
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 a woman would be named a deacon were dashed, however, at the last world assembly.
'The role of women certainly depends to a large degree on the cultures the churches belong to and there are many differences, not just from one continent to another, but from one nation to another,' Mr Roberto Regoli, a priest and professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, told AFP.
'So it's more a cultural than theological question.'
Fewer priests
Francis' successor will lead Catholics living in communities around the world.
The number of faithful is growing in the southern hemisphere but it is declining in Europe.
And the total number of priests spreading the faith is falling – albeit slowly.
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of priests around the world dropped by 0.2 per cent 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.
Style
Francis ripped up the rulebook, rejecting luxury, and was at his happiest when mingling with his flock.
He refused to live in the papal apartments, opting for rooms at a Vatican guest house instead.
He would make his own phone calls, visit the optician, write his own replies to letters, and accept mate – the traditional herbal infusion from South America – offered to him by pilgrims.
But he also faced criticism for an authoritarian management style as well as his tendency to speak his mind and go off script, sometimes embarrassing or dismaying aides with his public statements.
While the next pope will hope to show he too is a people's pontiff, the Vatican would doubtless appreciate a Catholic leader better at sticking to the official line. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump is provoking LA to fire up his base
Protestes waving Mexican and US flags face off with police during a protest in downtown Los Angeles, on June 9. PHOTO: AFP History sometimes needs a push. In sending his immigration police to disrupt Los Angeles, US President Donald Trump recognises this. He can now use the predictable backlash to seize more power. Mr Trump's administration already stands out historically for aggregating powers to itself that the US Constitution explicitly vests in Congress. The Constitution does empower the president to deploy the army domestically, but only if he declares the nation to be in a state of insurrection, as Abraham Lincoln did in the 1860s. The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked without a state governor's consent was by Lyndon Johnson in 1965 to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Los Angeles protests are national security risk, Trump tells soldiers
Street demonstrations in Southern California have been underway since June 6, when activists clashed with sheriff's deputies. PHOTO: AFP Police clash with protesters who had shut down Highway 101 in Los Angeles on June 8. PHOTO: MARK ABRAMSON/NYTIMES A man faces members of security forces outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal building in Los Angeles on June 10. PHOTO: REUTERS FORT BRAGG, North Carolina - US President Donald Trump used a speech honouring soldiers on June 10 to defend his decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles in a confrontation over his immigration policy. 'Generations of Army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness,' Mr Trump told soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. 'What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags,' Mr Trump added. Mr Trump's visit to Fort Bragg, home to some 50,000 active-duty soldiers, followed his move to deploy 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in an escalating response to street protests over his immigration policies. The Republican president said the military deployment was needed to protect federal property and personnel. California's Democratic-led government has said the move is an abuse of power and an unnecessary provocation. 'Not only are these service members defending the honest citizens of California, they're also defending our Republic itself,' Mr Trump said. 'They are heroes.' Street demonstrations in Southern California have been underway since June 6, when activists clashed with sheriff's deputies. In North Carolina, Mr Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth took part in long-scheduled commemorations of the US Army's 250th anniversary, watching soldiers demonstrate a special forces assault on a building and use a long-range missile launcher. It was the first in a series of celebrations of the Army anniversary involving Mr Trump, ahead of a major parade in Washington on June 14. Earlier on June 10 in the Oval Office, Mr Trump warned against demonstrations at that parade, telling reporters 'they're going to be met with very big force.' The FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department have said there are no credible threats to the event. Federal agents fire flash-bang smoke grenades at protestors near a Home Depot on June 7. PHOTO: EPA-EFE The week's Army commemorations combine Mr Trump's penchant for patriotic pomp and his political positioning as a law-and-order president. The June 14 celebrations in Washington include thousands of troops, dozens of military aircraft and coincide with Mr Trump's 79th birthday. The Army was established on June 14, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. Earlier in 2025, Mr Trump restored the name Fort Bragg to the base, one of the largest in the world, despite a federal law that prohibits honouring generals who fought for the South during the Civil War. His administration says the name now honours a different Bragg - Private First Class Roland Bragg, who served during World War II. In 2023, the base had been renamed Fort Liberty, a change driven by racial justice protests. Since launching his second term in office in January, Mr Trump has made the military a focus of his efforts, with his defence secretary working to purge transgender service members, top officials appointed under his Democratic predecessor and even books deemed out of step. The president's cost-cutting government reforms have largely spared the Defence Department's nearly US$1 trillion (S$1.29 trillion) annual budget. He has pledged to avoid international conflict while launching new weapons programmes and increasing the use of the military domestically, including in immigration enforcement. Mr Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lock down the US-Mexico border, setting the ICE border enforcement agency a daily goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants. Demonstrators in Los Angeles have assembled, among other places, at a government facility where immigrants are detained. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
California asks court to block US troop deployment in LA
California on June 10 asked a court for a restraining order to prevent US troops being deployed on the streets of Los Angeles, after President Donald Trump sent in Marines and the National Guard. PHOTO: AFP LOS ANGELES - California on June 10 asked a court for a restraining order to prevent US troops being deployed on the streets of Los Angeles, after President Donald Trump sent in Marines and the National Guard. 'Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy,' Governor Gavin Newsom said. 'Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President. We ask the court to immediately block these unlawful actions.' The move came five days after immigration raids around Los Angeles ignited demonstrations – mostly peaceful, but with sporadic clashes between protesters and law enforcement. The violence – including the burning of several cars on June 8 – has been eye-catching but isolated, and local officials have insisted they remain in control. But Mr Trump and his administration have argued otherwise and taken the extraordinary step of deploying thousands of National Guard troops and even active duty Marines – over Mr Newsom's protests. The president and his Pentagon chief, Mr Pete Hegseth, have 'have sought to bring military personnel and a 'warrior culture' to the streets of cities and towns where Americans work, go to school, and raise their families,' according to the court filing, seen by AFP. 'To put it bluntly, there is no invasion or rebellion in Los Angeles; there is civil unrest that is no different from episodes that regularly occur in communities throughout the country, and that is capable of being contained by state and local authorities working together,' it said. 'And nothing is stopping the President from enforcing the laws through use of ordinary, civilian mechanisms available to federal officers.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
