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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As the Conclave Continues, Catholicism Is at a Crossroads
Cardinals attends the opening of the Conclave in the sistine Chapel on May 07, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinals of the Catholic Church have descended on Vatican City to commence the papal conclave, the secretive voting process held in the Sistine Chapel that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. Credit - Vatican Media/Vatican Pool—Corbis/Getty Images As the cardinals gather in Rome to choose the new leader for 1.4 billion Catholics, the Catholic Church once again stands at a crossroads. The animating question facing the conclave is whether the cardinals want the Church to continue in the direction of a broader, more capacious understanding of the faith as articulated by Francis, or will they revert to the conservative, more traditionalist ways of his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The Church has stood at similar crossroads several times in the modern era. From 1545 to 1560, the Council of Trent met to determine the Church's response to the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar prior to his excommunication in 1520, had pointed out the corruptions of medieval Catholicism and emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith (not works) and what he called the priesthood of believers. The question before the prelates at the Council of Trent was whether to acknowledge the excesses and reform the Church in the direction of the more stripped-down Protestantism that Luther and other Reformers advocated. Trent, however, moved in the opposite direction, becoming 'more Catholic' in its affirmation of the importance of the sacraments and good works. This hyper-Catholicism can be traced most graphicly in the Baroque and Rococo architecture that followed, which John Updike described as 'the incredible visual patisserie of baroque church interiors, mock-marble pillars of paint-veined gesso melting upward into trompe-l'oeil ceilings bubbling with cherubs, everything gilded and tipped and twisted and skewed to titillate the eye, huge wedding-cake interiors meant to stun Hussite peasants back into the bosom of Catholicism.' Another crossroads for modern Catholicism occurred following the death of Pope Pius XII in October 1958. The cardinals opted for what they thought was a 'caretaker' pope, 76-year-old Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who took the name John XXIII. He turned out to be anything but a caretaker. Declaring that it was 'time to throw open the windows of the Church and let the fresh air of the spirit blow through,' he convened the Second Vatican Council, which reformed Church theology and liturgy (including mass in the vernacular) and, its supporters say, brought the Church into the modern world. John XXIII's successor, Pope Paul VI faced another crossroads shortly after the conclusion of Vatican II. John XXIII had formed a study group, the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control, to review the Church's teaching on the matter. The commission, which Paul VI expanded, included laywomen, married couples, theologians and bishops. The overwhelming recommendation was that the Church should revise its teaching to allow artificial means of birth control. Paul VI, however, rejected that recommendation and issued the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae on July 25, 1968. The only acceptable means of birth control, the Church decreed, was the rhythm method, which critics promptly dubbed 'Vatican Roulette.' Humanae Vitae persuaded many Catholics, especially in the United States, that the Pope was hopelessly out of touch. Second-wave feminism, the drive for upward mobility, career opportunities and the desire for smaller families prompted many Catholic households to ignore the papal directive on birth control. As many studies have shown, Catholic attendance declined after 1968; many Catholics felt for the first time that it was all right to disobey the pope and still consider themselves good Catholics. Now, following the death of Pope Francis, the Church once again stands at a crossroads. Conservatives, those Mark Massa, a historian and a Jesuit, calls 'Catholic Fundamentalists,' are pressing for a pope who will reverse course. They criticize Francis for making overtures to the LGBTQ community and for permitting priests to bless same-sex unions. They claim he has 'feminized' the Church by calling out what others describe as 'toxic masculinity.' They dislike the fact that he restricted use of the traditional Latin mass and entertained the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood. The other faction of the Church points out that Francis graciously sought to welcome marginal people—gays, lesbians, divorced people—into the Church and evinced concern for immigrants and for the poor, positions that have demonstrable appeal to a younger generation of Catholics. They also appreciate his attention to the ravages of climate change. The term liberal in the context of the Roman Catholic Church may be an oxymoron, but this second camp seeks to perpetuate the work and the legacy of Francis. The conclave stands at a crossroads, and the person the cardinals choose will likely determine the direction of the Church for years to come. As an Episcopal priest, not a Catholic, I have only a rooting interest in the conclave, and I'm loath to make predictions. But I recall the lyrics of 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia,' by the Charlie Daniels Band, a fiddler's faceoff between Satan and a young man named Johnny. The devil bets a fiddle of gold against Johnny's soul and leads off with the bow across the strings, making 'an evil hiss.' The rendition may be technically perfect, but it lacks soul. When Johnny takes his turn, the fiddle vibrates with verve and passion—and he prevails. Whoever prevails in the cardinals' deliberations will inherit a church with plenty of gilding but still in need of some of the verve and passion that Francis brought to the task. Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Time Magazine
As the Conclave Continues, Catholicism Is at a Crossroads
As the cardinals gather in Rome to choose the new leader for 1.4 billion Catholics, the Catholic Church once again stands at a crossroads. The animating question facing the conclave is whether the cardinals want the Church to continue in the direction of a broader, more capacious understanding of the faith as articulated by Francis, or will they revert to the conservative, more traditionalist ways of his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The Church has stood at similar crossroads several times in the modern era. From 1545 to 1560, the Council of Trent met to determine the Church's response to the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar prior to his excommunication in 1520, had pointed out the corruptions of medieval Catholicism and emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith (not works) and what he called the priesthood of believers. The question before the prelates at the Council of Trent was whether to acknowledge the excesses and reform the Church in the direction of the more stripped-down Protestantism that Luther and other Reformers advocated. Trent, however, moved in the opposite direction, becoming 'more Catholic' in its affirmation of the importance of the sacraments and good works. This hyper-Catholicism can be traced most graphicly in the Baroque and Rococo architecture that followed, which John Updike described as 'the incredible visual patisserie of baroque church interiors, mock-marble pillars of paint-veined gesso melting upward into trompe-l'oeil ceilings bubbling with cherubs, everything gilded and tipped and twisted and skewed to titillate the eye, huge wedding-cake interiors meant to stun Hussite peasants back into the bosom of Catholicism.' Another crossroads for modern Catholicism occurred following the death of Pope Pius XII in October 1958. The cardinals opted for what they thought was a 'caretaker' pope, 76-year-old Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who took the name John XXIII. He turned out to be anything but a caretaker. Declaring that it was 'time to throw open the windows of the Church and let the fresh air of the spirit blow through,' he convened the Second Vatican Council, which reformed Church theology and liturgy (including mass in the vernacular) and, its supporters say, brought the Church into the modern world. John XXIII's successor, Pope Paul VI faced another crossroads shortly after the conclusion of Vatican II. John XXIII had formed a study group, the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control, to review the Church's teaching on the matter. The commission, which Paul VI expanded, included laywomen, married couples, theologians and bishops. The overwhelming recommendation was that the Church should revise its teaching to allow artificial means of birth control. Paul VI, however, rejected that recommendation and issued the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae on July 25, 1968. The only acceptable means of birth control, the Church decreed, was the rhythm method, which critics promptly dubbed 'Vatican Roulette.' Humanae Vitae persuaded many Catholics, especially in the United States, that the Pope was hopelessly out of touch. Second-wave feminism, the drive for upward mobility, career opportunities and the desire for smaller families prompted many Catholic households to ignore the papal directive on birth control. As many studies have shown, Catholic attendance declined after 1968; many Catholics felt for the first time that it was all right to disobey the pope and still consider themselves good Catholics. Now, following the death of Pope Francis, the Church once again stands at a crossroads. Conservatives, those Mark Massa, a historian and a Jesuit, calls 'Catholic Fundamentalists,' are pressing for a pope who will reverse course. They criticize Francis for making overtures to the LGBTQ community and for permitting priests to bless same-sex unions. They claim he has 'feminized' the Church by calling out what others describe as 'toxic masculinity.' They dislike the fact that he restricted use of the traditional Latin mass and entertained the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood. The other faction of the Church points out that Francis graciously sought to welcome marginal people—gays, lesbians, divorced people—into the Church and evinced concern for immigrants and for the poor, positions that have demonstrable appeal to a younger generation of Catholics. They also appreciate his attention to the ravages of climate change. The term liberal in the context of the Roman Catholic Church may be an oxymoron, but this second camp seeks to perpetuate the work and the legacy of Francis. The conclave stands at a crossroads, and the person the cardinals choose will likely determine the direction of the Church for years to come. As an Episcopal priest, not a Catholic, I have only a rooting interest in the conclave, and I'm loath to make predictions. But I recall the lyrics of 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia,' by the Charlie Daniels Band, a fiddler's faceoff between Satan and a young man named Johnny. The devil bets a fiddle of gold against Johnny's soul and leads off with the bow across the strings, making 'an evil hiss.' The rendition may be technically perfect, but it lacks soul. When Johnny takes his turn, the fiddle vibrates with verve and passion—and he prevails. Whoever prevails in the cardinals' deliberations will inherit a church with plenty of gilding but still in need of some of the verve and passion that Francis brought to the task.
Irish Examiner
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Tony Flannery: Francis was a counter voice to all those who venerate power
Though not a great surprise, due to his recent serious illness, the announcement of the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday morning is a matter of great sadness to many people. I am deeply saddened by his death. He was a remarkable man who made an enormous contribution not only to the Catholic Church, but to the whole world. The role of the papacy in the Church had become very inflated over the past few centuries, probably since the Council of Trent in the 16th century, but especially since the First Vatican Council in the middle of the 19th century, with the definition of Papal Infallability. This teaching declared that the pope had a direct line to God, and that when he spoke infallibly he could not err, and raised him to an almost super human level. The exalted position was accentuated by residing in the papal residence, the elaborate attire - remember Pope Benedict and his red shoes. A strong counter voice So when Francis, on the day of his election, came to the balcony in a simple white soutane and announced himself as the Bishop of Rome, rather than the Pope, it gave an immediate signal that this would be different. Somehow, he was on par with other bishops around the world. There was a shift in emphasis from the global to the local. When asked who he was, he responded that he was a sinner. So now we had someone who was equal to the rest of us, not standing above us, or claiming any special status. In that too, he was giving a message, one which he continued to emphasise right through the succeeding years, to all bishops, to all clergy, that they were to be servants of the people rather than lords over them. In a world that is increasingly unstable, and is falling under the rule of people who seem to be obsessed with their own power, and moving more and more toward control over the lives of their people, Francis was a strong counter voice, constantly portraying a different type of leadership, one that was about love, care, justice, rather than oppression. He was a great defender of the poor, the migrant, and saw everybody as equal, and gave them all a welcome. But at the same time he was always open to meeting world leaders of all shades of opinion, because he believed that progress was made not by excluding people but by meeting and talking to them. Fr Tony Flannery: 'I think the next conclave could be a battle.' File picture: Don Moloney This was shown right to the very end by meeting with the United States vice president J.D. Vance, who had been a very strong critic of him, and whose values appear to be at odds with those of Francis. Francis will be remembered for his stance on the environment, one of the major issues of our time. His encyclical, Laudato Si, will be one of his great legacies. A small local angle to that encyclical, but also one who shows that measure of the man. In founding the Association of Catholic Priests in 2010 I was joined by Brendan Hoban and Sean McDonagh. Sean, a Columban priest, was an expert on the whole world of climate change. Maybe it was his involvement with the ACP that caused him to be ignored by the Irish Church authorities. But we were all surprised when Sean got a message from the Vatican, asking him to come to Rome and help draft the encyclical. He did, and played a significant part in putting it together. Francis was not perfect. I think it is fair to say that the Church has traditionally had an obsession with matters of sexuality and gender, and Francis was not completely free from those attitudes. He upheld the ban on women becoming deacons or priests, and that has been a great disappointment to many, especially women. But he opposed efforts that were being made by various bishops and priests to exclude people from receiving the Eucharist, such as people who were in second relationships or members of the LGBT community. Under Francis, the Church generally was a more compassionate and welcoming place. 'All are welcome' was his motto. The Eucharist was food for the journey, not a reward for good living. His biggest legacy, if it becomes embedded in the future Church, is the process of synodality. The vision he had that members of the Church would be consulted on all matters that affected them is intended to dramatically change the way the church operates, by opening up the exercise of authority and decision making to lay people, and in that way reduce the control of the clerical caste over the Church. Francis had many critics within the Church, including men in very high offices both around the world and in the Vatican. The United States Church in particular is very divided and among its Catholic hierarchy there seem to be very few supporters of Francis or of his message. I hope and pray that his successor will continue his work, but I am not holding my breath. I think the next conclave could be a battle. Tony Flannery is a Redemptorist priest and a founder of the Association of Catholic Priests. Read More Who will be the next pope? Some potential candidates who might succeed Francis
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francis' appreciation for the power of history and books
In January 2025, while doing research at the Vatican archives, I heard Pope Francis' Sunday prayers in St. Peter's Square. The pope reflected on the ceasefire that had just gone into effect in Gaza, highlighting the role of mediators, the need for humanitarian aid, and his hope for a two-state solution. 'Let us pray always for tormented Ukraine, for Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and all the populations who are suffering because of war,' he concluded. 'I wish you all a good Sunday, and please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch, and arrivederci!' A few weeks later, Francis was admitted to the hospital, where he remained for more than a month, receiving treatment for double pneumonia. In those weeks of uncertainty, I thought back to the pope's words that Sunday afternoon. They encapsulate Francis' image: a spiritual leader using his influence to try to bring peace. He is also a down-to-earth man who wishes you 'buon appetito.' Francis does not fear addressing contemporary politics, unlike many of his predecessors. And some popes have closed their eyes to not just current events but past ones: learning and history that threatened their vision of the church. As a medievalist, I appreciate Francis' contrasting approach: a religious leader who embraces history and scholarship, and encourages others to do the same – even as book bans and threats to academic freedom mount. For 400 years, the Catholic Church famously maintained the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a long list of banned books. First conceived in the 1500s, it matured under Pope Paul IV. His 1559 index counted any books written by people the church deemed heretics – anyone not speaking dogma, in the widest sense. Even before the index, church leaders permitted little flexibility of thought. In the decades leading up to it, however, the church doubled down in response to new challenges: the rapid spreading of the printing press and the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Counter-Reformation, which took shape at the Council of Trent from 1545-1563, reinforced dogmatism in its effort to rebuke reformers. The council decided that the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Bible, was enough to understand scripture, and there was little need to investigate its original Greek and Hebrew version. Bishops and the Vatican began producing lists of titles that were forbidden to print and read. Between 1571-1917, the Sacred Congregation of the Index, a special unit of the Vatican, investigated writings and compiled the lists of banned readings approved by the pope. Catholics who read titles on the Index of Forbidden Books risked excommunication. In 1966, Pope Paul VI abolished the index. The church could no longer punish people for reading books on the list but still advised against them, as historian Paolo Sachet highlights. The moral imperative not to read them remained. Historian J.M de Bujanda has completed the most comprehensive list of books forbidden across the ages by the Catholic Church. Its authors include astronomer Johannes Kepler and Galileo, as well as philosophers across centuries, from Erasmus and René Descartes to feminist Simone de Beauvoir and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre. Then there are the writers: Michel de Montaigne, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, David Hume, historian Edward Gibbon and Gustave Flaubert. In sum, the index is a who's who of science, literature and history. Compare that with a letter Francis published on Nov. 21, 2024, emphasizing the importance of studying church history – particularly for priests, to better understand the world they live in. For the pope, history research 'helps to keep 'the flame of collective conscience' alive.' The pope advocated for studying church history in a way that is unfiltered and authentic, flaws included. He emphasized primary sources and urged students to ask questions. Francis criticized the view that history is mere chronology – rote memorization that fails to analyze events. In 2019, Francis changed the name of the Vatican Secret Archives to the Vatican Apostolic Archives. Though the archives themselves had already been open to scholars since 1881, 'secret' connotes something 'revealed and reserved for a few,' Francis wrote. Under Francis, the Vatican opened the archives on Pope Pius XII, allowing research on his papacy during World War II, his knowledge of the Holocaust and his general response toward Nazi Germany. In addition to showing respect for history, the pope has emphasized his own love of reading. 'Each new work we read will renew and expand our worldview,' he wrote in a letter to future priests, published July 17, 2024. Today, he continued, 'veneration' of screens, with their 'toxic, superficial and violent fake news' has diverted us from literature. The pope shared his experience as a young Jesuit literature instructor in Santa Fe, then added a sentence that would have stupefied 'index popes.' 'Naturally, I am not asking you to read the same things that I did,' he stated. 'Everyone will find books that speak to their own lives and become authentic companions for their journey.' Citing his compatriot, the novelist Jorge Luis Borges, Francis reminded Catholics that to read is to 'listen to another person's voice. … We must never forget how dangerous it is to stop listening to the voice of other people when they challenge us!' When Francis dies or resigns, the Vatican will remain deeply divided between progressives and conservatives. So are modern democracies – and in many places, the modern trend leans toward nationalism, fascism and censorship. But Francis will leave a phenomenal rebuttal. One of the pope's greatest achievements, in my view, will have been his engagement with the humanities and humanity – with a deep understanding of the challenges it faces. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Joëlle Rollo-Koster, University of Rhode Island Read more: Butchers, bakers, candlestick-makers − and prostitutes: The women working behind the scenes in papal Avignon Francis − a pope who has cared deeply for the poor and opened up the Catholic Church Most US book bans target children's literature featuring diverse characters and authors of color Joëlle Rollo-Koster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
