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The Herald Scotland
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
How new Pope and Catholic Church have mesmerised our Godless societies
It's as though the world, despairing of war-mongering political leaders and their tawdry, transactional corruptions, might be seeking something that seems constant and unmovable and which proceeds in a realm above them. And don't those robes and Michelangelo and all those abstruse Latin proclamations lend themselves to memes instantly curated and then sent across the invisible Silk Roads of social media? Read more My favourite Latin moment of the conclave that chose Cardinal Robert Prevost to be Pope Leo XIV was when the order 'Extra Omnes' (Everybody Out) was given before the doors of the Sistine Chapel banged shut to signal the start of the process. Did the Tony Sopranos of ancient Rome burst into shady taverns and shout 'Extra Omnes' before administering their gangland hits? It's not as though the Catholic Church doesn't have its own corruptions and hypocrisies to address. Some of these will feature among the new Pope's most pressing challenges. Ultimately, Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit will guide the princes of the church to make the right decision in appointing St Peter's successor, but the bad Popes of the Renaissance era – wedded to murder, arson and earthly power – all managed to escape divine scrutiny. In the run-up to this conclave assorted reactionary (usually American) bloggers were promoting the interests of swivel-eyed cardinals for whom missing stitches in a laced ceremonial cuff was proof of the devil's work. Others issued daily diatribes against the doctrinal deviations of other Christian religions. 'Those Protestants: up to no good as usual, Fr Dougal.' Pope Leo is reportedly a man possessed of sound administrative and management skills, as well as having years of experience working amongst poor communities in Latin America. It's inconceivable that he won't put these to good use in addressing – once and for all – the continuing spectre of clerical sex abuse that has haunted the Catholic Church since it first became apparent more than three decades ago. Almost as bad have been the subsequent cover-ups and attempts to conceal it. It's among the weak and defenceless that predators like to lurk. Only an independent, global commission of inquiry with powers to recommend the instant removal from office of all priests, bishops and cardinals found guilty of participation in this scandal can restore confidence. This issue is also connected to another matter of profound importance: the role of women in the modern Catholic Church. If more women had been operating in the higher echelons of the Catholic world that it would have been much harder for sexual predators to have freely operated. Women know what these men look like and are adept at forming protective shelters to thwart them and expose them. Archbishop of Glasgow William Nolan takes Friday mass at St Andrews Metropolitan Catholic Cathedral in Glasgow (Image: Gordon Terris) This historic failure to deal properly with sex abuse has undermined one of the great and enduring benevolences of the Church: its continuing willingness to send tens of thousands of its foot-soldiers and volunteers into the world's darkest places to relieve poverty and to stand with people menaced by war and displacement. It also has a duty of prophecy to warn the world of existential threats. Jim Conroy, Professor of Religious and Philosophical Education at Glasgow University, is hopeful that this will become a hallmark of Leo XIV's pontificate. 'Much of the Church's internal squabbling misses what's really going in the world. We're living through the most extraordinary attack on what it means to be a human being. Yet, this is being lost in debates about the length of vestments and status of the Latin Mass. 'Yet, the question of what it means to be human in the face of technology that seeks to get inside your brain and alter your character is an important one. It's linked to the tides of the global economic justice and the relationship between the state and the individual. 'The Church needs to get grown up about this and to make its voice heard on these existential questions. Technology will reframe everything we think about ourselves and we are at risk of being sunk by it. We delude ourselves that technology can be our servant, but it has no moral consciousness and is in the hands of a small group of multi-billionaires who seek to reduce humanity to numbers on a balance sheet in their pursuit of absolute power. The power of the Gospel can counter-act this.' Read more At St Andrew's Cathedral in Glasgow yesterday afternoon, Archbishop William Nolan celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the election of the new Pope. He told worshippers about the significance of taking the name Leo. It had been Leo XIII who, in 1897, issued a his great encyclical about social justice which has been the lodestar of all Catholic teaching on social teaching since then. 'It was an encyclical which condemned the excesses of capitalism and stood up for workers' rights and which advocated for a fair and living wage.' The Church in Scotland is one of the oldest in the global Catholic family and has a unique title signifying its ancient kinship. In 1192, a Papal proclamation conferred on it the title 'Special Daughter of Rome' thus making the Catholic Church the most independent, sovereign and Scottish institution and recognised as such by the global authority of Rome. This proclamation Papal Bull was issued by Pope Celestine III and decoupled the Scottish church from the dominion of the powerful medieval English bishops. In recent years, though, the Scottish Catholic Church has become a peripheral body in Rome's orbit. There has been no Scottish Cardinal since Keith O'Brien whose career ended in disgrace after revelations of inappropriate relationships with several young priests. If the conclave is the Champions League of the Catholic world then the Scottish hierarchy needs to start gathering some co-efficient points if any of them are to be granted a seat at the next one. They could start by engaging with the wider Scottish community once more instead of retreating from it. Roisin Coll, Professor of Catholic Education at Glasgow University is optimistic though, that the new Pope will inspire young people. 'For Catholic educators, this is a dream moment,' she said. 'What is so often taught to children and young people in the abstract has now come alive before their eyes — they are witnessing the Church in action and they are part of the conversation. Ultimately, it's their future that's being shaped. Across schools, educators are seizing this unique opportunity to explore the Church's rich symbolism, governance and mission.' Pope Francis (Image: free) Early on Friday evening, two young Scots stood amidst the throngs to witness the white smoke and Pope Leo's first blessing. Lanarkshire cousins John Patrick Mallon and Brian Timmons are co-founders of the popular Catholic broadcasting platform, Sancta Familia Media and were providing hourly updates as history was being made in St Peter's Square. 'I was very impressed by Pope Leo's words of peace and his warmth,' said John Patrick. It was very reassuring as was his call to unity. He spoke of building bridges and I think this was as much a message to divided factions within the Church. I think he's a man who can bring harmony. 'Back home there are some who insist the Church is dying, but they should have been here to witness what we witnessed. The world and its media has descended on this place because they know this means something and that the words of the Pope remain hugely influential and hopeful. In St Peter's Square today, I've seen very young babies, children, teenagers and older people. And all of them breaking into a spontaneous rendition of Salve Regina.'
News18
07-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
New Pope Not Yet Elected As Thick Black Smoke Pours Out At Sistine Chapel
Last Updated: The smoke billowed out at 9 pm Wednesday, some four hours after 133 cardinals solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel, meaning that the conclave did not elect a new pope. Black smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney on Wednesday, signalling that no pope had been elected as 133 cardinals opened the secretive, centuries-old ritual to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church. The cardinals participating in the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith's 2,000-year history took just one round of voting Wednesday evening. After failing to find a winner on the first ballot, they retired for the night and will return to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning to try to find a successor to Pope Francis. They had opened the conclave Wednesday afternoon, participating in a rite more theatrical than even Hollywood could create, a wash of red-robed cardinals, Latin chants, incense and solemnity that underscored the seriousness of the moment. Black Smoke. No Pope — Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) May 7, 2025 Outside in St. Peter's Square, the scene was festive, as thousands of people flocked to the piazza to watch the proceedings on giant video screens, applauding when the Sistine Chapel's doors slammed shut and the voting began. They waited for hours, watching screens that showed just a skinny chimney and occasional seagull. After the vote dragged on to dinnertime, some left in frustration, but those who stayed cheered when the smoke finally billowed out. 'My hope is that cardinals will choose a man who can be a peacemaker and could reunify the church," said Gabriel Capry, a 27-year-old from London. Francis named 108 of the 133 'princes of the church," choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before. His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the 'global south" — often marginalized countries with lower economic clout — has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is always full of mystery and suspense. Many cardinals hadn't met until last week and lamented they needed more time to get to know one another, raising questions about how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope. 'Wait and see, a little patience, wait and see," said Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican's ambassador to Syria. Oath And 'Extra Omnes' The cardinals had entered the Sistine Chapel in pairs, chanting the meditative 'Litany of the Saints" as Swiss Guards stood at attention. The hymn implores the saints to help the cardinals find a leader of the 1.4 billion-strong church. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the 70-year-old secretary of state under Francis and himself a leading contender to succeed him as pope, assumed the leadership of the proceedings as the senior cardinal under age 80 eligible to participate. He stood before Michelangelo's vision of heaven and hell, 'The Last Judgment," and led the other cardinals in a lengthy oath. Each one followed, placing his hand on the Gospel and promising in Latin to maintain utmost secrecy. Earlier in the day, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, presided over a morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica urging the voters to set aside all personal interests and find a pope who prizes unity. He prayed for a pope who could awaken the conscience of the world. He reminded the cardinals that the awesomeness of the Sistine Chapel's frescoes is meant to remind the cardinals of the weighty responsibility they bear. In his regulations for the conclave, Re recalled, St. John Paul II wrote that in the Sistine Chapel, 'everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God." After the cardinals took their oaths, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, called out 'extra omnes," Latin for 'all out" and anyone not eligible to vote left before the chapel doors closed. An elderly cardinal remained to deliver a meditation, but after he finished, he too, had to leave since he was too old to vote. While cardinals this week said they expected a short conclave, it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting. For much of the past century, it has taken between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the fourth ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013. Lobbying Before The Conclave The cardinals are supposed to resist any 'secular" influences in their choice of pope, but such lobbying abounded in Rome in the days before the conclave as various groups reminded cardinals of what ordinary Catholics want in a leader. Young Catholics penned an open letter reminding cardinals that there is no church without young people, women and the laity. Conservative Catholic media slipped cardinals copies of a glossy book containing their assessments of contenders. Survivors of clergy sexual abuse warned cardinals that they would be held accountable if they failed to find a leader who will crack down on decades of abuse and cover-up. Advocates for women's ordination sent pink smoke signals Wednesday over the Vatican to demand that women be allowed to be priests and participate in a conclave. Even the White House got involved, posting a photo of President Donald Trump dressed as a pope. Trump said it was a joke, but the gesture was denounced by former Italian Premier Romano Prodi as 'indecent" political interference in matters of faith that hark back to times when secular rulers intervened in conclaves. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said there was also plenty of lobbying going on among cardinals themselves. 'You invite each other out," Dolan said on SiriusXM's The Catholic Channel before the conclave began. 'And you're pretty blunt. Now, we're not, you know, we're not horse trading here. We're saying, 'Tell me about this guy. You're from Latin America. Go through the list of bishops. Tell me some of these fellas. Am I right to be enchanted by this guy?'" Lisette Herrera, a 54-year-old tourist from the Dominican Republic, was deeply moved to find herself by chance in Rome as the conclave began. She decided Wednesday morning to skip the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and pray instead in St. Peter's Square. 'I'm praying to the Holy Spirit for a young pope who would stay with us for a long time," she said. 'I don't believe in conclave politics, I just feel that the Holy Spirit is here and that's all we need to know." Challenges In Selecting New Pope Many challenges await the new pope and weigh on the cardinals — above all whether to continue and consolidate Francis' progressive legacy on promoting women, LGBTQ+ acceptance, the environment and migrants, or roll it back to try to unify a church that became more polarized during his pontificate. The clergy sex abuse scandal hung over the pre-conclave talks. Since Francis chose 80% of the voters, continuity is likely, but the form it might take is uncertain and identifying front-runners has been a challenge. But some names keep appearing on lists of 'papabile," or cardinals having the qualities to be pope. In addition to Parolin, they include: top videos View all Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, a top candidate to be history's first Asian pope. He headed the Vatican's evangelization office responsible for the Catholic Church in much of the developing world. Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72, the archbishop of Budapest, is a leading candidate representing the more conservative wing of the church. (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - Associated Press) Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Pope The Vatican City Location : Vatican City First Published: May 08, 2025, 00:48 IST News world New Pope Not Yet Elected As Thick Black Smoke Pours Out At Sistine Chapel | Watch
