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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 Independent
26-04-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Colum Kenny: Ireland is no longer as Catholic as it was — but Popes still matter to us
The passing of Pope Francis touched many people. I felt nostalgia for what might have been. The Popes are still Catholic, but is Ireland? And does it matter? Born and bred an Irish Catholic, I first saw a Pope with my own eyes in Rome in 1968. Ireland was then firmly Catholic in its official ethos. But it was changing. Inward investment, TV and the reforming papacy of Pope John XXIII had opened windows. A material and psychological recovery was under way.
Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Opinion Derek O'Brien writes: He was my Pope
I am a Catholic and go to church every Sunday. On most weekdays, it's the online service at home from 7 to 7.30 in the morning. Six popes have passed away in my lifetime. While I have no recollection of the first — the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963, when I was two years old — I remember each of the other moments vividly. Those were times of prayer, mourning and remembrance — and of a shared sense of community. The departure of Pope Francis is similar and yet different. It feels personal. He was not just the Pope; he was my kind of Pope — a reformist Pope, an inclusive Pope, a compassionate Pope, a football-loving Pope, a Pope from the Global South, a Pope who spoke common sense, including on Gaza and the fires raging in the Holy Land. These were qualities that made me — made us — want to identify with him. He was also the first Jesuit Pope, and I can't fail to mention that I went to a Jesuit school. One of the world's largest religious communities has lost its leader. No, this is not an obituary. This is not an analysis of the significant contribution Pope Francis made to the world or the windows he opened in the Catholic Church. This is not about how he 'led with mercy' or advocated for social reforms. This is not about his progressive outlook towards women and the LGBTQ community. This is about what Vatican City's most famous resident meant to me — an Indian, born and raised in Kolkata. The former archbishop of Buenos Aires belonged to the Jesuit order, a congregation of 15,000 members worldwide who run some of the most reputed educational institutions in India. They lead over 220 high schools and 52 university colleges throughout the country. Countless leaders have emerged from the Jesuits. When the Constitution of India was being framed, Father Jerome D'Souza was a member of the Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1950, speaking up for the rights of the underprivileged, the minorities, the economically challenged. Earlier this year, this columnist had the good fortune of meeting the 'Black Pope' (a term derived from the black cassocks or robes worn by the leader of the Jesuits, the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church). Reverend Dr Arturo Sosa, the global head of the Jesuits, addressed a programme commemorating the centenary of Loyola College, Chennai. Father Stan Swamy, who languished in state custody while being denied even a straw to drink water with, was also a Jesuit. The last time a Pope visited India was in 1999, when Pope John Paul II landed in New Delhi. He had also visited Kolkata in February 1986. I was 25 then. His Holiness was met at the airport by Cardinal Lawrence Picachy. I remember the jostle and the hustle while trying to get a pavement view of the holy man, resplendent in white, standing ethereal-like in the glass-covered popemobile. His first official visit was to Mother Teresa's Nirmal Hriday. Mother rushed to his popemobile and greeted him. Holding his hand, she led him into the home for the sick and dying, situated next to the Kalighat temple in south Kolkata. The first thing he would have seen when he entered the facility was a blackboard with the message written in chalk, 'We do this for Jesus.' The Pope stayed there for an hour. Later that evening, he met with members of other Christian denominations and leaders of different faiths. He spent the night at Archbishop's House on Park Street (now renamed Mother Teresa Sarani) and had breakfast in the refectory. Forty years on, even today, whenever we have breakfast in that room, we savour the moment, saying, 'This is where a Pope ate breakfast!' The next evening, following a whirlwind trip to Shillong, his Holiness Pope John Paul II said mass at a venue best known for massive political rallies — Brigade Parade Ground. The soft-spoken pontiff's sermon ended on a note of hope: 'Let those who have no voice finally speak. Let India speak. Let Mother Teresa's poor and all the poor of the world speak. Their voice is the voice of Christ. Amen.' Exactly 30 years later, in 2016, it was Pope Francis who led the celebration at St Peter's Square in Vatican City where Mother Teresa was declared a saint — St Teresa of Kolkata. I remember every moment of that September morning in Europe, frame by frame. Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, who had worked closely with the Pope since 2013, paid him a tribute earlier this week: 'He began many projects even now for the Church to give priority… to allow all lay persons (non-clergy) also to have a role in the running and conducting of the church. What was particularly dear to him in recent times was the importance of giving women their rightful place in the church and in society.' The Church leadership in India today, most significantly the bishops, must find inspiration and be guided by the blunt words of Pope Francis, who would always speak up: 'The Church, while respecting the autonomy of political life, does not restrict her mission to the private sphere. The Church cannot and must not remain on the sidelines.' His mortal remains will be buried tomorrow. His words must give the Church strength across India and the world.
Irish Times
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on Pope Francis: when style is substance
The death of Pope Francis will be met with anguish and dismay by Catholics who saw his papacy as the first significant beacon of hope for reform in the Church since the Second Vatican Council ended in 1965. As well as grieving a man whose personal warmth, humour, and avuncular style charmed so many, they will be riven by an anxiety that, as followed the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963, any impetus for change Francis set in train may die with him. Pope Francis had appeared in public on a number of occasions since his recent release from a long hospital stay– including over the Easter weekend. The many Catholics who supported his teaching can find comfort in knowing that the College of Cardinals which will elect a new Pope – without an Irish vote as Cardinal Sean Brady is over 80 – has a significant majority appointed by Pope Francis himself. They will hope his successor will continue what Francis began with his synodal pathway – which involved the laity in discussing and debating the future of the church. It is no great surprise that Francis did not bring about any great change in Church practices or introduce significant new interpretation of its teachings. He was of his time. What he did do was usher in a new mood whereby the church became a warmer place, even if many felt he should have gone further. It was where humanity in all its diversity began to feel welcome. This included its demeaned majority – women– as well as gay people, those in second relationships, single parents and their children. It was where survivors of clerical child sex abuse were personally welcomed by him, even if his efforts at real reform in that area were frequently stymied by a circumspect Curia. READ MORE Under the previous two popes, the Church was more bound by narrow dogma, to the discomfort of many of its members. Francis brought change even if in some respects, such as its treatment of women, many will wish he went much further. Under Francis, the Church was more noted for compassion than judgement, framed by his 2013 remark 'Who am I to judge?,' when asked about gay people. To his great credit, he spoke out repeatedly and strongly for the underprivileged – migrants, those suffering in wars and the poor. The chief legacy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires – this man 'from the ends of the earth' as he described himself on election in March 2013 – will be his setting in train the ongoing synodal pathway ,which seems destined to usher in significant reform in the Church. All else was style. But that too was significant, as his humble demeanour helped him to identify with the people and cleared the way for a Church which is more comfortable with its laity in all their great variety– and is prepared to listen to them. In choosing his successor, the cardinals should decide to continue on this road.
