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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.'