Article Summary
The Roman Catholic Church is about to choose a new pope following the death of Pope Francis. The process of selecting the next pope is shrouded in secrecy and tradition, with the cardinal electors gathering in Rome for the papal conclave. This time, the election is complicated by the fact that Pope Francis made many appointments during his tenure, diversifying the College of Cardinals and making it harder to predict the outcome. Cardinals Pietro Parolin of Italy and Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle of the Philippines have emerged as the most mentioned candidates, but conclaves are notoriously unpredictable. The church faces various challenges, including declining numbers, financial scandals, and controversies over social issues. This article provides an overview of the papal election process, the leading candidates, and the challenges facing the new pope.
Original Post
Guesses about who the next Roman Catholic pope will be often prove inaccurate. Before the selection of Pope Francis in 2013, many bookmakers had not even counted him among the front-runners. This time, predictions are further complicated, because Francis made many appointments in a relatively short period during his tenure, diversifying the College of Cardinals and making it harder to identify movements and factions within the group.
Still, discussion of potential names began long ago behind the Vatican’s walls and beyond. As the cardinals began meeting in Rome after Pope Francis’ funeral, papal watchers scrutinized snippets of statements emerging from their discussions, trying to discern whether the electors were leaning toward a candidate who would build on Francis’ agenda or one who would represent a return to a more traditional style.
Cardinals Pietro Parolin of Italy and Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle of the Philippines have been the most mentioned candidates to replace Pope Francis in the days before the conclave, which starts Wednesday. But conclaves are often unpredictable, and this one — with so many new cardinals from so many places who do not know each other well — has even more potential to surprise. A long list of other contenders has already emerged.
Pietro Parolin
It seems that everyone knows Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state under Francis. Cardinal Parolin will preside over the papal election and has emerged as a leading compromise candidate.
A quiet, plodding Italian with a famously inscrutable poker face, Cardinal Parolin, 70, is deeply cautious. But at a time of global upheaval, that is not necessarily a disqualifier. Even his backers grant that he lacks Francis’ charisma and global symbolism — but as the leader of the Vatican machinery for the past decade, he enacted Francis’ vision.
Cardinals have talked about Cardinal Parolin as someone who could have a steady, bureaucratic hand on the church’s wheel. His critics on the left question his past comments about same-sex marriage, which he called a “defeat for humanity,” and his lack of pastoral experience. His critics on the right criticize his role in the church’s efforts to make inroads in China, which has required negotiations with Communist leaders.
But few prelates who know him have strong feelings about him either way. And after the eventful and, for some, divisive twelve years under Francis, bland but competent may be just what the cardinals are looking for.
On migration, for example, whereas Francis excoriated the inhumanity of great powers turning the Mediterranean into a graveyard, Cardinal Parolin said after a meeting with Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, that immigration was “a very, very complex subject.
— Jason Horowitz and Patricia Mazzei
Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle
Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, 67, a liberal-leaning cardinal from the Philippines, has for years been deemed a front-runner to be pope and would be the first pope from Southeast Asia.
An ally of Francis who has worked at the Vatican in recent years, Cardinal Tagle has a highly personable approach in line with Francis’ attention to the poor and those in need in developing countries.
He also comes from a region of the world where Catholicism continues to grow, and where Francis paid particular attention to trying to build a church with a less Eurocentric future. At the Vatican, Cardinal Tagle has overseen missionary work. Widely known by his nickname “Chito,” he is often called the “Asian Francis” for his ability to connect with the poor, his call for action against climate change and his criticism of the “harsh” stance adopted by some Catholic clerics toward gay people, divorced people and unwed mothers. Cardinal Tagle is popular for his humility, and his homilies have drawn the faithful to the pews and to Facebook streams.
But as leader of the church in the Philippines, he was criticized by activists and fellow priests as being timid about the scourge of clerical sexual abuse. He has also been faulted by some as not adequately addressing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, in which tens of thousands of people were summarily executed. Cardinal Tagle did not respond to a request for an interview.
— Sui-Lee Wee and Aie Balagtas See
Fridolin Ambongo
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, 65, the archbishop of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been considered a possible contender since Francis made him a cardinal in 2019.
Pope Francis had long urged the Catholic Church to “go to the peripheries,” meaning communities in Africa and Asia, where the church also is the most vibrant. One persistent question has been when the church might reinforce that commitment by choosing a pope from Africa. Catholics make up about 18 percent of the continent’s population and generate more seminarians than any other part of the world.
Pope Francis, an Argentine, was the first non-European to lead the church since 741. Even so, Francis was from a family with Italian roots.
Yet there is a certain paradox involved in choosing any successor from Africa. While it would be a break from tradition, the Catholic hierarchy in Africa is among the most conservative.
Cardinal Ambongo was close to Pope Francis, one of just nine members of an advisory group known as the Council of Cardinals. But the cardinal led the opposition to Francis’ 2023 ruling that priests could bless same-sex couples.
— Neil MacFarquhar
Anders Arborelius
Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, 75, who converted to Catholicism at age 20, is Sweden’s first Catholic cardinal.
Although Sweden was once predominantly Lutheran and is now largely secular, the Roman Catholic Church has grown there in recent years, and Cardinal Arborelius says that many of the Catholics there have an immigrant background. Francis’ elevation of the cardinal in 2017 was seen as another attempt to appoint cardinals in places that did not have one before, and to reach out to countries where Catholics are a minority.
In a recent interview, Cardinal Arborelius said the biggest challenges facing the church were building bridges in a polarized world, giving greater influence to women within the church and helping families pass on the faith.
Cardinal Arborelius, who belongs to the Carmelite religious order, has expressed support for migrants, as Francis did. In the interview, he expressed deep concern about growing anti-migrant sentiments, including in Sweden. As for the blessings of same-sex couples, he said, “We have to go to the gay people with much love,” adding, “even if we cannot recognize gay marriage.”
He played down his chances of becoming pope. At 75, “I would be too old,” he said. He said he was told that, according to an A.I. chatbot, his chances were 5 percent. “I had to laugh,” he said.
— Emma Bubola
What This Means for You
- The Roman Catholic Church is about to undergo a significant change with the selection of a new pope.
- The election of the new pope is shrouded in secrecy and tradition, with the College of Cardinals gathering in Rome for the papal conclave.
- The new pope will face various challenges, including declining numbers, financial scandals, and controversies over social issues.
- The outcome of the election is hard to predict, with Cardinals Pietro Parolin of Italy and Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle of the Philippines emerging as the most mentioned candidates.
- As a faithful member of the Roman Catholic Church or someone interested in religious issues, it is essential to stay informed about the papal election and its implications for the future of the church.
Key Terms
- Roman Catholic Church
- Pope Francis
- Papal conclave
- Cardinal electors
- College of Cardinals
- Pietro Parolin
- Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle
- Catholic hierarchy
- Fridolin Ambongo
- Anders Arborelius
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