Conclave politics begin with the question: Continue Pope Francis' radical legacy or change course?
Conclave politics begin with the question: Continue Pope Francis' radical legacy or change course?
"No date has yet been set for the conclave, but it must start by May 10."
That's in 12 days...
It feels like this will be the point where the church decides if it wants to become relevant again by defying the trend of just turning more conservative and bigoted as so many governments are doing at the moment or if it just wants to die quietly along with the older people who just remain catholic by habit.
I'm of two minds...
First, I've heard a LOT of the Cardinals doing the voting were picked by Francis, something like 80%, so that's a good sign for maintaining whatever progressive policies the Church has.
OTOH there is an undeniable shift to the right wing globally. Does the Church want to follow that or not? Would it benefit the Church to go along or resist? 🤔
My view on this is that if the Church does nothing but follow trends in politics like any other government it loses the last few shreds of justification for its existence. If the Church agrees with everything governments are saying and doing anyway they make themselves redundant.
Of course, it can be one of the many, many organizations in the world who exploit people and doubly exploit poorer and less educated people for a while longer but what is supposed to be the value proposition to younger people and people they are trying to convert? "Hey, join us, invest your time into us, with us you can get fucked over not just by your government and your employer and your landlord and those selling products and services to you but also by your religion"? Doesn't really seem like an appealing message to me.
if it just wants to die quietly along with the older people who just remain catholic by habit.
That may be true in europe and north america, but catholicism is booming in Sub-Saharan Africa in a lot of countries with younger populations. A lot of those countries also don't have very progressive views on LGBT people and would be fine with backtracking on that front.
Speaking as a former Catholic, I honestly believe being more conservative will make the church more relevant. I'm not saying that's a good thing, to be clear, but we see what is happening to more liberal Christian denominations universally--they're rapidly declining. There are a number of reasons why that is, but liberal theology failing to retain members is a component there.
I think the most relevant issue the Church can bring to bear today is one that conservative and liberal Catholics alike tend to agree on. Even the most hard-line trad priests and laity I knew had a visceral hatred for laizez-faire capitalism (and often capitalism at large) and the commodification of the human experience. Pope Francis gave voice to it, and the next pope must follow suit. If he doesn't, regardless of theology, the church is doomed.