LifeSiteNews recently reported that the health of Francis is feared to be worse than previously believed. This raises the possibility of a conclave in the near future. In any case, the day will come when the current college of cardinals will gather with the intention of electing a new pope.
There are many, coming from a variety of perspectives, who would deny or doubt that the present college has the capacity to carry out such an election. In this article, I wish to set aside those questions – as important as they are – and focus on the most important question of all – who is actually capable of being elected to the papacy. (For more detailed consideration of who can be legitimate electors see this article).
As a conclave approaches, there will be intense debate over the qualities the next pope should possess. Those who call themselves Catholic will be profoundly divided; opposing factions will each seek a pope after their own heart. Some will seek a “liberal” pope who will continue the radical revolution advanced by Francis, while others will long for a “conservative” pope who will turn the clock back to 2013, or some other period in the past. Some groups will focus on a candidate’s geopolitical vision, while others will emphasize his political views, moral conduct, liturgical preferences, and other defining qualities.
Surprisingly, few will acknowledge that the papacy is not in fact a political office – like a presidency or the head of an international NGO – but a sacred institution established by Our Lord Jesus Christ during His time on earth to fulfill specific purposes according to His divine will. The papacy is not a plaything that can be passed between “liberal” and “conservative” factions every time there is an election. Only men who fulfill the criteria that Our Lord established can ever occupy it. The pope must be Catholic. The pope is always Catholic.
To approach the election of a pope as we approach the election to a political office, or view it as a contest between “liberals” and “conservatives,” fundamentally misunderstands the true nature of the office.
Indeed, today we should fear the election of a “conservative” as much as that of a “liberal” – and perhaps even more so if the “conservative” is not a true Catholic, one who fully professes the fullness of the Catholic faith. For a man is a heretic if “he disbelieve even one article out of those which are proposed by the Church as dogmas of Faith.” [1]
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