012: Sede Vacante
Let me begin by acknowledging that I have not submitted an entry to this blog in several months. Life has been wild, to say the least, and the ability to maintain a cadence in blog entries has legitimately been impossible. Such circumstances are hopefully normalizing now, so this will be my first of what I hope are many entries going forward.
If you follow my X feed, it should come as no surprise to read that I am a practicing Catholic. I hesitate to call myself a good Catholic, or even a devout Catholic, as I am far from a perfect one. I care deeply about my faith, however, despite my imperfections. To this point, the book I have coming out this week is light on faith. Its sequel is more inclusive of it, despite it not dominating the plot. The completion of that trilogy, when I get to it in a year or two, will lean heavily into it. I also have an idea for a book centered on faith in the years to come. I digress.
This week, the morning following Easter Sunday, Pope Francis departed this earth after navigating a series of major health setbacks. Such an occurrence triggered input from every corner of the philosophical and ideological spectrum. Some thoughts have been profound; others have been idiotic. There have been trad voices which have suggested he was the great destroyer of the faith. Some liberal mainstream media types have suggested that he was heroic for being so progressive, and that the next pope will likely just be “some conservative guy.” It is striking to me to hear such a phrase, given that someone more conservative than the pro-life, anti-surrogacy, anti-trans, anti-gender ideology, pro-traditional marriage pope would really be something.
Where the confusion arrives on these surface-level thoughts, though, are that he emphasized several topics which were indeed left of center. His views on the environment, on migrants, and on economics were undoubtedly liberal. His stances on liturgical tradition were progressive. I have no issue in saying that I had my disagreements with him on these topics; despite considering myself an environmentalist, I go about it differently than he did. That is probably a topic for a different day.
Those are respectful and objective disagreements I have with him. Where I think he truly did shine was in his compassion for the poor. His support for the marginalized was superb. This is a pillar of the faith which can be difficult. To spend time with the imprisoned, for example, is not easy. However, these concepts are an important part of our faith. He deserves recognition for this, and this is an area we should absolutely continue to emphasize going forward in my opinion.
I will be following the coverage of his funeral ceremonies; I was just fulfilling my sacraments when John Paul II had passed. The rituals which take place are breathtaking.
In looking forward, I do not claim to know who the next successor of Peter is going to be. The cardinals don’t know either, and much goes into achieving a two-thirds plus one vote I am sure. I can suggest that I am intrigued by Cardinal Erdo, Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Pizzaballa, and a few others–all for unique reasons. It is always fun to learn about these brilliant minds on these occasions, and that is regardless of where they fall on the traditional/progressive spectrum.
What I hope for is not necessarily one particular person to be elected. Rather, I look at a now growing Catholic faith–something which had not occurred for many years until recently. It might be tempting to suggest that Pope Francis is the reason. However, the growth is being fueled by the young. The young that I know, and the polling data I see as well, suggest that the young want a return to some semblance of orthodoxy (certainly not to suggest that the growth occurred despite Francis either, but many youths are looking for direction and meaning in a society not giving it to them).
The idea of accessibility to the Latin Mass, to liturgical traditionalism in other ways, and to a more rooted message is appealing. The young want to know where they come from, and this has largely been stripped from them institutionally in the world. They see an opportunity to change that. It is flawed thinking to view this in terms of left versus right, as Catholicism is something like nine times older than that train of thought. Instead, to consider the idea of traditionalism versus progressivism is a good start.
This helps to consider what the points of emphasis are. Do we raise environmentalism to a theological level of teaching, or do we return to philosophical teachings and the history of the church? Are we stripping the complexities away from vestments, or do we emphasize the symbolism that have long been included in them? What does the music sound like, and do we elevate chants again? How do we receive communion, and what does the consecration process look like at the altar? These questions and questions like it are probably more what many care about.
So while I expect to have disagreements with the next pope, as I did with Francis (that is human nature), I do hope we find some return to liturgical traditionalism. I heard Cardinal Dolan talk about how one can hope we have the ruggedness of JPII, the intellect of Benedict, and the compassion of Francis. That is also true, though difficult to concoct. If we can carry forward the compassion for the marginalized and return to that aforementioned traditionalism, that would be pretty dang cool.
To conclude, I always find these periods fascinating. Even non-Catholics seem to have interest, as many of my friends have asked me about this or that component of what is currently taking place. All I can do is pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, pray for the conclave, and pray for the eventual pope. Other than that, I am a knowledgeable Catholic but not a member of clergy or a theologian. I will simply be a spectator like the other 1.4 billion Catholics in the world. Blessings. -P.K.