By Father Peter Choy Wai-man
Zhu Xiaohong, the translator of The Election of Pope Francis, points out in the epilogue to the book, that many have called the election of the pope in 2013 one of the most critical moments in the history of the Church since the Reformation, because the Church was faced with profound challenges: the Vatican’s finances were in need of urgent reform and reorganisation, which included the reform of the Administration of the Property of the Holy See, the Vatican City, the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs, and the Dicastery for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
The tension between the bishops’ conferences and the Vatican officials, and the lack of a co-ordination mechanism, prevented the bishops’ conferences from playing their true role. There were many voices calling for the strengthening of the Church’s synodality and co-ordination of the pontifical administrations, and so on.
Externally, the unfolding clergy sexual abuse scandals in local Churches in the United States, Scotland, Germany, and Australia required the Church as a whole to take action to respond and to establish judicial safeguards to improve the Church’s image in the world. In addition, the issues of inter-religious dialogue, bioethics, justice in the world and the role of women in the Church are very challenging.
Discussions on these issues were held during the week-long general congregation of the cardinals. Thanks to this wide-ranging and in-depth analysis of the signs of the times and of the problems of the Church, the cardinals were able to clarify the future direction of the Church.
The Church needed not only administrative reform, but also spiritual renewal, so that the Roman Catholic Church could once again be rooted in the gospel, actively proclaiming it with joy, love and charity, reaching out to the world and sanctifying it.
In order to do this, the Church needed to choose a pope who had the spirit of the gospel and the ability to manage. In the end, Pope Francis was elected, and the consensus reached by the general congregation of the cardinals became the direction of his 12-year administration.
In retrospect, during his papacy, Pope Francis led the Church on the path of reform with simplicity and humility. He responded to the challenges of the times with the spirit of the gospel; and he was an effective witness to God’s salvation in the midst of a complex and ever-changing situation.
On May 7, the Church will again face this critical moment. Although we do not know what consensus the cardinals have reached in the discussions of their general congregation over the past week, I believe that what the Church needs, compared to what it had 12 years ago, is a pope who has the capacity to implement and deepen the Church’s synodality, and to be an effective witness to the Resurrection of Christ.
For reasons of confidentiality, the conclave is conducted in the form of a closed-door meeting. The mysterious nature of the meeting leaves a lot of room for people’s imagination, and even gives rise to scenes of rivalry similar to those in the film “Conclave”.
Looking back at the history of the Church, the main consideration of the closed meeting format is to allow the candidates for the papacy to be free from the interference of external forces, especially the influence of political or other secular powers, and to make choices before God according to their free conscience, so as to complete the conclave effectively, to elect the pope as soon as possible, and put an end to the sede vacante.
The greatest difference between a conclave and the election of a national leader is that the pope does not engage in electioneering activities and opposes the use of the media for propaganda purposes. Even during the conclave, in order to avoid interference by the media, the cardinals are forbidden to read daily newspapers or magazines, to make phone calls, or to go on the Internet or to watch television, and so on.
By the time the article appeared in the press, I hope that the next pope will have been successfully elected. Whoever he is, I believe it will be the result of the discernment of the cardinals in the Holy Spirit, the greatest gift God has ever given to the Church.
