5/2/25-The Conclave

If you clicked on this expecting a new series in my blog with movie reviews, I'm sorry to disappoint you.  This is going to be about choosing the next Pope.  I was originally going to label this as a Shephard & Friend post, but choosing a Pope is something that effects everyone, not just Catholics.

In my lifetime there has been four Papal Conclaves.  However this is the first one I really have paid any attention to.  The Catholic Church is facing issues with modern secularity, so this election could be important.  Popes seem to be chosen to respond to what issues are facing the Church at the time. What type of Pope does the Church need when the Cardinals lock the doors to the Sistine Chapel next week?

I looked up the requirements and it appears that any Baptized Catholic male is eligible.  I know someone who meets those requirements, me.  While I would have to take a pay cut and I would have to move to Italy, if I got the call next weekend I would have to do my duty as a Catholic and go.

It's unlikely that I will have to come up with a Papal Name, though Pope Stephen XI would probably be my choice for the first martyr of the Church, so I guess I have to trust the Cardinal Electors to choose the right person.

Through history there have been bad Popes and good Popes.  The Cardinals, guided by the Holy Spirit, choose the person who the Church needs to lead us through the time.  Over the last 100 years there have been Popes to lead us through wars (Pius X, Benedict XV and Pius XII), Popes to reform the Church (John XXIII, Paul VI, and Francis), fight communism and enter a new millennium (John Paul II) and focus on foundational theology (Benedict XVI).  Though every Pope has has detractors, in all cases those were the Popes that were required at the time.

I know the type of Pope I would like to see, but it pride and hubris to think I know better then the Holy Spirit what the Church needs.  Jesus built the Church on the Rock of Peter and it has lasted 2000 years based on that foundation.  It will continue long after I'm gone.

I realize this post may have become a little preachy, but I do think its is important for everyone out there, regardless of their faith, to either pray or just hope for the right person to be chosen in the next week or two.  The Pope is one of the most powerful leaders we have and can influence the world on a scale beyond just the Catholic Church.

I will be following next week when the doors are locked and be looking for the white smoke and listening for the bells of  St. Peter's Basilica.  I will celebrate when I hear the words: "Habemus Papam!" and see who walks out on that balcony.  Maybe it not be the Pope I was expecting, maybe not the Pope I wanted, or maybe he will be, but he is the Pope and I will respect him as the leader of my Church.

Oh-and by the way-there is no way I would ever watch the movie "The Conclave."  So no review coming.