In the next several weeks the Catholic Church will elect a new Pope. The white smoke will go up the chimney and from the balcony overlooking Vatican Square we will hear the words, Habemus Papam—“We have a Pope.” The new Pope will address the throngs of people and wish them well with an encouraging speech.
Not all will be happy. One side will be joyous and the other will not. It is now the 21st Century and we are a very divided world with heels dug in on a belief system. The intrigue on what happened for Benedict XVI to resign the papacy will have varied opinions for generations to come. People now think one way or the other with few shades of gray where they will give room to the other. There is very little tolerance of the liberals for the conservatives, and vice versa. In reality we have a de facto schism already existing in the Church, and this election will just exacerbate the situation and bring it out in the open for all to see. This next election will no longer be under the covers with civility towards all, and the internet will be on fire for months on end with each side plotting their future and where they stand in the world and the Church after The Conclave. In the 1980’s and 90’s, many people were hazy on the issue of when life began and when the fetus became a baby. Did life begin at conception or not? Now that issue is over and people are either pro life or pro choice. Nary an individual young or old is neutral on the issue. It is now the same way with the direction of the Church. People are on one side or the other in what they believe. There is little to no gray for conservatives on issues like homosexual marriage, contraception, women priests, the Eucharist as a symbol versus the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ or private revelation like the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje, to name just a few.
What just happened in the American presidential election of 2012 with an extremely vitriolic battle where well over $1 billion was spent to elect a president, is equal in emotions to the next outcome for the office of the Petrine Keys. Both political sides knew the importance of the outcome and what would happen to public policy and the direction of the country. After the ballots were counted, all that the conservatives feared came upon them, and a sense of hopelessness set in.
They feel helpless as the power of the government, its agencies, and czars are implementing what the conservatives feel is a godless social agenda and reckless fiscal policy.
The world is in open dissent and lacking tolerance for each other. Whether it be the Near and Middle East with the Arab Spring, the dissent over worldwide monetary policy and spending, the many reasons for the decline of the United States, and the general confluence of events in every sphere of society, we are at a tipping point in history. At the moment the Roman Catholic Church is no different than politics, and mirrors the general discord around us. There is spiritual confusion because the Church has lacked a solid direction from leading prelates willing to speak out.
It is the reason for our interior anxiety. We don’t feel safe anymore because our systems are crashing around us and are being rendered useless. Much like a child feels safe and secure when there is a stable home, we feel safe when our community of believers support our belief system. As Sister Lucy of Fatima said about the world many years ago, we suffer from a “diabolical disorientation.” What an incredibly accurate description of our times.
There are several possible scenarios of what may happen next. One is the election of a conservative Pope. Assume he would be like Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary or someone of similar temperament and disposition. With a voting record that is conservative, he was elevated to Cardinal by John Paul II in 2003. Cardinal Erdo approved the private revelation in 2009 of the messages to Elizabeth Kindelmann called Flame of Love, and she was from his native land of Hungary. It means he is very familiar and comfortable with Marian theology and mysticism. It is rare for a reigning Cardinal to approve private revelation. In addition, another Hungarian contemplative nun by the name of Maria Natalia, born in 1901, also released messages to the world under the title The Victorious Queen of the World. Medjugorje nor Garabandal carry church approval by a local Bishop. Medjugorje has been a thorn in the side of the liberals for a long time and they wish it would go away. So a Marian and conservative Cardinal would generally be more open to approval of such mysticism. Cardinal Erdo has also been given an Honorary Doctorate by Opus Dei from the University of Navarra, in Spain.
Let’s break that down and what it would mean if a conservative is elected. These issues would aggravate liberals, and in no small way. The more progressive contingent would no longer sit idly by. There would be open dissent and it would be disruptive. A faction would leave in open defiance. With such strident thinking on both sides of the ideological spectrum, we would see a split that is more pronounced than what we have today under a veneer of civility. Pope Benedict XVI asked the people to pray he would not have to “flee from the wolves” in the earliest speech in his pontificate. He also spoke of the “filth” in the church. Strong statements to say the least.
Similarly, we would see the same if a new Pontiff would relax any age old standards that are considered to be sacred as Magisterial teaching for millennia. Conservatives clearly see the erosion of the authority in the Church, the lack of respect for Church teaching, the scandals that go to the very top, turning a blind eye and a tin ear to homosexuals in the seminary and ministry, billions in payments in stealth as well as under court order, a lack of resolve among Church leaders to speak openly to people about the truth of the Scriptures, and a general discontent among congregants due to a lack of clear direction. What is going on in the Church is just one river of many and general societal dysfunction on every level.
We have had thirty three anti-popes in Church history with the most famous being when St. Catherine of Siena visited the exiled pope in Avignon, France and told him he needed to go back to Rome. The church has weathered many storms and tempests. What is unique about the times in which we now live is the interconnectivity of the world economic and political systems of governance, which will produce more catastrophic consequences for the world and the Church.
One thing we can have great confidence is where Jesus was clear to Peter when he said about the Church, “and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt16:18).