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As cardinals flock to Rome for the papal conclave to decide the next pope, a movement is underway to bring in a successor who will be more traditional than Pope Francis.
A common belief among people of influence in the Vatican is that Francis, who died on Easter Monday, was beloved by the public — but a little too improvisational for the more buttoned-up leadership faction of the Catholic faith.
“They want calm and for the Vatican to cause as little heartburn as possible,” David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, told The Post.
“Pope Francis tended to cause heartburn. Many of the cardinals want someone who is less disruptive, more moderate, and will result in them having less grief at home. They want someone who can run a tighter ship.”
Buenos Aires-born Francis, the first pope from the Americas, made many provocative declarations: from criticizing capitalism to calls for greater acceptance for divorcees and gay people by the church, as well as his support of migrants.
His off-the-cuff tone — such as telling congregants that they weren’t expected to reproduce “like rabbits” because of a ban on contraception — sometimes sparked controversy.
“The cardinals in this enclave are likely to want a return to a more orderly pattern of church governance after 12 years of what has become a very untraditional autocracy,” George Weigel, a Catholic theologian at the Public Policy Center in Washington DC, told The Post.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean a more “conservative” pope.
“I dislike these ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ categories. The real question is whether the next Pope has the capacity to teach and embody the fullness of Catholic faith in a compelling way,” Weigel said.
“At present, there is broad agreement on a compromise candidate — someone who will preserve the
bishops’ autonomy in leading their dioceses worldwide, rather than reducing them to mere prefects,” said Roberto Regoli, a professor of Church History at Pontifical Gregorian University.
Names being bandied about include Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s 70-year-old Secretary of State who has global diplomatic experience, and the Netherlands’ Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, 71 — who opposes blessings for same-sex couples, gender therapy and the ordination of women, making him favored by conservatives.
Another is Cardinal Robert Sarah, 79. Hailing from Guinea in West Africa, who maintains a strong stance on upholding the traditional Latin mass that Francis had made moves to limit.
Anthony DeStefano, author of “The Miracle Book: A Simple Guide to Asking for the Impossible,” told The Post that “friends in the hierarchy” have shared an overall vibe: “There’s a growing sense that the church needs to catch its breath and restore some of its balance and stability.”
A global feast of factors have to be considered among voters. Luis Badilla, a veteran Vatican analyst and the former director of Il Sismografo, listed ongoing wars between nations as well as “the hemorrhage of faithful, nuns, and priests … a revised Catholic sexual morality, relations with China, the Church’s financial health … the Tridentine Latin Mass” and more.
But traditionally-minded voters may have their work cut out for them when it comes to lobbying during the conclave — in which 10 Americans will be among those casting their votes (as many times as needed until a two-thirds supermajority is reached). This includes Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City, Cardinals Robert W. McElroy and Wilton Gregory of Washington, and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago.
“The problem is that there aren’t as many conservative candidates in the College of Cardinals [as there had once been],” said Gibson. “Pope Francis has appointed about 80% of the cardinal electors.”
There is talk the next pope might come from Asia or Africa, where Catholicism is on the rise.
In addition to Sarah, one contender is Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the 77-year-old archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka — who was described to The Post as being “perfectly aligned with Benedict XVI.”
Nevertheless, Weigel, author of “The Next Pope,” has his doubts: “Asian and African cardinals are going to play a considerable role in this conclave, more than ever before, but I think the odds are very long on an Asian or African pope.”
“The next Pope will almost certainly be European — both the cardinal and episcopal contingents from Europe remain the most clear-sighted in understanding the phase the church is undergoing, since Europe’s churches are the most wounded and in steepest decline,” Badilla said.
He added that “American cardinals will have no realistic chance of electing one of their own … but they can still exert significant influence.”
One big challenge for the more traditional faction is the unexpected death of Cardinal George Pell from Australia in 2023.
“He was frenemies with Pope Francis, who brought him in to straighten out the finances,” said Gibson. “Pell was almost the campaign manager for the conservatives. Now they don’t have a really strong, savvy politico inside the conclave.”
Whoever’s name leads to the white smoke that billows from the Sistine Chapel, signaling there is a new Holy Father, Regoli said one thing is clear:
“By resolving the question of succession, the cardinals not only choose the next Pope but also render
judgment on the legacy of his predecessor.”
English (US)