Ahead of the conclave start on May 7 there is much work for the cardinals to do and already talk that a struggle will emerge between Francis' legacy and a reversal in style.
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vicar of the Diocese of Rome has urged cardinals to forge ahead with Pope Francis’ direction, while chatter from among the cardinals suggests some fear a reversal in the late pope's style.
In the days remaining before the start of the papal conclave on May 7 there is much to be done for the College of Cardinals as they look among themselves and start to discern who is to be the next successor of St. Peter.
Alongside these are the Masses held in the Vatican basilica each afternoon between the funeral and the conclave commencement, led by a different cardinal, providing key prelates an opportunity to make interventions on the life and legacy of Francis but also to present their ideas for the Church under the next pope.
In his homily for the third of the Novendiales Masses, Cardinal Baldassare Reina appeared to urge the Church to continue ahead with the “processes for the reform of the life of the Church” which Francis initiated:
I think of the many processes for the reform of the life of the Church undertaken by Pope Francis, and which transcend religious affiliations. People recognized that he was a universal pastor, and the Barque of Peter needs this wide navigation that transcends and surprises.
Reina, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome for Francis since spring last year, was made a cardinal by Francis in December. His words also pointed to something of a fear that Francis’ actions might be undone by the new pope, suggesting an undercurrent of change within the College of Cardinals. Such reversal, Reina opposed:
People carry disquiet in their hearts, and I seem to see a question in them: what will become of the processes that have been initiated?
Our duty should be to discern and organise what has been started, in the light of what our mission requires, in the direction of a new heaven and a new earth, adorning the Bride for her husband, whereas we might seek to clothe the Bride according to worldly conveniences, guided by ideological pretensions that tear apart the unity of Christ’s garments.
His homily also carried with it a note of warning for the cardinals not to pursue any other line apart from that which was practiced by Francis: “This cannot be the time for manoeuvres, tactics, caution – not a time to follow the instinct to turn back, or worse, to retaliate or seek alliances of power. What is needed is a radical willingness to enter into God’s dream, entrusted to our poor hands.”
Reina’s homily has been noteworthy for Vatican analysts, as it clearly showed his wishes for the conclave and the new pope.
Others share his fears that Francis might be followed by a pope who does not imitate his actions.
Though the cardinals have taken an oath of secrecy regarding the proceedings of the General Congregation meetings which have already begun, some themes from their conversations have nevertheless emerged.
Such information came from Michael Cardinal Czerny, S.J., who was prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development – an office handling causes close to Francis’ heart, such as migration and climate issues.
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Cardinals should “look for the unification of the Church,” said Cardinal Gerhard Müller – described as part of the conservative grouping. But this, said Czerny, was dangerous talk.
“It sounds really good,” but he lamented that “it means reversal.” The Jesuit cardinal also expressed fear that the newer cardinals might be swayed by talk of “unity.”
Instead, Czerny attested that “the idea that unity is the priority” is in fact “the wrong track for the conclave.” “Unity cannot be a priority issue,” he told the New York Times.
Left-leaning Spanish outlet Vida Nueva decried how non-elector cardinals were warning of a dire vision of the world and how “the moral doctrine and tradition of the Church” was the chief means of preventing destruction.
“Conservative cardinals,” the outlet lamented, are trying to “set the pace and the story to show that there is a widespread feeling of cardinals who want to stop Francis' reforms in their tracks.”
Evidently displeased at his words, Vida Nueva described Müller’s interventions as “especially belligerent in substance and form,” while also criticizing 92-year-old Cardinal Francis Arinze.
It is true that while analysts and sources can speak of suspicions about what way the conclave will go, no one can be certain.
However, should such remarks indeed be true, it would suggest that those looking to install a Francis II may well have more of a struggle to do so than they first anticipated.
