Next Pontificate

Don't get me wrong. I am one of the last who would want to put the current Pope to rest, but I was intrigued by today's column by John L. Allen Jr., in the National Catholic Reporter. In it, he outlines the three main issues that are currently dominating discussion in Vatican circles, and four alternative scenarios that could emerge from the next Conclave.

The three issues are:

1. Collegiality - how power is exercised and decisions made in the Catholic Church.
   
2. Evangelization - what pastoral strategy is best suited to revitalize Christianity in the developed world.
   
3. Islam - the Church's relationship to it; governed by two extremes - the Doves, who believe the Church must reach out to moderate centers of opinion, and the Hawks, who advocate a hard-line approach, because they say it is naïve to believe there is such a thing as moderate Islam, in terms of social influence.
   

The four alternative scenarios, which could result from the Papal election of a candidate with those views, are:

1. The Border Patrol - theological conservatives worried about the impact of relativism and secularization.
   
2. The Reform Party - support internal reform in the church along the lines they perceive indicated by the Second Vatican Council.
   
3. The Integralists - society should be ordered according to the teachings of the Church. The State should protect, fund and promote the Church, and the Church in turn blesses and demands obedience from the State.
   
4. The Social Justice Party - interest lies in social issues such as debt relief, globalization, and racial justice.
   

Of course, it's impossible to predict how the Holy Spirit will play out the events at that time. Ideas are still shifting and developing. Our best approach from the pews would be to pray that the Cardinal electors will be open to the Divine promptings Our Lord sends them.