Friends: Catholic cardinals convene this week in Rome to steer the issue-laden Church toward its 266^th pope. The private proceedings promise to be lively. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #964

May 6, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Navigating the Holy See

By Bob Walters

“Apostolica Sedes Vacans,” or “The Chair of Peter is empty.” – Vatican.va

The Roman Catholic Church begins its conclave to name a new pope this week when the global 165-man College of Cardinals convenes in Vatican City – in the Sistine Chapel, specifically – to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

Leading 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide, the pope shepherds Christianity’s largest denomination. Francis – born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina – became the first Latin American pope on March 13, 2013.  He died Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at age 88 of pneumonia that had weakened him in the preceding months. Lung issues plagued Francis throughout his life.

Francis was the 266^th pope in a 2,000-year line of succession that goes back to the Apostle Peter, the fisherman who was a disciple of Jesus. “Apostolica Sedes Vacans” currently appears on the Vatican website (LINK- The Holy See – Vatican.va) referring to the “apostle’s seat” being vacant. The office of pope is also called the Holy See (for “seat”) or the Papacy (PAY-puh-see}. The Pope himself is also known as the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Bishop of Rome, the Pontiff (Summus Pontifex}, the Sovereign of the Vatican, and the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles (i.e., Peter).

Francis was also the first Jesuit (Society of Jesus} pope, and took the name of Francis of Assisi who cared for the poor. Francis named 80 percent of the current 165 Cardinals who will begin voting this week to replace him.  Francis’s ascendance made sense in 2013 given the global rise in Catholic membership in the southern hemisphere. Today there are controversies about Francis’s liberality and doctrinal propriety.

The conclave of cardinals will elect a new pope from its membership by a vote of two-thirds-plus-one. After each non-electing round, the ballots are burned in a stove installed in the Sistine Chapel, sending black smoke out of a chimney for all to see.

When a new pope is elected, the ballots are burned mixed with chemicals (potassium nitrate, lactose, and pine resin) that emit a bright, white smoke, signaling the Chair of St. Peter has been filled. It promises to be quite a lively internecine battle.

While the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s considerably loosened Catholic practices – for example, making it not required that the Eucharist / Mass / Communion be celebrated in Latin – later Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who retired in 2013, nevertheless remained conservative in cultural issues like abortion, marriage, divorce, and the exclusivity of who may participate in the Eucharist. Francis was, um, less strict.

Catholicism has rich extra-scriptural traditions and doctrines that it equates with the authority of scripture. With respect, I do not share that view. I am a Bible Christian, not Roman Catholic, but am also a long-time reader of the Catholic journal First Things.

I read and study extensively with a special focus on church history, the development of denominations, Bible literacy, and modern historical context for how the church, faith, Christianity, religion in general, politics, culture and academia have all arrived at perhaps the most confused, chaotic, convoluted, complicated, feverish faith / political / moral moment in the history of humanity. Still, Christ can save us.

If the new pope tempers culture’s fever and promotes fervor for Jesus, I’m for it.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) adds: 1) Jesus told Peter he would be a “fisher of men,” hence the column’s title. 2) If Walters had a vote in the papal conclave, he’d write-in current New York Cardinal Tim Dolan. 3) Walters wrote a piece on Francis and Dolan back in 2015, LINK – And the Crowd Goes Wild, 4) This period between popes is called an “interregnum” – “between reigns.” 5) BTW, “Vatican.com” is a tourism site.