CONCLAVE: Restoring Unity to the Church

After the twelve years of Francis's Pontificate, a vital, but inordinately difficult, task is to restore unity to an extremely fractured Church.

From Rorate Cæli

By Fr Claude Barthe

Res Novae

May 3, 2025

Even prior to the opening of the pre-conclave General Congregations, the Eternal City has entered into a state of effervescence. The question has arisen as to whether the 135 cardinal electors, nearly 80% of whom were appointed by Francis, will bring to the pontificate a man whose governance will be in the same vein, or, on the contrary, a cardinal with a will to compromise, who will take into account the grievances of the conservatives, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the state of the forces present. If left at that, however, restoring the lost unity would not be on the agenda. The post-Vatican II popes ultimately failed to restore this unity, both the popes of “restoration”, John Paul II and above all Benedict XVI, and Francis, the pope of “progress”. A pope espousing a more tempered version of progress would likewise fail.

For, indeed, the underlying problem is of an entirely different order. It is magisterial, or to be more precise, it has to do with the non-exercise of the magisterium as such. The most visible aspect of this deficiency is the absence of condemnation of heresy, resulting in a latent schism, worse in a sense than an open schism, since Christ’s faithful no longer know where the boundary lies between faith and error. Today, de facto, the authority refrains from playing the role of instrument of unity, at least of unity in the classical sense, which is unity through faith, and instead presents itself as the manager of a certain consensus in diversity. Its role has become more to federate than to unite, the principles of ecumenism and religious freedom having been integrated within the ecclesial body itself. In the last half-century, except in rare or marginal cases, no sentence of exclusion from the Church for heresy has been pronounced by the episcopal or Roman hierarchies. There have indeed been periods in the past when errors were rife and, if not as serious, then at least as dramatic. But today, diversity is not blown to bits: the faithful, priests, cardinals, and even a pope, can make divergent assertions on points of faith or morality once considered fundamental (for instance, the respect due only to the religion of Christ, or the indissolubility of marriage), all the while still being considered as Catholic. This is obviously disastrous for the Church’s mission, but also – and the one explains the other – disastrous for the very being of Catholics.

Synodality, along with all the objectives of Pope Francis’ pontificate – such as the liberalization of morality and the extirpation of the ancient liturgy – has had the advantage, if one may say so, of exposing the flaws of the conciliar intent to the full. Synodality brings collegiality to completion. Collegiality, expressed especially in the Synod of Bishops, was intended to imitate the parliamentarianism of liberal democracy to some extent (synodal assemblies being only consultative). The synodality of Pope Francis is intended to emulate, also in a distant way, a kind of universal suffrage, benefiting the whole People of God. Just as, in modern democracies, the laws of the State no longer seek to be concrete applications of the natural law, but merely the expression of the general will, so likewise pastoral teaching no longer aims strictly to make known the content of Revelation, but merely to interpret the Gospel message by listening to present-day humanity, and to adjust earlier dogma accordingly.

“Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?” (Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?), the newly-elected Pontiff will soon be asked in the Sistine Chapel. The question posed to him will focus on the sovereign Christ-like authority given to the Pontiff who succeeds Peter in order to confirm his brethren. 

[Source]