Vineeta Rao
Auckland, May 6, 2025
The death of Pope Francis has turned the spotlight of an increasingly troubled world towards the Vatican and Rome, where Catholic Cardinals have gathered to elect a new pope.
Catholicism is the largest sect of the second most popular religion (Christianity) in the world.
Pope Francis succumbed to a stroke, followed by a coma and a heart attack on April 21, 2025. He was 88 years old.
The death of a Pope shatters the status quo as the policies and views of the Church have varying degrees of impact on the global political landscape as well as the thoughts and actions of 1.4 billion followers. In addition to being the spiritual home of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican is a sovereign nation and actively engages in political and diplomatic spheres around the world. The Church has a vast network of charitable, educational and healthcare institutions, which help shape social and cultural norms in all countries.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-05/conclave-new-pope-election-cardinals-sistine-chapel-preparation.html
Controversial Issues
The Church has advocated several policies around the world, including anti-abortion, contraception and same-sex marriages among other subjects.
Many governments are directed by their local Cardinals and Bishops when creating policies on these subjects, with far-reaching impact. For instance, the Church has advocated abstinence as the primary form of birth control and frowns on the use of condoms. However, this stance dismays healthcare workers who argue that condoms are critical in fighting the global HIV epidemic as well as in sexual health.
Therefore, a newly elected Pontiff’s ideologies and leanings will not only affect the followers of Christianity but will have a significant global impact.
The death of the Pope sets off a meticulous process steeped in centuries of tradition, rituals and protocols, created during the church’s violent and messy historical past, to ensure a respectful and orderly succession.
While Catholics are probably aware of the process, many of us have been getting our information from the recently released movie on papal politics, Conclave.
The Announcement
Immediately after the death of Pope Francis, his camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farell made the announcement. The office of the Camerlengo is a high-ranking one as the Cardinal in the role serves as the Pope’s financial secretary and treasurer. However, the camerlengo’s most important role is during the period after a Pope’s demise, until the election of the new Pope where he serves as acting head or de facto pope until the cardinals arrive at their consensus.
After traditionally confirming the pope’s death by calling his name three times, a throwback to the days where the papacy was a hotbed of politics, murder and intrigue and having his conclusion verified by medical professionals using standard medical procedures, the camerlengo then destroys the papal signet ring, nicknamed the Fisherman’s Ring, to prevent any potential misuse.
The Vatican then announces the news and the faithful begin a period of mourning. Flags are lowered, church bells toll and Catholics around the world enter a time of prayer and remembrance for their Holy Father.
Cardinals prepare
This is also the time that all Cardinals prepare for or begin their journeys to Rome.
New Zealand’s Cardinal John Dew, created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis on February 15, 2015, has departed for Rome.
India has six Cardinals, four of whom are eligible to vote in the current conclave. They are Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Cardinal Anthony Poola and Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad.
Sri Lanka’s Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Bangladesh’s Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, and Pakistan’s Cardinal Joseph Coutts have also headed to Rome to participate in the conclave.
(Image Courtesy: CNS Photo by Vatican Media)
Novendiales: A period of mourning
During the nine-day mourning period or Novendiales, that followed his death, the Pope’s body was prepared, dressed in papal vestments and placed in Saint Peter’s Basilica for mourners, including world leaders and dignitaries, to pay their respects. His funeral, held on 26th April at St Peter’s Square, was presided the Dean of the College of Cardinals and attended by Heads of State, including Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Royalty and Religious Leaders.
The traditional resting place for Popes is at the Vatican Grottoes, beneath St Peter’s Basilica. However, Pope Francis expressed his desire to be buried at the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, reflecting his personal tastes, simplicity and humility.
Sede Vacante: The Vacant Seat
The current state of limbo, between the death of the reigning Pope and the confirmation of the new Pope is called Sede Vacante. No decisions or changes are implemented during this time.
Typically held 15-20 days after the death of the Pope to give Cardinals spread out around the world to travel to the Vatican, the conclave is held at the Sistine Chapel where Cardinals will be in seclusion until they reach a consensus. Although there are 252 Cardinals in the College, only 133 are eligible to vote as only Cardinals under the age of 80 years as of the day of the death of the incumbent Pope may vote in a conclave. The current conclave will begin on the 7th of May.
Cardinals have to choose carefully as they are not just choosing a candidate but a path forward for the Catholic Church, debating between progressive and conservative ideologies.
As the chasm grows between the two polarised sides, Cardinals must overcome personal biases to identify a candidate who will resonate with 1.4 billion Catholics around the world as their Spiritual Leader, ensuring that the church is still relevant and influential in this day and age.
The Legacy of Pope Francis
Pope Francis’ legacy of inclusivity and change was not necessarily an audacious liberal agenda, given the Church’s fundamental tenet of sheltering and feeding strangers rooted in the Gospels.
However, his wholehearted acceptance of LGBTQIA+ communities and his insistence that they be included in the decision-making process of mainstream Churches to ensure that their spiritual needs were also met, was path breaking. Naturally, it met with resistance from more Conservative Cardinals, even as it endeared him to liberals around the world.
In addition, issues like gender equality, giving women in the Church more visibility and responsibility, addressing sexual abuse claims within the Church, and acknowledging and including the growth of the Global South in the Church’s journey will be relevant.
Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny told the media that the new Pope must also deal with present-day challenges such as Artificial Intelligence, ongoing wars and Climate Change among other issues.
“These are all things in which the church is involved because we’re everywhere and these are the things that are affecting people’s lives,” Czerny said.
Meanwhile, Haitian Cardinal Chibly Langlois said that his priority would be a Pope who will be able to tackle issues such as technology, the sex abuse scandals in the church, interreligious dialogue, along outreach to young people and isolated communities.
“If we try to understand what awaits the next Pope, inside and outside the Church and around the world, that will help guide the next Pope,” Langlois said.
Electoral logistics
Cardinals will be secluded in the magnificent Sistine Chapel, where the election process will be conducted through secret ballot. A new pope would need a two-thirds majority to win.
When a consensus is achieved, the news is shared via a slim but steady stream of white smoke from the chimney of the chapel.
The newly elected Pope then appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to give his first blessing to the faithful.
As Roman Catholics around the world pray and wait for their new Holy Father, the rest of the world will watch closely to see who will emerge as the new Shepherd to a flock of 1.4 billion people.
Top Contenders for the role
Pietro Parolin: Cardinals have talked about Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, as someone who could have a steady, bureaucratic hand on the Church’s wheel.
Luis Tagle: Known as ‘The Asian Francis,’ Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines is considered to be a contender in the mould of Francis but has been criticised for not being vocal enough about his country’s brutal drug war and clerical sex abuse.
Matteo Zuppi: Cardinal Zuppi of Italy has worked with the needy and the disenfranchised, even as he participated in peace talks around the world.
Robert Francis Prevost: As ideological camps tussle over whether to continue Pope Francis’ inclusive agenda or return to a conservative doctrinal path, supporters of Cardinal Prevost, a native of Chicago who has spent the bulk of his career outside the country, pitch him as a balanced alternative.
Jean-Marc Aveline: From Marseille, France, Cardinal Aveline has spent a large part of his career promoting conversations between different faiths in this port city, which is at the confluence of diverse cultures and religions that is also plagued by poverty and crime.
Vineeta Rao is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
