10 Critical Issues Facing the Next Pope

Pope Francis, who famously advocated “making a mess,” applied that maxim to his pontificate, making it highly disruptive, divisive and tumultuous.

The mess generated much understandable unease, consternation and, at times, disgust, especially as such a deliberate approach to governance has never been consistent with the Catholic faith, the common good, Divine Revelation, and the natural law.

However, the flipside was that, like stirring a pot, it brought plenty of what had lain hidden in the darkness to the surface.

And in so doing, it has the potential to equip the next pope with the information needed to set about rectifying, if he so wishes, the problems Francis’ pontificate exposed.

So what could be critical areas that the next pope needs to address? Here is a list of 10 possible priorities:

1. Return to a Papacy as Source of Sound Doctrine and Unity

Although Pope Francis did much to try to bring the Church to the peripheries, the poor and the marginalized in an attempt to make her accessible to those who might not have given her a second glance, in doing so he often set aside doctrinal boundaries and canonical limits to papal power. He was also frequently criticized for departing from apostolic tradition, issuing statements that at least appeared to run contrary to established Church teaching — especially her moral teaching, and promoting indifferentism — the idea that all religions are valid paths to God. Together with a push towards synodality, in which uncatechized faithful had a significant say in a broad democratization of the Church, this led to doctrinal confusion in the Vatican and elsewhere, the Church in Germany being a prime example. Together with a failure to correct error and heresy, a trend that began before the Francis pontificate, the integrity of the faith has been undermined. An urgent priority for the next pope, therefore, will be to restore doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, good governance, and respect for canon law. Connected with this, the next pope will need to cease and root out the persecution and elimination of institutions, movements, bishops, clergy and laity who evidently bear good and ample fruits in terms of reverence, spiritual life, fidelity to Catholic doctrine, and vocations. He should allow any such persons or entities to grow and flourish rather than be cancelled — contrary to what often took place under Pope Francis where those who abused doctrine, moral teaching and the liturgy went unpunished and were allowed to thrive.

2. Clarification of Vatican II, Reform of the Jesuits

Closely connected with the first critical issue is a need for the next pope to clear up ambiguities regarding the Second Vatican Council, or at least tackle this concern which has grown in recent years. The Council has long been interpreted in ways which many stress differ from those intended by the Council fathers, and this became especially apparent during Francis’ pontificate. The ambiguity has often been blamed on a lack of clarity in interpreting the teachings of the Council which have themselves often been criticized for not being clear enough. Part of this return to clarity of teaching could also entail some kind of reform of the Jesuit Order. In his Demos Memorandum, Cardinal George Pell called for such a reform given the prevailing heterodoxy in the Society of Jesus and catastrophic decline in terms of vocations to the Order. “The Jesuit charism and contribution have been and are so important to the Church that they should not be allowed to pass away into history undisturbed,” the memo said.

3. Restore Traditional Papal Governance and Collegiality to the College of Bishops and Cardinals

Connected with papal power, the next pope will need to reassert greater collegiality with bishops and within the College of Cardinals. Due to a long-standing trend of centralization and overbearing bishops’ conference, the full realization of episcopal collegiality as envisioned by Vatican II has not taken place, and the autonomy and authority of bishops has been undermined. Regarding the College of Cardinals, in recent years and contrary to the stated wish for synodality, the majority of the cardinals with the exception of a few close aides, have been excluded from decision making, even though one of their principal roles is to act as advisers to the Pope. They also had few opportunities to meet because meetings of all cardinals during cardinal-making consistories were halted in 2014, also lessening the collegiality of the Sacred College. These factors led to a diminishment of the cardinals’ important role while excessive and unchecked power was placed in the hands of the Pope, contrary to the traditions of the past. This became so apparent under Pope Francis that observers said the papacy had become tyrannical with arbitrary exercises of power. The next pontiff will need to reaffirm what popes can and cannot do in accordance with apostolic tradition, and how much Magisterial weight should be placed on a pope’s various pronouncements — all significant topics of debate during Francis’ pontificate.

4. More Reverence in the Liturgy

The divine liturgy is the “summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed” and the “font from which all her power flows,” said Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the liturgy. The liturgy also protects the Church against false teachings and inaccurate theology. Many, including Benedict XVI, have attributed today’s crisis in the Church largely to abuses of the liturgy that stemmed from the liturgical reforms of 1970, causing the Church to lose her Christocentric emphasis and replace it with a preference for entertainment that focuses on man rather than God. The next Pope will need to prioritize a return to more reverent worship by improving liturgical formation for both clergy and laity, prioritizing the supernatural (the purpose of the Church is supernatural), and emphasizing the First Commandment, the worship of God.

5. End Suppression of the Traditional Liturgy

Connected with the need to overcome liturgical abuses is the need to address a tendency to suppress, and Francis’ clear suppression of, the Traditional Latin Mass — a decision which was widely viewed as unjust, opposed to previous papal teaching, contrary to divine law, and the opposite of what many believed the liturgy needed at this time: greater sacredness, less worldliness, and more Christ-centered reverence that reaffirmed the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The next Pope will therefore have to ascertain how best to restore efforts, already begun by Pope Benedict XVI, in allowing the Church to draw on the riches of the increasingly popular Traditional liturgy while not endangering unity or exacerbating the “liturgy wars.”

6. Distance from Globalism, Secularism and Ties to Government Funding

Over the past 60 years, and largely as a result of the Second Vatican Council’s directive to open the doors of the Church to the world, the Holy See and the wider Church has allied with governments in an effort to help the poor, vulnerable and the marginalized. But while this has born some good fruit, it has also sprouted thorns. Her closeness to political factions, globalism, and growing dependence on state funding has led, especially in recent years, to compromises being made with secular values leading to a muting the Church’s voice on key moral issues, and a consequent “flattening” of her evangelical witness. This was particularly visible when it came to allying with the previous Biden administration but also in the Vatican’s increasingly frequent collaboration with multinational groups whose values have been diametrically opposed to the Church’s key moral teachings. The next Pope will need to courageously distance the Church from such ideological groups, governments and temporal affairs, as well as issues on which it has little competence such as climate change, and secular values of “diversity” and “inclusion” that tend to only really apply to those who adhere to the same secularist ideology. His main task will be to bring the Church back to her main duty: serving as the Lord’s instrument for the salvation of souls and propagating the faith.

7. Zero Tolerance on Clerical Sex Abuse

Pope Francis was elected on a mandate to tackle the sexual abuse crisis. He made some progress such as publishing the document Vos estis lux mundi that, although it contained weaknesses, aimed to make bishops more accountable. He also removed some bishops for covering up abuse. But a culture of secrecy remains and Francis himself repeatedly defended and protected offending bishops and high-ranking clerics, especially those to whom he was personally loyal (e.g. Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, Father Marko Rupnik, Theodore McCarrick, and Bishop Juan Barros Madrid). A critical issue for the next Pope will be to ensure greater justice and consistency in dealing with the issue, taking the lead in tackling abuse and not covering up for friends.

8. Homosexuality in the Church

Often called the “Pink Elephant in the Room,” the prevailing influence of those who maintain homosexuality is normal has been harmful. It has had a significant negative influence on her overall governance, ability to evangelize, and in attracting sound vocations. This attempt to normalize it within the Church, especially under Francis who had allied with groups that the Vatican had previously banned, has allowed cliques to grow, conspiracies of silence to worsen, and great injustices to be committed, not least in its thwarting of non-homosexual cardinals, bishops, priests and faithful from being heard and having a role in governing the Church. It has also left many homosexual clerics vulnerable to blackmail. The next Pope will have to work to at least identify problem areas, close down such homosexual groups, and show zero tolerance for incidents of homosexual practice in the priesthood and the Church hierarchy.

9. Good Stewardship of Vatican Finances

Despite some well publicized setbacks, Pope Francis’ pontificate had some successes in financial reform that laid the groundwork for improved management, and greater transparency and accountability. But challenges remain and the next Pope will need to fully implement the structural reforms Francis began in 2014 by removing the changes of subsequent years that had watered down the effects of the reforms. He will also need to appoint qualified lay persons to enact the reforms and embark on a thorough restructuring, especially regarding APSA, as well as introduce independent bodies of control. The next pope will also be required to address unresolved problems such as the Sloane Avenue Property Scandal, allegations that Vatican funds were used to buy witnesses against Cardinal Pell in his trial to prevent him uncovering financial corruption in the Vatican, and the complaint of ex-Auditor General Libero Milone who is suing the Vatican for unlawful dismissal.

10. Confront the Threat of Islam

Since the backlash against Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 Regensburg Lecture, and especially during the Francis pontificate, the Vatican and the Church in general has beaten a retreat from tackling the threat of the spread of Islam in the West, preferring instead a policy of accommodation, dialogue on common issues, and an emphasis on fraternity but without Christ being mentioned or given clear prominence. This reached its pinnacle with Pope Francis’ Human Fraternity document and the Holy See’s support for such initiatives as the Abrahamic Family House. Such an approach often sidestepped such questions as persecution of Christians by Islamist groups or Muslim-majority governments and the importance of reciprocity when it comes to religious freedom. It has also prompted accusations of syncretism and indifferentism. The next pope will need to address these issues by, for example, stressing evangelization, providing clearer theological guidance to Islam, strengthening advocacy for persecuted Christians, and taking a firmer stand on reciprocity.