{"id":22985,"date":"2025-05-03T09:50:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T09:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/these-contentious-issues-could-determine-who-becomes-the-next-pope\/"},"modified":"2025-05-03T09:50:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T09:50:33","slug":"these-contentious-issues-could-determine-who-becomes-the-next-pope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/these-contentious-issues-could-determine-who-becomes-the-next-pope\/","title":{"rendered":"These Contentious Issues Could Determine Who Becomes the Next Pope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The cardinals who have traveled to Rome to elect the next pope at a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/28\/world\/europe\/papal-conclave-date.html\" title=\"\">conclave next week<\/a> sometimes look as ideologically polarized as many secular voters around the globe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At first glance, they appear to split along the kinds of left-right lines that characterize political contests elsewhere. Many conservative Roman Catholic Church leaders disagreed with Pope Francis, who was often a darling of liberals around the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the typical divisions between progressives and conservatives don\u2019t correspond so neatly with the ideological battles within the Vatican and the broader church. Although there are some exceptions among the cardinals, the issue that most consistently marked Francis as a liberal \u2014 his fierce advocacy on behalf of migrants and the poor \u2014 does not necessarily set him apart, because the Catholic Church has made the gospel\u2019s call to shelter and feed strangers a fundamental tenet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ultimately, the cardinals\u2019 choice will amount to a referendum on whether to extend Francis\u2019 legacy of inclusivity and openness to change. That was \u201chow he made sense of living in a highly polarized age,\u201d said Anna Rowlands, a political theologian at Durham University in England.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Francis understood \u201cwhat\u2019s at stake in the polarization,\u201d said Professor Rowlands, and was willing to accept disagreement as a precursor to dialogue. \u201cThe danger is the church moves into a moment when it might be tempted to choose a pole,\u201d she said, which could close off discussion altogether.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">More than any single issue, the choice of the next pontiff will be dominated by a philosophical question: Who deserves a say in determining the Catholic Church\u2019s future?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-375a77eb\">Decision-Making<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Francis often argued that regular practicing Catholics \u2014 including women and L.G.B.T.Q. people \u2014 should be consulted about the direction of the church. He invited lay people to sit with bishops to discuss controversial issues in Vatican meetings called synods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He was opposed by more conservative leaders, who may be keen to return to centralized decision making. \u201cI think the conversation will have to go along the lines of, \u2018Can we get away with doing away with it?\u2019\u201d said Miriam Duignan, the executive director of the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research in Cambridge, England.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another key split is between those who believe the church should welcome everyone \u2014 including those whose lives don\u2019t match traditional church teachings \u2014 and those who think that only those committed to unwavering Catholic doctrine should be admitted into the church\u2019s fold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s that big-tent vision of the church that is sometimes the source of tension and apprehension,\u201d said Rev. Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, dean of the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University. \u201cIt\u2019s very different when you think of church as a perfect society or closed society where membership is defined by doctrinal allegiance or orthodoxy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7cd96794\">Women in the Church<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Two years ago, Francis for the first time <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/26\/world\/europe\/pope-women-vote-bishops-meeting.html\" title=\"\">allowed women to vote<\/a> at a significant meeting of bishops. Last later, he punted on a decision about whether <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/02\/world\/europe\/pope-women.html\" title=\"\">women could be ordained as deacons<\/a> who can preach and preside over weddings, funerals and baptisms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Francis was clear that he wanted women to be permitted more options than \u201caltar girls or the president of a charity,\u201d but resisted the notion that they needed to participate in the church hierarchy. In many places with priest shortages, women increasingly do the work of ministering to congregants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Conservatives say that allowing women to be deacons would create a pathway for them eventually to become priests. They argue that doing so would violate 2,000 years of church doctrine, despite what some experts say is historical evidence that women acted as deacons in the early church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even if the ordination of women remains contentious among the cardinals, it would be difficult to stifle the debate altogether because of pressure from female Catholic activists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, the archbishop of Tokyo, said in an interview last month that he saw \u201cnothing wrong with ordaining women as deacons.\u201d But he said, \u201cthere are still many problems that need to be overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4ce71c2d\">Married Priests<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The church has a dearth of priests in many countries. In 2019, a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/26\/world\/europe\/vatican-synod-amazon-pope.html\" title=\"\">summit of Roman Catholic bishops recommended<\/a> that Francis allow married men to serve as priests in the remote Amazon region, where the shortage is particularly acute.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A year later, Francis <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/02\/12\/world\/europe\/pope-married-priests.html\" title=\"\">said he needed more time to consider the landmark proposal<\/a>, deciding that the church wasn\u2019t yet ready to lift its roughly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cclergy\/documents\/rc_con_cclergy_doc_01011993_chisto_en.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">1,000-year-old restriction<\/a> requiring priests to be single, celibate men. Many of his supporters who expected him to be a pope of radical change <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/23\/world\/europe\/pope-francis-catholic-church-legacy.html\" title=\"\">felt let down<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-462023ce\">Divorce<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the question of divorced and remarried Catholics, Francis urged priests not to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/08\/06\/world\/europe\/pope-francis-urges-priests-to-welcome-remarried-catholics.html\" title=\"\">treat them like pariahs<\/a>, and to welcome them with \u201cdoors wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Francis opened up the debate over whether to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion even if they had not had their previous marriages annulled by a church tribunal. But in the end, he backed off from any change in church law and simply encouraged priests to be welcoming to divorced and remarried Catholics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cPeople who started a new union after the defeat of their sacramental marriage are not at all excommunicated, and they absolutely must not be treated that way,\u201d Francis said. \u201cThough their unions are contrary to the sacrament of marriage, the church, as a mother, seeks the good and salvation of all her children.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-5f72521d\">Sexual Orientation<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Pope Francis ushered in a new era for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics when in 2023 he permitted priests to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/18\/world\/europe\/pope-gay-lesbian-same-sex-blessing.html\" title=\"\">bless same-sex couples<\/a>. He made clear that marriage was reserved for relationships between a woman and a man, but his changes still stoked the ire of conservatives, especially in Africa and North America.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In countries in Africa and other regions where homosexuality is a crime, Francis explicitly condemned the criminalization but allowed bishops in Africa to forbid priests to bless same-sex couples because of the danger to them if they were outed. In cultures that stigmatized gay relationships, clergy would be <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/04\/world\/europe\/vatican-pope-lgbtq-blessings.html\" title=\"\">given<\/a> an \u201cextended period of pastoral reflection\u201d to accept the new path that Francis always argued did not contradict church teachings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-24043c19\">Sexual Abuse<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some among the church hierarchy might like to declare the crisis of sexual abuse by Catholic priests over. But abuse survivors and activists warn that practices and the mentality in local parishes have not changed enough to prevent future cases or address the pain of existing ones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A statement from the Vatican press office on Friday said the cardinals were discussing sexual abuse in the church as a \u201c\u2018wound\u2019 to be kept \u2018open\u2019, so that awareness of the problem remains alive and concrete paths for its healing can be identified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The biggest revelations have been concentrated in the United States, Australia and Europe. But in most of Asia, Africa and Latin America, \u201ca lot has yet to come out, so this will continue to rumble on,\u201d said Miles Pattenden, a historian who studies the Catholic Church at Oxford University. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-42bf8913\">The Global South<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The biggest growth areas for the Catholic Church are in Africa and Asia. The cardinals selecting the next pope are surely discussing whether to choose someone from one of those regions. Whoever they elect will need to reckon with the proliferation of cultures and traditions, as well as spiritual heritages, among new followers. Some may come with different expectations of what role the faith plays in their lives and how they should accommodate its rules.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Whether or not the new pope comes from those regions, he \u201cmust be one who is ready to speak to the injustices that exist in relationship between the global north and the global south in international politics,\u201d said Nora Kofognotera Nonterah, a theological ethicist at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. \u201cA pope cannot run away from that in the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the church recruits new followers, it will also need to find a way to speak to its youngest members. \u201cYoung people are no longer interested in taking directives and working with directives,\u201d Dr. Nonterah said. \u201cThey want to ask questions and they want to be asked questions.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/03\/world\/europe\/pope-conclave-contentious-issues.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cardinals who have traveled to Rome to elect the next pope at a conclave next week sometimes look as<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[3116,5537,924,2502,1824,925],"class_list":["post-22985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-cardinals-roman-catholic-prelates","tag-clergy","tag-francis","tag-popes","tag-religion-and-belief","tag-roman-catholic-church"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>These Contentious Issues Could Determine Who Becomes the Next Pope - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/these-contentious-issues-could-determine-who-becomes-the-next-pope\/\" \/>\n<meta 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