Source: Lew Rockwell | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
At the time of this writing, Pope Francis is in critical condition at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome with a complex case of pneumonia in both lungs and early-stage kidney failure. Before all else, we pray for his well-being and peace. But death is in the air. The Swiss Guard have held funeral rehearsals. The pontiff has shared his plan to relinquish the papal triple-interlocking casket and confided that he doesn’t believe he will survive this bout. Even before this decline in his fragile health, however, political preparations for the pope’s passing had begun.
For those who haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated Conclave, that flashy film is a startling instance of how important the papacy has become to the powers that be. It is fascinating that such a film exists and has received such attention in its creation and criticism. Though it may easily be passed off as an ideological cloak-and-dagger thriller, Conclave betrays a serious concern that the world has for the Church, though it often acts with dismissive indifference of such stifling religious spiritualism.
Conclave is not as prophetic as it is perceptive, expressing a deep apprehension about the Church both by its existence and its acclaim. It bespeaks a dread that the liberals will lose their foothold after Pope Francis dies. Bishop Robert Barron said that Catholics should “run away” from Conclave—and perhaps they should. But the film provides, in its warning, a revealing glimpse into an acknowledged significance of the Catholic Church, and it is interesting to witness such a compliment from the Hollywood mouthpiece of the cunning enemy.
Liberals are fearful to surrender the territory they see as held by the attitude and atmosphere of Pope Francis’ “who-am-I-to-judge” papacy. It’s true that this pope has not been a strong defender of the deposit of faith—for all the good and true that he has stood for—and in that, the Left has often hailed him as an ally for their progressive agenda, insidiously interpreting his casual comments to support suggestions of the Church moving toward things like the acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, transgenderism, and religiously-inclusive pachamama worship.
There is an apologia brewing for the spirit of the Francis papacy as secular stakeholders recoil to lose his fast-and-loose presence in the Vatican with the same vehemence as they recoil at Donald Trump’s fast-and-furious return to the White House. There is a warning sounding about the influence of the papacy and the power of Catholics that could usher a backward slide to a neolithic idiocy that hates homosexuals and loves dead languages. The prospect of a pope getting explicit about the woke agenda, or freeing the Latin Mass from its restrictions, or recommitting Catholics to the bedrock of traditional Church teaching is a horror that Conclave captures, and one that is swirling in the political storm gathering over Francis’ sickbed in anticipation of a deathbed.
Pope Francis is well aware of his danger and the danger of the political situation. He initially resisted going to the hospital for his respiratory infection but was informed that he would risk dying if he remained in his Vatican apartment. Facing the possibility of his imminent passing, the pope has made several appointments and arrangements that might prove sympathetic to his inclusive legacy—a legacy that has caused much division and complaint from conservative Catholics.
One of the moves Pope Francis made before his hospitalization was unilaterally extending the term of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as the Dean of the College of Cardinals. This is the prelate who will oversee the preparation and the performance of the conclave after the pope passes away, as well as the funeral rites for Francis. This decision was controversial as it canceled a scheduled vote for a new dean by certain high-ranking cardinals—but Francis explained that he wanted to keep Re in the position because he would be, reportedly, “kinder” to him than others.
This unconventional reappointment, and the 163 appointments Francis has made to the 252-member college (138 of whom are eligible to vote at the conclave), seems to suggest his own preparations regarding the selection of the next pope—and his efforts to ensure that the papacy will carry on according to his intentions. While Cardinal Re is too old to be a part of the conclave, he is an influential figure close to Francis, who will almost certainly be concerned to see his legacy conserved and continued. The conclave that elected Pope Francis was allegedly swayed by a group of older, non-voting cardinals, and the lobbying is, no doubt, well underway. The next pope may already be earmarked for all intents and purposes.
Such power-leveraging machinations may not be new to the papacy, but their clear presence is symptomatic of one of the largest problems with Pope Francis’ pontificate: namely, it has been too political. From his off-the-cuff comments that seemed to legitimize Left-leaning relativists, both within and without the Church, to his overt antagonism toward tradition and continuous political posturing, Francis has given far too much fodder to the world to paint him and the “changing Church” in their rainbow colors. It is remarkable how light Francis has been on theology and how heavy he has been in the tabloids.
