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Pope Francis’ emphasis on the “periphery” Catholic church And the world will lead to a wide variety of church leaders in history to choose a new pope.
According to Mary Fiorita, an expert at the papal election and the senior employee of the Catholic Association, it can lead very well to the next pope who has a completely different set of priorities than in a late pantiff.
Francis chose about 80% of the 135 church leaders – called the cardinals who will vote for the next Pope in the future papal conclave.
As a result, it will turn out that, instead of dominated by European or even western cardinals, there will be large contingents from regions such as Africa and Asia.
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The man is pursuing a portrait of the late Pope Francis in the Basilica de San Khase -De -Flores, where he worshiped in his youth after the Vatican announced his death, in Buenos -Aires, Argentina, on Monday, April 21, 2025. (Gustava burned/ap)
“It will be the most diverse conclave in the history of the Church,” Fiorita said.
But this diversity can write a retreat from some defining francis pontificate, such as its focus on “Synod”, “” That is, meetings of small groups from all over the world to discuss issues of theology and church practice.
Fiorita sees the following conclave, which, according to her, will begin on May 5 as a matter of whether the next Pope will be a person who continues Francis’s inheritance or moves the accent of the church on problems such as persecution and poverty, which are the main problems like Nigeria, Pakistan and India.
Only in Nigeria, where about half of the population is Christians, 3,100 Christians were killed and 2830 were abducted in 2024, according to Open doors.
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Pope Francis delivers his Sunday blessing Angelus from his residence to the Casser -Mart -Mart on November 26, 2023 in the Vatican. (Vatican media via Vatican/Getti basin)
In this sense, Fiorito predicted that African cardinals, which now form a significant voting block, will play a major role in choosing the next Pope.
She explained that the African Church has a completely different set of priorities, which were largely formed by the realities of rapid growth in combination with intense persecution.
“We are concerned about things like climate change, and they are concerned that they are not closed in the church and set on fire,” she explained. “They do not sit behind these tables for 10, discussing great ideas. They just want to make sure their child gets to school without shooting and they can pay the rent this month.”
With this will come the desire to choose the Pope who will respect the African Church as equal and who will oppose “ideological colonization” From the West with concepts such as climate change, abortion and gender ideology.
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Cardinal Ghana Peter Kodevo Turks is waiting for an exchange of Christmas congratulations to Pope Francis in the Clemenity Hall on December 21, 2013 in the Vatican city. (Franco Origlia/Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
“Cardinals in Africa are very sensitive to this kind of ideological colonization, where they are not colonized in the traditional way, but the ideas of the West are included and trying to change African culture with Western ideas without listening to people at first,” she said.
With that in mind, Fiorita pointed to the Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdő, who at the age of 71 is young enough to be chosen and many are regarded as “John Paul II”. He is respected by both Pope Francis’ synodic camps and African bishops.
Another candidate, said Fiorita, who can “overcome the gap” between different worlds, is the American Cardinal Robert Prevost, who currently holds the post of President of the Pontifical Commission on Latin America. However, Fiorita noted that Prevost may be less likely if the cardinals “do not want to see so much power in the world.”
Fiorito also predicted the questions of the present compared to the traditions that have written some of the most significant Disputes during the Francis pontificate The factor will also play in the West.
Cardinals go to the procession to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, at the beginning of the conclave on April 18, 2005. (Raman’s observer via AP)
She said that against the backdrop of the general decline of faith in the West there was a tangible shift in young people who cover more traditional forms of worship in the church, such as a traditional Latin Mass.
“That’s where 20 Masses are going,” she said. “In a world where there is so much smallness and vulgarity, you have something that eternally and just transfer you to another world.”
Despite this, she said that the issue of traditional Latin Mass is rather a “niche liturgical question that I think will not have much influence.”
Fiorita noted that, unlike the political elections, the choice of the next Pope is less about a set of questions and politics, but instead more about the person himself.
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The Cardinals of the Catholic Church attend the conclave in the election in the Sistine Chapel on April 18, 2005 in the Vatican. (Arturo Marie, Vatican pool)
“I would not want to produce it in terms of questions as if we are talking about economics or migration. We look at individual men and ask themselves who can serve the church best at this point, and who is the person who is best to take on this international role?” she said.
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“The role of the Holy Father is to be the center of unity for the church in preaching the message and the Gospel,” Fiorita continued. “So, it looks at individuals, their strengths, their weaknesses, their origin, what restrictions they can have.
“My sense of this,” she continued, “I think the cardinals should look at the church today, not just on their yards, but also on a global scale and saying,” Who is a man who can best put the church forward into this new era? ”
