Okay, so the Vatican can play the numbers game by pointing to the billions of Catholics across the globe, but if the Church’s leadership is to be taken seriously, radical reform is urgently needed - not in slow stages.
The first bitter medicine that the new pontiff must implement is an Inquisition-style vetting of every priest and nun to rid the Church of paedophiles and other sexual predators.
Across the world, the Church has been plagued with constant revelations about sexual abuse by individual priests and nuns, and allegations of cover-ups by holy orders. If the new pontiff is to be taken seriously as a global leader of influence, saying sorry is not enough - he must launch a rigorous hunt for any existing sex abusers within the Church, and have them immediately excommunicated.
The Catholic Church is one of the richest denominations in the world. The Vatican itself hosts a tremendous wealth. It was Christ Himself who said - sell all and give to the poor. In the Vatican’s case, surely it can sell off a substantial part of its wealth as compensation for the victims of clerical and holy order sexual abuse?
The Catholic Church cannot say it is a true follower of Jesus Christ, yet ignore the pain and suffering of those who have been abused and persecuted by the Church.
Any new pope can use the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount - Blessed are the peacemakers - as the core theme of his pontificate, but unless the Church hierarchy is prepared to put its money where its mouth is and compensate victims, then the new regime in the Vatican is nothing more than the Biblical Pharisees who called for Christ’s crucifixion.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, right in the middle of the Easter celebrations. It would be an insult to his legacy if the new Pope conveniently side-stepped the issue of dealing with any remaining sex abusers within clerical ranks, or pushed the cries of the victims under a carpet.
Now is the time for action by the Church and have a clear-out of those it deems unsuitable to be clerics or nuns. It must follow the example of Jesus Himself when he physically threw the money changers out of the temple.
Like many denominations, the Catholic Church is in some countries facing a shortage of people training to be clerics or wanting to join holy orders. One way this crisis can be addressed is to allow celibacy to become an option, not a compulsory way of life.
It has been suggested that one reason celibacy remains compulsory for those entering the priesthood is that in the case of a marriage breaking down and ending in divorce, would the wife be entitled to part or half of the parochial house?
This can also be addressed by the priest and his bride signing a pre-nuptial agreement that in the event of a divorce, neither partner has the right to claim the parochial house - that building will still only belong to the Church, not the priest or his wife.
The new pontiff will also have to address the role of women in the Church. The 2024 movie blockbuster, Conclave, about how a pope is elected, clearly showed that all the cardinals are male.
Just as a number of Protestant denominations have woman ministers and pastors, so too, must the Catholic Church allow women priests to hold the same position and stature as their male counterparts. Equality of rank must be the theme of the new pontiff. Perhaps a time will come when the real Conclave will elect a female pope?
Likewise, there must also be an increasing role in the short-term for lay people within the Church to compensate for the immediate shortage of ordained priests and nuns.
Theologically, the Church must not water down its doctrine on ‘what is a woman’, abortion, or the institution of marriage simply to satisfy the whims of the woke liberal community or to ‘fit in’ with a perceived increasingly secular or pluralist society.
On these issues, the Catholic Church shares the same Biblical position as many in evangelical and fundamentalist Protestantism. This may mean a redefining of what is termed ‘the ecumenical movement’.
In the current theological climate, being an ecumenist was perceived to be a liberal in their theological stance, and was especially frowned upon by those in evangelical and fundamentalist Protestant places of worship.
However, given society’s challenges to Biblical doctrines, theologically conservative Catholics and Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists may be forced to work together to defend Scriptural positions on marriage, gender identity, abortion, creation and even modern-day issues such as sex education in schools and recognition of faith schools.
Even as Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome, the internal jockeying for his successor has begun. Whilst the identity of the new pontiff is still undecided, what is already certain is that that person will have a substantial ‘in-tray’ of issues to deal with to radicalise the Catholic Church of 2025.
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter John is a Director for Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. |
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