The Conclave

It officially begins today. Rumors abound and everyone is looking for the "leaked report" or the "inside scoop" so that they can know what they are not yet supposed to know. Already, there has been a report that a liberal cardinal left early because of the lack of support for Pope Francis' legacy! Let us pray that he was right and that the Cardinals have already seen the need to take a different course than the twisted and damaged road that we have been led down for the past twelve years.

What can I say that has not already been said? Just one thing comes to mind. I do not want a "traditional" Pope. I also do not want a "Centrist" Pope, or a "Progressive" Pope. As one priest pointed out recently, these are categories which lead us to think that there are factions in the Church that are comparable to the denominational tossed salad of protestantism. This is not who we are.

Let me explain further. There is one Catholic faith, and those few areas that allow for latitude, should have nothing to do with the choice of the new Pope. It should not be "should we have a moderate, or an orthodox Pope?" That makes it sound like there are numerous different theological perspectives in the Church and whichever one wins the Papacy will be the one to direct the Church for the future. There is only one correct choice for our new Pope: a faithful Pope.

Yes, there are different views of Catholicism, but they do not exist because they are allowed; they exist because there are people who disagree with the Catholic faith. In other words, there is the Catholic faith, and there are heresies; no options in between. We cannot approach the revealed truth of God the way that protestants do: we are not private interpreters who pick and choose their own way of doing things, and then find the group that agrees with us so we never need to be challenged.

Yes, it is true that we are called "Traditional" and consider ourselves to be that way. Nothing wrong with that if we are clarifying our commitment to the faith, and our unwillingness to "obey men rather than God". If a title is used as an identifier, that is good. If a title is used to imagine a relativistic view of the Catholic faith and allow for contradictory positions, that is wrong. In actuality there are not "traditional" Catholics and "progressive" Catholics; there are faithful Catholics and unfaithful Catholics.

The challenge of the last twelve years has been the fact that some in Rome have been trying to change the faith and deny what God has revealed. They want something other than Catholic to be taught in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. When you go before God in prayer today, do not pray for a "traditional Pope" (though God understands what you mean when you say that). Pray for a godly Pope; pray for a holy Pope; pray for a Pope who unashamedly holds the Catholic faith and teaches it to us.