It’s official: the conclave to choose the next pope will begin on 7 May. It may then take days, or even weeks, before the participating cardinals conclude their deliberations. On the internet, however, the white smoke has already gone up. If “Catholic Twitter” (as it used to be called) were making the big decision, then the next pope would most likely be Cardinal Robert Sarah.
The buzz among the online faithful has gone hand-in-hand with sympathetic coverage in various secular — if usually conservative — outlets such as Fox News, the Telegraph and the Spectator. In the absence of reliable polling, he’s the closest thing to a people’s choice. Of course, the Roman Catholic Church is not a democracy. But the cardinal-electors meeting next week might want to consider why so much hope is attached to the quietly-spoken 79-year-old from Guinea.
After the confusing twists and turns of Pope Francis’s reign, it’s not surprising that many Catholics want a return to the certainties of the faith. Certainly, it’s difficult to think of any contemporary figure who’d do a better job of embodying that desire than Sarah. Yet though he’s counted among the papabile — those with a shot at becoming the next pope — he’s not among the top favourites. The bookies, prediction markets and Vatican watchers have him lagging behind. So why wouldn’t his fellow cardinals choose Sarah?
The worst excuse is that it’s time for another Italian pope. While it’s true that there hasn’t been an Italian Bishop of Rome since 1978, it’s also true that there hasn’t been an African pope since Gelasius in 492. Incidentally, Sarah is fluent in Italian — not to mention Latin, English, French and Spanish.
Another criticism is that he’s too conservative. Media coverage focuses on statements of his such as “gender ideology is a Luciferian refusal to receive a sexual nature from God.” But everything he’s publicly said is consistent with Church doctrine. If Sarah is too conservative, then Catholicism is too conservative, which, of course, is what his critics really mean. He is hardly an attention-seeking loudmouth, either. His book The Power of Silence is profound and, after 12 years of extemporaneous musings from Francis, a contemplative pope would make a welcome change.
Finally, is Sarah just too old? At 79, he’s only just young enough to take part in the conclave, which, unlike the American presidency, excludes octogenarians. However, he appears to be in good health and made a rapid recovery from a prostate operation in 2021. In any case, the significance of a papacy cannot be measured in its mere duration. Pope John XXIII — “the Good Pope” — only had five years in the job, but still managed to have a profound impact on the modern Church.
Before long, Catholicism could be led by a much younger man like Pierbattista Pizzaballa or Luis Antonio Tagle, but first the cardinals may wish to stop and think and pray. They will be doing plenty of that next week. But if they feel themselves in need of more time — a few years, perhaps — then they should choose a pope who is nearer to meeting his maker.
