New Pope, Who Dis?

I wasn't really expecting this. I was thinking maybe by the evening of the 2nd day of the Conclave, maybe they'd push it into day three-- but lunchtime on Day 2? That was a surprise and as I sat (as everyone did) and waited for the official announcement to find out who it was, the more convinced I became that this was going to be a fascinating choice.

I don't know if we ever get hard data on vote totals from Conclaves-- I do think names float out there after a while-- who came in second, that sort of thing. (That's how we figured out that Pope Francis was runner-up when Pope Benedict came in)- but if I'm guessing (which naturally, I am) I think that if there was a 'liberal' bloc and a 'conservative' bloc, both sides figured out pretty quickly that their preferred candidates were not going to cut the mustard and set to work finding someone who would. (I also love the attempts to try and force an American political analysis into all of this-- yes, this Pope will come across as very progressive on some issues and very Catholic on others- but it's also The Church. Trying to read tea leaves or view anything through a political lens is an exercise in failure and theology.)

But an American Pope?

I was not expecting this-- and I know, he's spent a lot of his life outside of the United States, so much so he got naturalized in Peru. But still, he's not from Boston or New York, he's from Chicago. He's a White Sox Fan. He went to Villanova. The internet, which is so often an open septic tank/dumpster fire, was made for days like yesterday, and the outpouring of reactions and, generally speaking, joy, was really heartening to see. (Figures, the day after I drop a post about searching for optimism on my Substack, something like this happens- call it divine providence, an answered prayer, or just a pure coincidence, but I found some.)

But I do think the old saying, "If you walk in a Pope, you'll be leaving a Cardinal," held more or less true. Conservative Catholic Twitter had a field day explaining why the 'liberal choices' (Parolin, Tagle) were bad and why the 'conservative choices' (Sarah, Erdo) were good. I saw something ever-so-briefly about Prevost go by me, and I was really starting to wonder about Pizzaballa's chances as well, but as always, barrels of ink went into speculation, and the Conclave made the choice. 

The name is usually the first thing that sends a signal, and if you go look up the last Pope Leo, I think both 'sides' will find something they like there. I do think (tentatively-- this is Day 2 for him, after all) that he'll continue Francis' line of 'meeting people where they are' and being an outward-facing Church and advocating for the poor and marginalized. People might have their feelings about that, but the internet on Easter was awash with anecdotal data that there were a lot of baptisms going on. (My parents reported 14, locally which is a pretty big number.) I'm sure someone, somewhere in the Church keeps hard data on that-- but if souls are being brought back to Christ (or, to be more secular about it, if butts are getting back into pews) it's hard to argue that a radical change of direction one way or the other is warranted. 

If you're worried about Christian Nationalism in this country, yesterday was a good day. The more Catholics (and maybe Mormons too) we have, the less likely Evangelical Nationalist Lunacy takes hold (because they are fans of neither Catholics nor Mormons).

If you were desperately hoping that some institution somewhere was going to hold itself together and not either collapse or collectively loose its mind, yesterday was a good day. (And there's also something to be said, given the distressing support for the current President from Christians who claim to be moral for actual moral leadership. I may not like the Church's positions on a lot of things, but I can't accuse of them of being inconsistent which is rare these days.)

As for me, well, it never goes away. Hell, I haven't been active, practicing Catholic since my 20s and here I am sucked into the Papal Conclave and dropping blogposts about it. It never goes away, y'all. I like our current Church, don't get me wrong. I like how robust their program for kids is. I like that it gives my children an opportunity to find their own way to religion or maybe decide it's not for them. But... it never goes away. The itch is strong. I could never picture myself going back and I'm not sure I ever will, but today, for the first time in two decades...  I can see it.