A Pope's Impossible Job Description

The Pope's job description is unique - unlike any other in the world. He is the CEO of a worldwide enterprise, head of the Vatican political state, the most listened to moral voice on the planet and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth, "the Vicar of Christ." Whoever is elected Pope in the conclave that starts Tuesday afternoon will inherit a Church divided over the role of lay people and women, on doctrine and social justice , even on what is required to be a Catholic. The challenges the next Pope will face are multiple and extremely difficult. First, there is the essential question of reform. The rumors making their way around the world suggest that there are two main factions going into the conclave -- (1) the group of cardinals who want reform, being led by American and reform-minded Italian cardinals who support Milan Cardinal Scola, a reformer, and (2) the Curia made up of the cardinals who are the Vatican bureaucrats, who support the status quo and prefer Brazilian Cardinal Scherer, whom the Curia think they can control. But there is an emerging third group that won't be voting but whose opinions will be very much in the thoughts of the voting cardinals - the worldwide Catholic laity, who are disgusted at the priest sex abuse scandals and who want a Church leadership that understands them and their children and will help them to hold onto their faith and Church in an increasingly secular and agnostic world. The next Pope will have to deal all these laity issues, as well as restore discipline to the central Curia administration of the church. Benedict XVI understood that the Curia was out of control when he commissioned a report on its condition that will be shown only to his successor. Benedict's butler had leaked the Pope's private papers revealing feuding, corruption and cronyism at the highest levels of administration. In addition, the secretive Vatican bank recently ousted a president for incompetence and is under pressure for greater financial transparency. Bishops in several countries say non-responsive Vatican officials are hampering local churches. The Curia decides everything from bishop appointments and liturgy, to parish closings and discipline for abusive priests. But, the Vatican Curia also remains under pressure to reveal more about its past role in the Church's failures to protect children worldwide. The issue resurfaced ahead of the conclave, when victims from the US, Italy, Chile and Mexico pressured cardinals to recuse themselves (i.e., stay out of the conclave) because they had shielded priests from prosecution. Benedict instructed bishops around the world to make policies to keep abusers from the priesthood, but church leaders in some nations haven't yet complied. "There's still the victims," Chicago Cardinal Francis George said in a news conference last week. "The wound is still deep in their hearts, and as long as it's with them it will be with us. The pope has to keep this in mind." It will take a very firm hand from the new Pope to prevail over the natural instinct of some in the Church hierarchy to hunker down and ride out the sex abuse scandal.Then there is the growing matter of secularism, which has already taken a toll on churches in Europe and America, where a growing number of people don't identify with faith. The worldwide distancing of people from organized religion is also hurting parishes in Latin America, where churches in Brazil and other predominantly Catholic countries have already been losing members to Protestant Pentecostal movements. As the Church loses members, it also loses influence. A good example is the ineffective Church opposition to same-sex marriage in the West. So, the next Pope must be a head missionary, with the charisma, weight and personal holiness to bring Catholics back to church. And, in addition to refilling parishes with practicing Catholics, the new Pope will need to help the Church recruit young men it needs as priests, especially in Europe and North America. And the Pope should be able to guide priests worldwide who are struggling with their own job descriptions as modern-day pastors. The job requires fundraising, personal counseling and the defense of doctrine, often to Catholics who don't want to listen. Priests are also operating in the shadow cast by the sex abuse crisis, although most known molestation cases occurred decades ago. In recent years, some priests have made their own proposals to strengthen their ranks. Clergy in heavily Catholic Austria in 2011 called for ordaining women and relaxing the celibacy requirement. Benedict chastised them. The new Pope will also have to deal with the discrimination and violence, both private and governmental, that Catholics and minorities face in many countries, including Syria, Egypt, India and China. This issue unites religious leaders across faiths and the Pope is always a key voice in the fight. Some of the toughest situations are found in Muslim nations, which often ban and punish Christian evangelizing. Addressing the issue requires skilled diplomacy because a misstep can cost lives. There is also the daily public relations aspect of being Pope. He has to maintain friendships with many other Christian groups and other religions, including Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and Jews. But his most pressing task will be to stabilize relations with Islam. The importance of the issue was made clear in the fallout from Benedict's 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany, in which he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman." Benedict made many efforts to mend fences, including praying beside an imam that same year at the historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The African laity has already asked the new Pope, whoever he may be, to address the problem of the threats and attacks, some fatal, they receive from radical Muslim movements. So, dear readers, the job is really beyond anyone's capacity to completely fulfill. The cardinals have begun their discussions and are trying to narrow the job qualifications down to the essentials required in the next ten years or so. The new Pope will be the person who meets the greatest number of the qualifications sought by the cardinals. What all of us, of every faith, can do is pray that the cardinals listen to their consciences and select the Pope best able to comfort and guide the world of the early 21st century.