No Pope had that. Leon can save the unity of the Church

On Sunday, June 8, the first period of Leon XIV's pontificate passed. Pope Provost over a fewer weeks showed that he wanted to heal the Church after the turbulent time of Pope Francis' rule. However, this is not adequate to heal the deepest wounds on the temporal body of the Church. These were asked not by Papa Bergoglio, but by a deep revolution lasting for respective decades, symbolically begun after the Second Vatican Council. There's no sign of Leon wanting to face her seriously.

A large stir struck Catholics all over the planet erstwhile the content of Leon XIV's homily to Cardinals on 9 May, the day after his election for Pope. Its content was highly Christocentric. The fresh Pope recalled the beautiful words of St. Ignatius of Antioch about martyrdom as the top act of faithfulness to the Lord. This gave emergence to the hope of a pontificate in all inch permeated by love for the Savior.

Later appearances, though frequently deep and pious, did not match the former. Symptomatic was the inaugural homily of May 18. It was no longer accepted with as much enthusiasm as the 1 given to the cardinals, and in the following days and weeks small has changed. Leon XIV has his own style: it is not rather free, sometimes even a bit bombastic rhetoric of Francis; it is besides not appropriate for Benedict XVI to "dretch" in God's Word. Pope Provost builds on quotations from Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and his predecessors, in order to draw from them very concrete references to pastoral and social problems he wants to draw attention to. It is simply a simple style, without peculiar ornaments, but besides reliable. He's not kidnapping, but he can't be accused of anything either.

The main task of the Bishop of Rome is not to bring the crowds in St. Peter's Square to the state of exalted spiritual amok. St. Peter's successor's mission is to regulation and strengthen his brothers in faith, but not to arouse feverish emotions. In terms of fulfilling this appropriate mission, past evaluates popes. What can be said about this after the first period of Leon's pontificate? In my opinion, it is possible to talk about standardisation – in 2 perspectives.

Two standardisations

Leon XIV's normalization is primarily institutional. The fresh Pope truly wants to be who he is – that is, the bishop of Rome and the ultimate shepherd of the full Church. He does not reject symbolic traditions, so he dresses, behaves and speaks like a pope. Moreover, he besides tries to build average relations with the Cardinals and the Roman Curia. The Purpuratom promised to consult them regularly, restoring the College to the Cardinal's function, which it naturally has, that is, an advisory function towards the Pope.

He expresses deep respect for the Roman Curia. In his speech on Saturday, May 24, he stressed that the curialists are the real deep state of the Vatican, due to the fact that while the popes change, the curia continues, keeping the "healthy" organization memory of the Church. He acted likewise during a gathering on 5 June with the staff of the State Secretariat, declaring his willingness to cooperate full with the most crucial office. All of this should not surprise us at all; however, we pay attention to these obviouss, due to the fact that after the hard pontificate of Francis the obviouss were no longer. I think, however, that from the position of past the normalization of Papacy will go into oblivion; it is alternatively the period 13 March 2013 – 21 April 2025 will go into past as a time of large chaos. Leon XIV will be seen as any another pope after planet War II.

A different area of standardisation is so crucial – 1 that concerns doctrine and morality. We are inactive faced with the large question: will normalization for Leon XIV be about restoring the Catholic teaching of his clarity, which would gotta entail stigmatizing errors? Or will it mean accepting the position quo, that is, accepting the full body of the Magisterium of the Church as Leon received it – with all elements introduced or highlighted by Francis? Here are 2 circumstantial situations that may indicate the course that Pope Provost wants to take.

No change in bioethics?

The decisions made by Leon XIV towards 2 key Vatican institutions dealing with bioethics and morality were echoed. It is the Papal Institute of John Paul II for Studies on matrimony and household and the Pontifical Academy of Life. Both were "orphaned" by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, their actual manager since 2016, who turned 80 on April 20 and retired.

Vincenzo Paglia companyed his individual the change that Francis expected for both institutions. He departed from focusing on the defence of human life from conception to death in the form which St. John Paul II gave this defence. After 2016, the Institute and the Academy became alternatively spaces of widely understood dialog with the modern world, and by taking on topics of contraception, in vitro, euthanasia or abortion they did so in a fresh language and without the earlier spirit of categorical principle.

In any cases, this mainly concerns contraception, but partially besides in vitro and euthanasia, both institutions have begun to propose a change in Catholic teaching, so that it takes into account the contemporary sensitivity of man and his knowing of freedom (anticonception) and the formal-legal conditions of modern democratic societies (in vitro, euthanasia). This direction was the subject of harsh criticism of conservative environments, which at times regarded him as treason. However, Leon XIV did not decide to change him.

At the head of the Pontifical Academy of Life, Fr Renzo Pegoraro, previously the chief associate of Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, known for his dialogue-conciliation approach to modernity. The Institute of John Paul II in turn subjected the Vicar General of Rome to Cardinal Baldassare Reiny, who extended the word of the erstwhile president of the unit. It is hard to find whether Leon XIV made these decisions on his own. possibly the plan of staff changes at the Academy and the Institute had already been prepared much earlier, even for Francis, and Leon did not consider it appropriate to begin at the threshold of the pontificate of the conflict to give these institutions a fresh shape, so he agreed simply with what had been submitted to him.

World governments and nuns

A bit akin is the case with the Dictery of Consecrated Life Institutes and Associations of Apostolic Life, commonly known as the Dictery of Orders. Pope Francis introduced the spiritual sister, Simona Brambilla. The decision caused a large shock, not only due to the fact that the boss became a woman, but due to the fact that as specified – a individual without priestly ordination. Traditionally, however, authority in the offices of the Roman Curia was associated with having ordination, recognizing that without them there would be no basis for exercising that authority. Francis did not operate in a legal vacuum, due to the fact that earlier in June 2022 he himself introduced a fresh apostolic constitution "Praedicate Evangelium", which reformed the Roman Curia, besides in the aspect of beginning up executive offices for those without ordination.

Pope Leon XIV could not, of course, make any decisions during the first period that would have a crucial impact on specified an crucial and complex issue. For now, however, he decided to proceed the direction taken by Francis, as Sister Brambilla added another nun as secretary of Dycasteria, p. Tiziana Merletti. In this way, the de facto regulation of nuns has been achieved in the Orders Department – the more so that the nun, p. Carmen Ros Nortes, is besides among respective undersecretaries at the office. Of course, we request to reconsider the script in which Leon would only approve earlier backroom decisions.

Continuation, or "posobors" as canon

Either way, there is simply a considerable hazard of normalizing chaos today. The pontificate of Pope Francis was in many respects the highest accomplishment of the alleged post-conservatory that I would usage this pejorative term, which in conservative communicative sometimes describes the period after 1965. Discussing the subjectivity of power, frivolous ecumenism, hasty interreligious dialogue, deficiency of consistency with heresy, misconceptions entering the Magisterium itself, yet synodic consent to everyone doing what he likes – all these were characteristic features of Francis' rule, but not only of his personality or pastoral vision, but besides of the state in which he was established on 13 March 2013.

After the long and full evangelization of the pontificate of St John Paul II, it was time to decide what to do next with the legacy of 1965 – 2005. Benedict XVI tried to repair various pathologies resulting from utmost interpretations of Vaticanum II. However, he ruled comparatively briefly and alternatively timidly, as a consequence – he achieved little. Francis went all the way, accepting many concepts developed especially by German-speaking post-sobor theologians. He ruled 12 years – and ruled strongly, making many very concrete, serious decisions, in large contrast to Benedict XVI.

Therefore, if Leon XIV is simply a "Pope of Continuation", the post-compulsory revolution will be firmly established. Pope Provost is under 70. He can run the Church for 2 decades. If he does not change anything, at the end of his pontificate the Second Vatican Council will be a sanctified, canonical council known to Catholics from pious books, and extravagant interreligious dialog or liberal morality – 1 of the long available options within a wide, modern Catholic worldview.

Will the pendulum bounce or stand still?

After Francis, the Catholic Church is so dilated that it would be rather easy to usage the emotion frequently present to reflect the "hadal" in the another direction and to take the intuitions of Benedict XVI, leading the Church to reconciliation with its own Tradition. If Leon doesn't do it, no 1 will. Then the unhealthy legacy of the post-conservation will become an irrefutable part of Catholic history. The Church, of course, will last this, as it has survived many another crises. However, it would be a pity not to take advantage of the large chance for interior healing.

So far, Leon XIV focuses primarily on matters of peace and diplomacy, as he announced in his first speech on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. On the table in front of the Pope, however, there are, in a portable sense, thick folders with specified inscriptions as: “The liturgical war”, “The bioethical revolution”, “Kryzys Amoris laetitia”, “Blessing LGBT couples” or “German synodality for the Church”. The Pope can open and resolve these cases. He can besides put them on the shelf, saying, “It is difficult, it has happened; and we should focus on planet peace.”

Paweł Chmielewski

"Leon XIV. fresh Pope", Paweł Chmielewski, Esprit Publishing House