Editorial, Fides 3/2025, p. 2. 13 June 2025
The death of Pope Francis and the election of the new Pope Leo gave this Easter, in this jubilee year of hope, a truly special dimension. St. Peter’s Square, with its funeral and inauguration Masses, and the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, received an almost unimaginable level of global attention. Who can still claim that religion and the Church no longer matter? The Church’s message clearly continues to draw attention far beyond the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Whenever a new pope is elected, questions arise: How close is the new pope to his predecessor? What does he plan to do, to change, or to approach differently? What will he emphasize? These questions never have simple answers. The reasons are many, but at least two are worth highlighting:
First, when a new pope is elected, the time is different from the last occasion. Many of the members of the conclave have changed. The situation of the world and the Church—the surrounding reality—has evolved since the previous election. Each time, a different kind of pope is needed: a shepherd, a leader, a spiritual authority. Second, the new pope is not primarily elected as the successor to his immediate predecessor, but as the successor of the first pope, the holy apostle Peter. This was emphasized by many cardinals after the conclave. In a certain sense, every papal election is a return to the origin of the Church, in order to remain faithful to the mission Christ entrusted to the apostles and especially to Peter.
One can speculate endlessly about the motives of the electors. Did the fact that Pope Leo is from the United States influence the decision? Unlikely. The best response to all kinds of conspiracy theories and political games came shortly after the conclave from the world’s youngest cardinal, Bishop Mykola Bychok CSSR of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Australia. According to him, portrayals in movies or imaginations rarely come close to the real conclave, where the shared prayer of the cardinals plays a central role. That common prayer surely explains how the cardinals, perhaps faster than expected, were able to elect a new pope already on the fourth ballot.
Each pope brings his own personality, his own charism, and his own experiences to the chair of St. Peter. He gives himself entirely to the service of God and the Church. In time, we too will come to know the thinking and the priorities of our new Holy Father’s teaching office—something we already glimpse in this issue. Perhaps the most important sentence is this: “[the Church’s] true authority is the love of Christ.” It is this love that every pope is called to proclaim.
Marko Tervaportti
The editorial team of Fides wishes all our readers a refreshing summer!