A poisoned chalice !

The Roman Catholic church is facing it's worst challenge in centuries.   The conclave to elect a new Pope is being brought forward in an attempt to damp down further damaging innuendo about homosexuality and empire building within the Curia and money laundering within the powerful Vatican bank.

These have been heady days for the church.  Revelations that bring disquiet have emerged since Pope Benedict XV1 announced his retirement and what will alarm the faithful is the fact that suspicion is centred on the very people who will elect a new Pope - and that the new head of the church will be one of their numbers.

Whoever is chosen will face a task of restoring confidence in the Papacy, and that will be no easy task given the unusual events that are now dominating media headlines.   There is an expectation that the incoming Pope will take stern action to resolve the disunity that is roiling the bureaucracy of the church - and this probably involves a purge of the Curia.   At the same time, moderates are hoping that a younger, forward thinking Pope may review ideology that many consider inappropriate for the twenty-first century.

There is a risk that the Curia will go to ground and try and save itself by selecting an ultra conservative to hold the highest office.   The worst possible scenario would be a Pope who turns his back on these worldly ructions and simply applies himself to an ecclesiastical role.   The problems within the  Church of Rome are too big - and far too pressing - to be simply swept under the carpet and ignored.

The church is at cross roads - and unless the new Pope can achieve unity there is a risk of schism of a magnitude not seen since the Reformation.   The  " old " church had it's strength in Europe in the early centuries and this expanded into the " new world " of America, Canada, Australia and all the countries we now regard as " the developed world ".

This more secular congregation is calling for change.  There is pressure to abolish priestly celibacy, accept contraception, recognise Gay unions and generally modernise the Catholic faith.   Church attendance is falling steadily and the church is experiencing difficulty recruiting priests.

The Catholic church is expanding rapidly in Africa and Asia,  but here the trend is in the opposite direction.   The Faithful are bitterly opposing those changes the developed world is demanding and there is a real risk that something similar to the Reformation may split Catholicism.    It was this same division of thinking that has visited Rome many times over the centuries.   Without compromise, the seeds of rebellion seem ripe to generate once again.

This new Pope will face a daunting challenge.   He will need to face down the important people who form the Curia and show them who is boss.  He will need to reform Catholic institutions, such as the Vatican bank - and at the same time he will need to mollify east and west in their demands to change the stance of their church.  Some would think that will be impossible to resolve.

It would not be surprising if some in the Curia refused the church's highest office.   The negotiations within the Curia are strictly secret until the smokestack of the Sistine chapel emits a puff of white smoke.  No doubt  the choice of this Pope will become the basis of countless books and movies delving into the possibilities that church intrigue brings to mind.

The only certainty is that a new Pope will be chosen.   What transpires from that point forward will depend entirely on the outlook he brings to the job, and the courage with which he faces the challenges ahead.  In the eyes of many, events have transpired to ensure that this Papacy comes with a poisoned chalice.

The fate of this branch of Christianity depends on the man being up to the job !