‘A word in your ear, Holy Father …’ – here’s what some people would like to say to the new Pope

From every quarter of the Church, we hear voices of hope, encouragement and prayer for the new Pope

“Don’t forget the poor.” These are the words that the Brazilian Cardinal Cláudio Hummes famously whispered in the ear of Jorge Mario Bergoglio after his fellow cardinals had elected the Archbishop of Buenos Aires as Pope at the conclave 12 years ago. I confess the words, “Be afraid, be very afraid …” crossed my mind when someone asked me what I would whisper in the ear of the man who enters the conclave of 2025 as a cardinal and emerges as Pope. Friends and colleagues are less jittery. The writer and poet Sally Read, who lives outside Rome, had lunch there last week in Benedict XVI’s favourite restaurant (lots of pretzels and schnitzels). “Talk turned, light-heartedly, to what we’d ask of the new Pope,” Sally told me. “We need a Trump-pope, one friend said, with a grin that was hard to decipher. Someone, he clarified, unafraid of taking charge. The new man, suggested another, should realise that in today’s world, every word and image they provide will be open to misinterpretation: maybe reserve is called for. I have other friends who’d remind Francis’ successor of the poor; others who’d insist on the availability of the Tridentine Mass. One would nudge the new Pope about the role of women in the Church.”

In what she calls “a world of ideological schism, and clamouring priorities”, Sally wondered what she could possibly whisper in the new Pope’s ear. The answer struck her on the way home from her schnitzel lunch. “There’s only one Word, already spoken by the Father, and it’s the only thing the new Pope needs to hear. It contains every conceivable right strategy, and the power to reconcile: ‘Jesus Christ,’ I’d tell him, ‘Remember Jesus Christ.’ That’s all.”

“As a young woman,” Tabitha Smith, our journalist and intern at The Tablet, told me, “it is almost impossible for me to imagine what it might be like to sit atop the apostolic seat of St Peter. I am neither male nor possess the wisdom of someone three times my age. But I do want to petition whoever the Holy Spirit ordains next: Do not forget what catholic truly means. To lead a universal Church is to reach beyond closed doors. To many, the Vatican can feel distant – a place of processions and protocol, where laypeople watch from behind barriers. But outside those gates exists the lifeblood of the Church: the women, the marginalised and the young. Young people, especially, must not be overlooked. We are not just the Church of tomorrow; we are the Church of today. We are altar servers, youth leaders and volunteers. We are also questioners and searchers, trying to live out our faith in a noisy and often hostile world. If we are not welcomed, heard and trusted, the new Pope may struggle to speak meaningfully to the world he is inheriting. To be universal is to make space for all. I pray that Pope Francis’ successor will carry forward his pastoral vision, and see in us – the young – a vital part of the Church’s fabric.”

“There’s been much speculation about who might ‘win’. It’s been exhausting watching it. Because being Pope is the opposite of winning,” Brian Devlin, the former Catholic priest who wrote about the experience of abuse in Cardinal Sin: Challenging Power Abuse in the Catholic Church, reminded me. If he had the opportunity to whisper in the new Pope’s ear, Brian would say, “I don’t know you, but I imagine when, like me, you entered seminary, you never realistically imagined yourself in the position you find yourself in today. You wanted to be a priest to help people: you wanted to be with them in their most desperate and sorrowful, as well as happiest, times. As you face the myriad of tasks that you will have to carry out from now on, please remember the simplicity of your vocation as a priest. Bring us a Church of service, a Church that embraces the world and which marvels in its creation and diversity. Bring us a beati­tudinal Church. Be a beatitudinal Pope.”

The writer and editor Leonie Caldecott also has words of gentle encouragement. “As you step into Peter’s worn sandals in this Jubilee Year, I hear the tender words of Jesus, ‘I call you friends’. On my knees I implore you: be a good shepherd, a force for unity and healing. Nothing hurts so much as the spirit of division which throws the flock to the wolves. Your mission, should you choose to accept: be, for all of us, the Pope of Hope.”

Another friend, the distinguished Nigerian biblical scholar Teresa Okure SHCJ, writes: “Pope Francis has succeeded in bringing the Church back to the gospel track in many ways, with his personal life as an example. I pray that the cardinal electors will listen to the Spirit and put aside their grievances, for those of them who are holding on to a dying and dead concept of Church, and do what the the Early Church did, on the issue of the inclusion of the Gentiles, when they said, ‘It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us …’ (Acts 15:28). I would whisper in the ears of the new Pope, ‘Remember to stay tuned to the Holy Spirit always.’ Why? Because the Holy Spirit is the one visibly renewing the Church and leading us to ‘the complete truth’ (John 16:13). Jesus asked his disciples not to venture on the mission until they were clothed with power from on high. Because they did, they were able to stand up even to their Sanhedrin and tell them the Gospel of Jesus cannot bow to any prevention or orders by humans. I believe the Church went astray in many ways because we stopped listening intensely to the Holy Spirit.”

Nicholas Peter Harvey, a former Catholic monk and co-author most recently of Unknowing God: Toward a Post-Abusive Theology, told me, “Effective change can only come about in the Church from below, by way of attentive listening to one another. In this sense it doesn’t matter who becomes Pope.” He insists, “We Catholics need to grow out of the sort of papalism which puts undue emphasis on what the Pope says or does. By encouraging people not to remain silent out of fear, Pope Francis exposed the depth of our divisions. This is healthy in that it shows the limitations of what the Pope can do. Francis wanted a saner attitude to those remarried after divorce, but could not persuade his fellow bishops. Synodality offers a more consultative way of decision-making than we have been used to, but has no way of resolving serious disagreement. It is of interest that Francis became more hated in some parts of the Church than any other Pope in my lifetime: this was presumably because he undermined a particular kind of certainty, real or imagined.”

The Canadian theologian and biographer Michael W. Higgins shares some of Harvey’s concerns. “Were I sitting beside the newly elected Pope, enjoyed his confidence and felt especially emboldened, I would urge the new Peter to think of the laity. That is the body that constitutes a major slice of the Catholic world, is invariably enjoined to pay and pray – the ‘obey’ bit has never recovered its former appeal – but where most languish, yearning for the empowerment of the laity envisioned by the Second Vatican Council but which has never quite taken hold. Pope Francis’ synodality project remains the primary vehicle for ­achieving a new ecclesial assembly where the charisms of all are treasured, where the deployment of the laity is not feared as a diminishment of the ordained, where the laity are cooperators in ministry, not competitors.”

Michael served as the colour commentator for Canada’s premier television news programme for Pope Francis’ funeral. “I loved the choreography, the staging, the rich choral sounds, the resplendence of it all. But I felt a certain disjunction of spirit and imagination. For what I saw was the pyramid. And, more than anything, Francis wanted the pyramid inverted. For that to happen, the laity need a champion of synodality.”

Sr Camilla Oberding, leader of the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham (COLW), writes: “My hope is that the next Pope will continue to facilitate the development of synodal and discernment processes at every level throughout the Church – especially by encouraging human and spiritual maturity in all Catholics. Life is a pilgrimage into wholeness and holiness; as long as we are alive, there is always room for growth in each one of us. Therefore, may he promote formation for servant leadership in those who are ordained and the provision of more ­spiritual accompaniment and formation opportunities for laity in our parishes – something they are thirsting for. Then, together, we can discern what the Lord is asking of us as individuals, as parishes, as local Churches and as the universal Church. Then, we will truly become the saints the Church needs at this time and be the welcoming and merciful face of Christ for all people.”

Sr Camilla is hopeful. “I have no fears about who the new Pope will be, as I know the Holy Spirit is leading the Church, despite all the politics it is beset with. The Spirit writes straight on crooked lines and, as a master chef, works wonders with even the poorest of ingredients we offer. I have loved, treasured and prayed for all our recent popes and will continue to do so for whoever comes next. I am excited to see how God will form us through our new Pope. Although times of transition can be difficult, they are always immensely graced.”

The writer and academic Francesca Bugliani Knox offered, not a word of advice, but a prayer:

Spirit of the Living God –
You who hovered over the waters at Creation
descend upon the one chosen
to shepherd the People of God.
Protect him from the loneliness of high office
from lures of power, calculation and fear.
Keep him from mistaking unity for uniformity
order for obedience without love.
Defend him from believing
the Church is shaped by control
rather than communion.
When worldly voices around him will grow loud
teach him to hear yours –
in the cry of the poor
the broken
the abused
the silenced.
Give him courage to speak where silence shelters injustice
name greed when it wears robes of piety
stand firm when truth unsettles ease.

We have seen in recent days that both the Church and the world is looking for a shepherd. It yearns not for perfection or certainty – the world isn’t lacking the allure of certainty – but for belonging, for mercy, for dignity. The new Pope will need humility – and Francis was never foolish enough to think that humility had anything to do with the colour of his shoes or where he felt most comfortable sleeping – as well as imagination and courage. A winsome smile and the gift of being able to find the right words would help. If I could whisper a phrase, it would be a line he’ll know well from his Vulgate. Noli me timere. Do not be afraid.

Guide us to love the earth again

Please keep that sacred promise close and preach its vast meaning, that we are only sated and complete when in union with a God that brings universes into being (writes Mary Colwell). When we truly see the immensity of the divine, from the tiniest to the most awesome, the craziness of the world gains a different level. Please, guide us to where the human and the wild dwell with the divine.

The stress of the human sphere destroys joy and shatters hope, but when hearts gaze with wonder on what surrounds us, we are filled to overflowing and impelled to move forwards with love. Inevitably, the weight of papal life will drain every fibre of your being of its energy, but please allow a singing bird in the solitude of a garden to be a shared wild prayer that nurtures and heals.

The heart-whisper of Thomas Merton is a simple but enduring truth, that nothing has been said about God that hasn’t been heard in the wind through trees. An audacious spirit gave us an exuberant, shining, restless sphere as our home, so my plea to you is, please, use this privilege and this duty to guide humanity to love the earth again.

Mary Colwell is a writer, broadcaster and nature campaigner.

‘Include laity in governance’

My hope for the new Holy Father is that he will be a great man of prayer, and that his holiness will show through in his wisdom and courage. I especially hope that he will witness boldly, with speech and actions, on behalf of people around the world whose human rights are under attack, regardless of whether they are of any faith or none (writes Dawn Eden Goldstein).

I hope too that the new Pope will bring the Church to articulate what it is in its human dimension in a new way, especially with respect to what are the roles of clergy and laity. When a monsignor asked Cardinal Newman dismissively, “Who are the laity?”, he replied that the Church would look foolish without them. For too long, the discussion about women deacons, or women in orders at all, has distracted from what we really should be talking about, which is the urgency of fully integrating laymen and laywomen into the Church’s governance. The Synod on Synodality was intended largely to facilitate such a discussion. I hope and pray that the new Pope builds upon its contributions and continues its mission.

As a theologian, I appreciate the ecclesiological and sacramental reasons why we need priests to pastor parishes, bishops to pastor dioceses and a Pope to pastor them all. But as a canonist, I know there’s nothing in the Church’s law to prevent laypersons from participating with pastors, bishops and (through dicasteries and advisory councils) the Pope, to bring the Church’s governance closer to the people it serves. I hope and pray that, under the new Pope, we will see the staff of parish and diocesan offices, and the dicasteries and tribunals of the Holy See, look more like the people they are intended to serve – and thus less foolish.

Dawn Eden Goldstein’s most recent book is The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times (Loyola Press).

Stay calm and hope in Christ

Viewed in church time, the challenges that face the Pope are no greater than in previous centuries (writes Christopher Jamison OSB). And his strongest resource to face them is, as always, hope in Christ. He should avoid labelling them as “emergencies” or “crises”, which never helps to solve a problem but instead makes people panic. He should approach them as a prudent governor proposing solutions. Or to use a biblical term, as a wise episcopos or overseer. This applies to everything from the Vatican’s financial deficit to the lack of confidence among many priests to climate change. In this way, the new Pope can build on the Francis legacy but in a different key.

Christopher Jamison OSB is the abbot president of the English Benedictine Congregation.

‘Everyone has a stake in this …’

Anglicans, especially English Anglicans, have much to repent for in their attitudes to the Catholic Church over long centuries (writes Ben Quash). And along with such penitence, we need to recognise that this is a very important appointment for us, as for all Christian people worldwide. And we should pray in hope for the gifts a wise appointment will bestow on every Christian, and for non-Christians too. Everyone has a stake in this.

The next Pope must be brave, as Pope Francis has been. If he were to offer a post-liberal defence of the continued possibilities of Vatican II, that would be a gift to all Christians. This would mean defending the council’s openness to the shared human search for public truth, common good, and mutual delight (truth, goodness, and beauty), across denominations and in dialogue with other religious traditions, in the spirit of that council. But it would mean doing so in a way that thinks with, not against, tradition. The divided Churches are a better resource for one another and the non-Christian world when they draw upon their deepest convictions; much less so when they water them down.

A recognition of the value of tradition would have a missional relevance too. The rumours of a quiet revival of interest in, and often commitment to, Christianity in Western Europe among young adults are spreading, and seem to have substance. This represents what is potentially an extraordinary opportunity for an incoming Pope (as, too, for whoever will fill the vacated see of Canterbury). The forms of Christianity that hold out an appeal to Gen Z are not always innovative or strenuously contemporary in their styles; frequently they are quite deeply traditioned, and that is exactly what draws people to them. Forms that abide – that have endured under the pressure of long exposure to history’s unpredictable vicissitudes and the darker inclinations of human nature – seem more precious than ever in a fragmented world facing extreme threats. These are forms both of liturgy and of life (the two are inseparable), in which the truth of our disordered desires and of our deepest human needs can be countenanced reparatively, coram deo, in the light of God’s piercing and merciful regard.

We live in an era of strongman politics. A lot of people will be looking for a “strongman” Pope. That would be a mistake. Christ, and his appointed servants in imitation of him, exercise power by giving it away. The collapse of traditional political solidarities on “right” and “left” indicate that both have succumbed to forms of technocratic managerialism that accrue rather than disperse power. There is a third way, which the Catholic Church has unique resources to offer. In a world where transactional models dominate, negotiation isn’t “diplomatic” any more. The papacy’s power to convene, and its centuries-old skill at keeping important conversations going rather than prematurely closing them down, are profoundly valuable and all the more so because they are increasingly scarce.

Ben Quash is the professor of Christianity and the Arts and director of the Centre for Arts and the Sacred, King’s College London.