Conclave is the Key

“But I thought Cardinal John Dew was retired?”

“He is.”

“But he’s still attending conclave?”

“Yes, I think it’s because he’s under 80, he can still attend and vote in conclave as Cardinal of New Zealand.”

“There’s an age limit?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

This was a conversation I overheard recently, and I thought I need to fact check my own assumptions about conclave. As it turns out, yes, the above conversation is factual and correct.

The last conclave that elected Pope Francis happened the same year my father died and almost 8 months before I would meet the Catholic Theological College University Master at my father’s funeral that would determine my future theological study course for the next few years. I state this because while I watched and read the proceedings of the last conclave in 2013, I was still very much in the dark about what was happening behind those conclave doors. Moreover, because Pope Benedict XVI resigned his papacy rather than the usual ‘till death do they part from us’, which added an extra layer of confusion and rumour to proceedings.

Some 12 and a bit years later, with a master’s degree in catholic theology under my belt, I cannot claim to be any further enlightened about the secret rituals that determine the fate of Catholicism worldwide, being decided by a current college of 135 Cardinals in the smallest country in the world – Vatican City, commencing next Wednesday, 7 May 2025.

What I do know about conclave I learnt from the 2024 film of the same name, and I state that unabashedly, mostly because conclave is not an issue or area of schooling directed to female or lay faithful of our Church. Faith is in the mystery, or so I am told.

What of the politics of the matter?

Contrary to popular misunderstanding, we have always been a politically minded if not spirited Church, both from within and turned externally into the world through the engagement and praxis of catholic social teachings, moral, pastoral and liberation theologies. One could argue the political status of the Roman Catholic Church all the way back to the post-Roman Empire, but that is an argument for another time and purpose.

The politicking during conclave is another layer of secret and private Cardinal business when voting and electing a new Pope. The easiest depiction of the conclave process to date is described in sequence here: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/28/world/conclave-pope-selection-intl-dg/index.html

I have always been fascinated by the conclave process. It’s one of the most exciting rituals of the Catholic faith… and still one of the most mysterious.

If the shroud of mystery was removed from conclave, would conclave be any less thrilling? Possibly.

Should opening the voting process of electing a new pope to Catholic laity ever be an option? One might have thought that about laity involvement at the Synod of Bishops. Yet the words should and could are two very different verbs, and regarding the election of a new pope, whether the voting process is opened to other clergy ranks or laity of the Church is far beyond my comprehension and expectations at present.

Do you have an opinion on who should be the next Pope?

Is the Pope Catholic? No doubt we all have our own personal assumptions both informed and uninformed. We have our own opinions, dreams and hopes on who the next Pope will be. The fact this has no bearing on the papal election does not sway my faith, but it does add depth to the anticipation.

Does the current vacant Chair of St. Peter create doubt and uncertainty about your own faith in the Church?

I will answer that with the words of our late Pope Francis:

Also leave space for doubt – this too is an important key.

It is no good a person saying with total certainty that they have met God.

If someone has the answers to all questions, this is proof that God is not with them. It means that they are a false prophet, someone who exploits religion, who uses it for themselves. The great guides of God’s people, like Moses, always left room for doubt.

We need to be humble, to leave space for the Lord, not false securities.

Tenderness is not weakness: It is a true force.

It is the road that the strongest and bravest men and women have taken.

Let us take it, let us fight with tenderness and with courage.

May you take it, may you fight with tenderness and with courage… I am just one step.[1]

Rangimarie – Kathleen.

[1] Pope Francis. 2025. Hope – The Autobiography. Penguin Random House UK. 292