Conclave Day One: A New Pope and the Prodigal Son

STONY POINT, NY - This morning (afternoon in Rome) the cardinal electors will enter the Sistine Chapel, after the celebration of the Eucharist in St. Peter’s, to formally begin the election of a new pope.  Since Pope Benedict announced his retirement a month ago the press has been abuzz with speculation over a possible successor.  The U.S. media in particular have asked if the cardinals a will choose a progressive who will usher in sweeping changes or a conservative along the lines of John Paul II or Benedict XVI.  Others ask if he will be someone from Latin America or Africa.  All this speculation misses the point a bit, though I admit that a pope from outside Europe would be significant.  In the end the cardinals are not electing a political candidate who needs to conform to some kind of party platform, or at least they shouldn’t be.  They are electing the man best qualified to protect the invaluable inheritance of the Church.  The pope’s main role is to conserve the spiritual treasure handed on from the Apostles, and oversee its authentic development.

This past Sunday most of us heard the story of the Prodigal Son at Mass.  In preaching I usually focus on the loving and forgiving father who eagerly accepts his wayward son back, or maybe the hard hearted older brother who finds forgiveness difficult or the Lost Son himself in all his pitiable desperation.  I guess what struck me this time around was the line that the Lost Son had squandered his inheritance.  Was our Lord speaking of money?  On a literal level; sure.  But there is a deeper meaning as well.  If we recall, Sunday’s first reading from the Book of Joshua told of the Israelites finally entering the Promised Land after forty years in the desert.  The first thing they did was to celebrate the Passover: the memorial of their liberation from slavery in Egypt.  To this day Jews celebrate the Passover to recall the great works God has accomplished for them, and points to the great spiritual heritage encapsulated in the Law and the prophets.  At the Seder Meal, when he youngest of the house asks that ritual question of the oldest: why is this night different from all others, the answer is the story of their Exodus.  This is something to be remembered always, along with the Law received later on Sinai.  These form a spiritual inheritance to be cherished and followed in gratitude to the generous God who freed them from bondage.  What the younger son squandered by his life of dissolute living was more than a material fortune, but more importantly he wasted a spiritual inheritance beyond price given to him by his father.

When we sin, especially when we have allowed sin to become a vice, we are turning away from the path of the Lord, in a way rejecting the great spiritual heritage that has been passed on to us from the Apostles.  This is an inheritance that we should hold close to and not squander.  Is God a forgiving, compassionate Father?  YES!  We should never despair that He will turn us away when we sin if we come back in sincerity of heart.  But we are called to something great, and offered a treasure greater than can be stored in all the bank vaults of the world.  It is not to be squandered but preserved, lived and passed on to future generations.

The role of the pope is to preserve both the moral teachings of Christ and His Church and the Apostolic Tradition in its entirety.  His first duty is not to create new doctrines, alter old ones, or change long standing disciplines that are unpopular.  His main responsibility is to preserve.  This is the heart of papal infallibility.  Over the centuries the Church has seen charismatic figures like Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Sienna, Don Bosco and Dorothy Day, to name a few, who have challenged the status quo.  It was the pope, along with the college of bishops in general, who asked if the movements they inspired represented authentic promptings of the Spirit in harmony with Tradition and Scripture or if they were passing novelties out of step with the living tradition of the Church.  Each of these examples represents a positive response, but only after periods of trial and testing.  There is a constant tension between charism on the one hand and authority on the other; one seeking to push ahead and the other looking to hold fast to the tried and true.  Both have their place, and it is the pope, who represents authority, to test, probe and finally make a judgement with the help of the Spirit.

We are the inheritors of a great heritage passed on by the Apostles, that in reality goes back even farther to Moses and Abraham.  This inheritance is to be lived and cherished.  No matter who the pope ends up being his first job will be to foster, protect and spread this gift from God.  I certainly hope he is open to where the Spirit wants that Tradition to move, and the courage point out where it is being squandered by false teachers.