The missed opportunity of the Conclave
"Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain" (2 Cor 6, 1)
I - “A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden” (Mt 5, 14)
It is very common and frequent that we, Catholics, complain about the diminishing protagonism that Catholicism and the Catholic Church have been exerting in the past few decades. Among the many causes to which we attribute this symptom, maybe one stands out: secularism.
A sort of umbrella term that explains the decline in religiosity nowadays, this notion encompasses a set of movements - political, institutional, (a)moral, etc. - that converge in the construction of a worldview in which the religious dimension is relegated to the private sphere. Religion is thus withdrawn - expelled, kicked out - from the public sphere, subordinating itself to the latter and becoming - at best - absolutely secondary. The concept of secularism - or secularization - merits a rigorous philosophical analysis, one which I’ll do in the near future - promise!
With the sad passing of Pope Francis last month and the ensuing period of grief, sede vacante, and of the Conclave for the election of a new Pope, a kind of suspension of this phenomenon occurs: contrary to what we experience daily, the Church is in its due place, at the center of the world - although (unfortunately) in a passing, circumstantial way, and not due to the reasons we would like.
All eyes are turned to Rome, to the Vatican. All media outlets and social networks have been flooded by news, reports, analyses, commentary, hunches, memes, etc. around the late Holy Father, the potential new Pope, and the proceedings of the Conclave and of the Catholic Church in general.
In light of the ongoing scrutiny, we should remember the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mountain. In the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, after having praised the blessings of those who heard and followed the Truth incarnated in Him (Mt 5, 1-12), Jesus says to his disciples:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 5, 14)
Rome, the city of the Seven Hills, from where the light deposited and preserved in the Holy See emanates and illuminates all corners of the globe, cannot evade these stares. We need to accept and welcome all this attention, discerning with prudence what is beneficial and what is detrimental to the propagation of the Kingdom of Christ through it.
With this interest and the consequent chatter, comes along something tremendously harmful to the message of the Gospel: attempts to frame the Church and Catholicism within - lo and behold - secular categories. “Conservative”, “liberal”, “progressive”, and many other labels are used and abused to - wrongfully - present to the public the features and the workings of the Catholic Church.
In the most charitable interpretation possible, these are efforts to communicate and promote the understanding of Catholicism and the Church to a broader audience. However, what comes to be - inadvertedly or purposedly - is merely confusion, misunderstanding, perplexity, and widespread ignorance.
That’s where we, Catholics, come into play. Or at least we should. But this is not what’s going on.
II - “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (Jo 18, 36)
The first role that we, Catholics, could and should play in this moment has to do with language. We should outright refuse the reduction of the Mystical Body of Christ to a social phenomenon like any other.
It is thus our role to explain and to show that labels such as “conservative”, “progressive”, “diplomatic”, “pragmatic”, etc. fail to adequately describe the nature of the Holy Catholic Church. That is the case because - let us be clear and pressing - the Catholic Church is not an institution like the others: she is the largest educational institution in the world, but not only that; she is the largest health institution in the world, but not only that; she is the largest social assistance and charity institution in the world, but not only that.
Above all, the Catholic Church is the extension of the life and mission of Christ Himself, His body spiritually preserved and multiplied through time and space. It is as such that she must be understood and must present herself to the world.
And since Christ is the Verb Incarnated, God who made Himself man and offered Himself in sacrifice on the Cross to atone for the sins of the world, and to lead us to the path of Salvation, the nature of His mission, of his lived Gospel, is divine and should be seen, analyzed, and described as such.
Indeed, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John, when Christ sees Himself before Pontius Pilate, and the latter inquires Him about being the king of the Jews (Jo 18, 33-35), Jesus says:
My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jo 18, 36)
And He subsequently states:
You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jo 18, 37)
In order to testify to the truth, to hear the voice of Christ, and so that His voice is heard all over the world, we cannot allow His message to be inadequately “translated” - not to say outright misrepresented - in secular, political, sociological language and concepts. We need to remind the world, in this hour of great attention and interest towards the Holy Church, that the latter works to build the Kingdom of Christ, and that this Kingdom is not of this world.
III - “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity” (Col 4, 5)
The task of linguistic carefulness, precision, and hygiene, however, seems too narrowly “negative”, in the sense of “corrective”. The sede vacante and the Conclave, with the attention brought to the Church, open the door and bring the opportunity for performing a radically positive task: evangelization.
With - hyperbolically - all eyes of the world turned to the Vatican, we have before us a precious opportunity to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Whether it be the (unfortunately) disproportionately big space that the diverse media have been providing to the matters of the Church, or the mere curiosity of friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances with regards to Catholicism in general, each and every one of us is presented with multiple occasions to announce and to spread our faith, in a more generous way during this window of transition in the papacy than in the constancy and normalcy of our daily lives.
Instead of acquiescing to secular terms and discussing the Church as if it were a - merely - political institution, by holding fast in the combat for the adequate language - the only one capable of expressing divine reality - we keep the door open to the most important (external) mission of all: to announce the Gospel. We must welcome the interest and the curiosity, the doubts, critiques, and objections that have spurred in practically all talks - live or virtual -, and answer them with the unparalleled joy of being able to sow the Truth and spread the Word.
Let us remember Saint Paul’s advice, in his Letter to the Colossians:
Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should responde to each one.
Saint Paul - Letter to the Colossians (Col 4, 5-6)
Let us know how to adapt to the circumstances and to seize the windows of opportunity to evangelize that they bring about. And let us find courage and safeguard in the words of the same Saint Paul, this time in his Second Letter to the Corinthians:
Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: “In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you”. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Saint Paul - Second Letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 6, 1-2)
We must not waste any more favorable time. Let us not lose time with discussions and labels that do not belong to us: let us work for the day of salvation!
N.B.: This post was originally published - in Brazilian Portuguese - May 7th, 2025, before the conclusion of the Conclave and the election of Pope Leo XIV. May God bless and guide His Holiness