Pope Francis at the Abyss

Pope Francis is at the edge of a deep abyss, and the conservative church hierarchy has not forgiven this man who didn’t want to be pope. The man who would have preferred to be, like Peter, just the bishop of Rome. The man who shed the symbols that Roman emperors had bestowed upon the institution of the papacy. The man who committed the sin of wanting to return Christianity to its origins. The Curia wants a real pope, and they want him now.

The earthquake that the enormous pedophile scandal has been has dangerously exploded again in the hands of Francis. This scandal involved clergy, importantly including those in positions of great power, sexually abusing thousands of minors. The scandal had been and has been kept hidden, shamefully, for decades. We still do not know how credible the accusations are that Francis knew about accusations during his papacy and didn’t act quickly, but the latest crisis has been enough for those who have been waiting to deal him a mortal blow. They have caught him off-balance. They are seeking his renunciation.

It is worth noting that the conservative hierarchy has only asked two modern popes to step down, although the sex abuse scandal spanned at least three modern papacies. The cardinals of John XXIII’s Curia sought his renunciation when the Second Vatican Council was called. They wanted to depose him with the excuse that he was crazy. He ended up winning the battle. Now, they are after Francis. Francis, like John XXIII, considers himself to be more of a parish priest than a pope. Both lack the hierarchical pomp of John XXIII’s predecessor, Pius XII.

Even before the latest revelations of sexual abuse in the church, Francis had been accused of wanting to revive the revolutionary aspects of Vatican II – de-bureaucratizing the church, and returning to its origins. Now, the conservative hierarchy is attempting to involve him in one of the dirtiest cases of many clergy members’ conduct. He will have to demonstrate that he was and is on the side of the victims. Words are no longer enough.

He has to act. Spoken and written apologies are not sufficient. He needs to understand that the conservative force of the old Curia can be stronger than his will to reform the basis of the church. So, concrete reforms have to happen, cutting the institution’s pillars back to their base. Francis should begin with abolishing obligatory celibacy, giving women and lay people access to positions of influence in the church and re-structuring the rancid structures of the Curia.

He may need to have the strength to convene a new council, since the church is ending a phase. The moment is serious. Francis is a pope who, thanks to his spiritual freedom, has revived hope and interest not only within the church but also without. And he runs the risk of ending his papacy being dragged through the most putrid parts of a church that is in the midst of one of its largest secular crises ever.