Conservatives on the offensive

Even before Pope Francis was in the ground, the late pope’s conservative critics were already gearing up to influence the choice of his successor.

Cardinal Robert Sarah

An online campaign promoting Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah was launched the day the pope died, highlighting his differences with Francis on issues like immigration, relations with Islam and use of the Latin Mass. Although Cardinal Sarah’s chances of being elected remain slim, in my opinion, the campaign for the 79-year-old prelate reportedly caused oddsmakers to make him the fifth favorite among papal candidates.

The day after the pope died, a longtime papal critic who was once the Vatican’s top doctrinal official, German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, began giving interviews in which he called for the election of an “orthodox” pope and said Francis’ reign was marked by “ambiguity” on some key doctrinal issues.

He told the British newspaper The Times that “the question is not between conservatives and liberals but between orthodoxy and heresy.”

“I am praying that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the cardinals, because a heretic pope who changes every day depending on what the mass media is saying would be catastrophic,” he said.

It would be wrong for cardinals to be influenced by Pope Francis’ media popularity when it comes to voting in the conclave, he added.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller

Speaking to the Rome newspaper La Repubblica, Cardinal Müller specifically questioned Francis’ appointment of women to prominent Vatican positions and the late pope’s authorization of the blessing of gay couples. For those arguing that the conclave must continue Pope Francis' legacy, he had a simple response.

“The next pope is not a successor of his predecessor, but a successor of Peter,” Müller said.

It’s known that cardinals engage in private conversations about future conclaves, sometimes well before a pope dies or leaves office. But the public nature of these latest critiques and the timing, so soon after Francis’ death, made them unusual.

I think Cardinal Müller, who at age 77 will have a vote in the conclave, represents a minority view among cardinal electors. This may be one reason why we’re hearing from conservative voices now. Evidently they feel a need to send their message loudly and clearly and quickly, even as the church and the world are paying tribute to Pope Francis.

To date, those cardinals who worked most closely with Francis have generally refrained from talking about the coming conclave. One exception is Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, who told the Italian news outlet Quotidiano Nazionale that any backtracking from Pope Francis’ agenda would risk disaster: “This pope has been a light of hope. If we go back, we will witness a mass exodus from Catholicism, even though in Rome they do not perceive this danger.”