3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER: PETER’S ASSERTIONS OF LOVE: IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CONCLAVE.

The gospel encounter between Jesus and his disciples, especially his three-time interrogation of Peter’s love, makes sense in the context of the conclave. Now the church, or say the world, is in the mood of electing a new pope.

As I witnessed the funeral ceremonies of Pope Francis in Rome, I could say that the Catholic faith is beyond what a particular individual or a block of individuals think or say. Christians and non-Christians alike, as well as ethnic groups across the globe, invaded the Vatican City to witness the event. Was it all about Pope Francis? Why is everyone interested in what Pope Francis said or didn’t say? Everything calls for deeper reflection beyond media and political noise. The church finds itself more and more an institution of interest for media, politics, and society during this time of Sedes Vacantes (Vacant Seat) of the Chair of St. Peter. These are for obvious reasons.

Again, as the cardinals gear up for the conclave, the issue of who becomes the next pope is receiving huge media buzz. Will the new pope be African, American, Asian, Hispanic, Filipino, or European? Will he emerge from the strong Italian block after 47 years? This is of interest to both Catholics and non-Catholics, to Christians and non-Christians alike. There must be something about the Catholic Church and her leadership, considering that we are looking at a leader of 1.4 billion people of the world’s population. It must be stated that the Church’s existence is beyond socio-economic and political affiliations.  

In today’s gospel, Christ reveals himself to the disciples after his resurrection. This gospel passage of John 21:1-19 seems like a conclave of a sort. It kicks off this way:

At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We also will come with you." So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

Consider the interplay of forces in this passage: human emotions and seeming confusion in the post-resurrection atmosphere. There is a Sedes Vacantes following the death of Jesus. Somehow, the disciples (cardinals) must elect a leader (Pope) for the ministry of Christ to carry on. They step away from the crowd to the fishing area (process of conclave prep), something similar to the actions of the cardinals in today’s church. The ensuing drama: seeing Jesus, fishing all night without success, a lack of understanding of the identity of Christ, catching more than the desired fish at the command of Jesus, Jesus’ interrogations of Peter, and finally, Peter’s assertion of his love for Jesus characterize the trajectory of heeding to the mandate of Christ as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Imagine the atmosphere as Peter reemerged after his encounter with Jesus. Scripture states, “And when he had said this, Jesus said to him, 'Follow me." Isn’t that the white smoke image from the chimneys of the “Sistine Chapel of Tiberias”? The disciples’ departure to the sea and a return from a post-resurrection encounter with Christ depict a progression from what started as human action to a divine initiative and adventure. To that effect, we can picture the conclave in the following ways:

The conclave as a human exercise:

These 135 cardinal electors are human beings. Like any human being, they are political animals. They come from families and have relatives. They have emotions. Their blood runs like ours. They can be vulnerable. They can make mistakes in their decisions. They have friends. They can be hungry and thirsty like us. They sleep and wake up like us. They grow hungry, thirsty, and tired. They can be frustrated. Yes, these are the people who will be going into the conclave to elect the new pope for the church. No wonder speculations are whether it will be an African Pope, a Hispanic Pope, or any other. No wonder speculations are whether the new pope will be like Francis or different. Human beings are involved in the process.

History showed attempts by political powers to influence the process. For instance, there is what was called “Right of Exclusion” (Latin Jus Exclusivæ) which involved the alleged competence of the more important catholic countries, Austria, France, and Spain to indicate to their respective cardinal protector, or cardinal procurator, those members of the Sacred College who were personæ minus gratæ, so that, if there was a possibility of one of these becoming pope, the authorized cardinal might, before the decisive ballot, give his veto, in the name of his government, against such election. For instance, in 1721 the German emperor formally excluded Cardinal Paolucci; in 1730 the King of Spain excluded Cardinal Imperiali; in 1758 France exercised this right to exclude Cardinal Cavalchini. In the nineteenth century Austria maintained the right of exclusion, in 1830, against Cardinal Severoli, and Spain, in 1830, against Cardinal Giustiniani; in 1903 Austria again exercised this right, this time against Cardinal Rampolla.

This led the popes to expressly repudiate the exercise of such rights. Pope Pius IV in the Bull "In eligendis" of 9 October, 1562 (Magnum Bullarium, II, 97 sqq.), ordered the cardinals to elect a pope "Principum sæcularium intercessionibus, cæterisque mundanis respectibus, minime attentis" (without any regard to the interference of secular rulers, or to other human considerations). Gregory XV, in the Bull "Æterni Patris Filius" (15 November, 1621, in "Magnum Bullarium", III, 444 sqq.) declared authoritatively that the cardinals must abstain from all agreements, and from acts of any kind, which might be construed as binding them to include or exclude any one candidate, or several, or candidates of a certain class. Again, human beings are involved in the process of electing a pope.

The Conclave as an exercise of the Church:

The cardinals represent the people of God as they spend time in Rome to elect the new pope. Their decisions and votes represent us. As they cast their votes to reach a two-thirds majority, their actions are actions of Christ’s faithful all over the world. The world seems fixated on knowing who will become the new leader of the faith, elected by the church through the cardinals, because that person will not just be a leader in Rome, rather a leader of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.

This election follows the stipulated rules set out by the Church. The Apostolic Constitution governing the election of the Pope is called Universi Dominici Gregis (The Lord's Universal Flock). Issued by Pope John Paul II on February 22, 1996, it outlines the procedures for the papal conclave, including the voting process, the role of the cardinals, and the importance of secrecy. On the first day, the cardinals can take one vote in the afternoon. Then, the cardinals vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon on each successive day.

Jeffrey Morrow, a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, said, “The secrecy of the process is to help prevent, on the one hand, political and other entities having an influence as much as possible, as well as to emphasize for the faithful that this is a decision of the Holy Spirit, so that we don’t look at this too politically, we don’t over politicize it.” No matter how much the world probes, the modality for electing a pope remains.

The Conclave as an exercise of the Holy Spirit.

In today’s gospel, we read, “So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord." Why wasn’t the headship of the apostles given to this disciple who first recognized Jesus after his resurrection? Why did Jesus take Simon Peter as his visible head to "Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep," and "Feed my sheep?” The papacy is not determined by popular opinion. It is governed by the action of the Holy Spirit.

The regulations of the conclave and the election of a new pope stipulate that if a pope is not chosen after three days of voting, the cardinals suspend voting for up to one day “to allow a pause for prayer, informal discussion among the voters, and a brief spiritual exhortation” by a key cardinal. The aspect of prayer during the election of the Pope is crucial, especially given the noise from the outside world now.

Social media seems to have elected its own pope with several names already out there. The qualities of these names mostly depend on the expectations of the political or social class being represented. The world is looking at issues which affect the broken parts of humanity in our time – wars, hunger, violence, immigration, gender ideologies, women ordination, food crises, youth empowerment, marriage, etc. Perhaps the disciples had varying expectations when the Lord appeared. But as much as these names float across social media platforms, let’s remember that it was vulnerable and weak Simon Peter that Christ chose.

What’s next?

As the cardinals get ready for an all-important mission, let's unite with them in prayer. We must consider faith as one crucial factor. Given the vested interests, our human minds would want to control the process. We must invoke the powers of the Holy Spirit. Here's what is important: like Saint Peter, the new pope must be in love, first with the Lord before any other. The new pope must be ready and willing to follow Christ before anyone. Only after this must this fragile individual be able to express a firm disposition like Peter, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Let's pray for a new pope who must manifest an express assertion of love for Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, to lead his flock, love them, feed them, and cherish them according to the mind of the Master.

Let us relive the first disciples' experience in their response to the Sanhedrin: "We must obey God rather than men.” “We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him" (Acts 5:29-32).

READINGS: 1ST- ACTS 5:27-32, 40-41; 2ND- REV. 5:11-14; GOSPEL- JN. 21:1-19