Pope Francis recently passed away on the 21st of April at the age of 88, leaving his previously held position open. However, if you take a look at the list of…
Pope Francis recently passed away on the 21st of April at the age of 88, leaving his previously held position open. However, if you take a look at the list of potential candidates for the Pope’s succession, you may notice something – they are all male. That’s correct, as usual, the new pontiff will most likely not be a woman, thanks to a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. But in this day and age, should the pope’s succession still be tied to outdated and sexist religious traditions?
Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) passed away on Easter Monday of this year. But who will be the next to take on the role of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church now that he is gone? Traditionally, the Papal Conclave will only convene to discuss the potential candidates after at least 15 days following the Pope’s passing. Additionally, they typically do this in secrecy within the confines of the Sistine Chapel. However, while we don’t know which of the eligible 138 candidates they will ultimately choose, one thing is certain – it will be a man. Pope Francis himself had pretty strong views on the subject regarding the Pope’s succession.
The rules state that any baptised man from around the world could be considered for the position. However, in practice, they typically choose a serving cardinal. They also state that the individual cannot be married and should already hold some position as either a bishop, priest, layman, deacon, or cardinal. And this is where we run into the issue, which effectively prohibits women from becoming pope – they are not allowed to become ordained priests. It’s a difficult rule to change as well, considering the tradition stretches all the way through to the 13th century, spanning the reign of 266 various popes.
