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Which is the Catholic Church?
With the death of Pope Francis, 1,000 articles have already been written, and that number has come 1,000 times more in the weeks leading up to the introduction of a new Pope.
After Conclave does the work, the new Pope appears on the balcony of St. Peter and Wave, followed by an avalanche of essays on the first questions above.
Pope Francis died at the age of 88, according to the Vatican.
And of course, we don’t even guess or guess the answer. I have seven Popes in my life, and for the last three I have fixed opinions only about St. John Paul II, Benedict and Francis. This process does not occur frequently. Like the proverb “first report,” the initial opinions, impressions, and reactions to the Pope are almost always wrong.
St. John Paul II was 58 years old when the surprising election was announced in 1978. He worked until his death at the age of 85. Pope Francis was 77 years old when he was elected Pope and served for 12 years.
Therefore, it has been more than 30 years since Roman Catholics and the world had leaders at least 75 years old. (St. John Paul turned 75 in 1995). It is a very long time for the elderly to hold a global outcome job.
For 30 years, the Roman Catholic Church has been drifting to drift charity. The debate among Catholics is long, deep and enduring, but there is one metric that most Catholics agree on as an indicator of church health.
“While attendance at Mass has been declining over the years in most Europe, the number of active followers has increased significantly in Africa,” according to the Wall Street Journal on Monday. “In Latin America, the long-dominated Catholic Church is based on other faiths, particularly evangelical Protestants.”
It should not be surprising that the Septuaganarian-led institution for 30 years has not grown with its core mission: mass attendance.
In the coming avalanche of commentary, beware of the candidate’s doubts of the priesthood and the ability to attract all people to the masses.
By the end of 2023 there were 407,000 priests. That number began to decline in the mid-1950s, and the decline accelerated after Vatican II concluded in 1965, but since 1978 it had a relatively high level.
However, the important demographic is the average age of a priest, and today he is 70 years old. It is an old church run by an elderly man.
The “Papabili” list is interesting and provides a snapshot of Cardinals University, but there are few others. What we don’t know for a few weeks is whether the cardinals are “self-awareness” of their age issues.
The youngest cardinal is Mykola Bychok, 45, the best Catholic official in Australia.
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Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, 51, is responsible for the region, including Mongolia. Also past the 50 mark are the Cardinal Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar from Portugal, Cardinal George Kubacado, Cardinal from Rome, and Cardinal from Lithuania, Rolandas Maclica from Lithuania.
There are at least 10 cardiacs in their 50s. My prayer for the Conclave is that the Cardinals have come together to recognize that the Church needs energy to go in line with its doctrine and mission.
Those who emerged from the deliberation of 185 talented and dedicated men became like in 1978 when Karol Joseph Wotiva entered the Conclave to an obscure high priest from Poland and was led by the Pope, who could lead the world’s Catholics with joy and energy, paying attention to the words that emerge from St. Peter.
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The commentary emphasizes division within the church, but there is far more unity than division. The local parishes I attend on both coasts do not reflect the discussions that capture the passage of writers and columnists. Although they are fully attended and happy places, priests are coming from overseas more and more, as priests do not meet the mark of inspiring young men to devote their lives to the church.
That single factor doesn’t drive the Conclave, but I hope that it’s supposed to produce a pope that cures that problem, not just in America but around the world. The church needs a priest. That would likely require an emotional and relatively young pope. We can pray.
Hugh Hewitt is a contributor to Fox News and host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show” and was broadcast simultaneously on Salem News Channel on the Salem Radio Network from 6am to 9am on weekdays. Hugh awakens America with more than 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest at the Fox News Channel news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier at 6pm. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard and Michigan University Law School, Hewitt has been a law professor at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University since 1996 and has taught the constitution. Hewitt launched a radio program of the same name in Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt frequently appeared on all major news television networks, hosted PBS and MSNBC television shows, wrote all major US papers, and eased discussions of Republican candidates in November 2023. Hewitt focuses his radio shows and his columns on the Constitution, National Security, American Politics, The Cleveland Browns and the Guardian. Hewitt interviewed tens of thousands of guests on the 40-year broadcast from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kelly from Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
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