The challenges the new pope will face

RomeThe election of the new spiritual leader of more than 1.4 billion Catholics comes at a time of great global uncertainty, with numerous conflicts threatening international stability. As part of his legacy, Francis left a severely fragmented Church, practically in ruins, bleeding vocations and parishioners dry in Europe, while growing in other corners of the world, especially in Asia and Africa. In an increasingly polarized society—and institution—the next pontiff will have to face some challenges that will shape his future. From the restoration of Latin Masses, demanded by the conservative wing, to keep the finances of the world's smallest country on the surfaceThe question is whether he will do it following the sheet of reformist route marked by his predecessor or will opt for hitting the brakes.

Finance

For decades, the Vatican's finances, always opaque, were the subject of scandals and political intrigue. One of Francis's first measures was to overhaul the Holy See's financial apparatus: he created a Secretariat for the Economy, implemented anti-corruption measures, and ordered the cleanup of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), the Vatican bank, closing up to 5,000 fraudulent accounts. With a deficit exceeding €83 million, in 2023 he implemented a strict austerity policy to avoid bankruptcy, which included cutting cardinals' salaries. But the numbers remain in the red. On May 7, the responsible body should have presented its new budget. Therefore, the new pope's first challenge will be to solve a problem as earthly as it is delicate: balancing the Vatican's accounts.

Agreement between China and the Vatican

In 2018, Francisco He promoted a provisional agreement between the Vatican and China This agreement allows the Holy See to intervene in the appointment of bishops in the Asian country, where the nearly 12 million Catholics are divided between the state-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association and underground churches loyal to Rome. It was a historic rapprochement between two countries whose diplomatic relations had been severed for more than seventy years. The discontent among conservatives was monumental, and they even accused the Pope of having "sold out" to the Asian giant. Last year, Beijing and the Holy See agreed to extend it for another four years, instead of the two previously established. The next pontiff will have at least three years to decide whether it is necessary to continue the "Silk Road" opened by Francis.

Sexual abuse

The scourge of sexual abuse in the Church was one of the most painful challenges faced by the Argentine pope, who even pronounced a historic "mea culpaBut the announced policy of "zero tolerance" toward clerical pedophilia met with strong internal opposition. The 2019 Vatican summit laid the foundations for a process of profound renewal, with the abolition, for example, of the pontifical secret. Two years later, Francis approved a historic reform of the Code of Canon Law which toughened penalties, extended statutes of limitations, and included one of the historic demands: compensation for victims.

However, many Asian and African countries, where the number of Catholics is growing compared to an increasingly secularized Europe, consider this issue taboo. In the Old Continent, we're not exactly in a position to celebrate. Some episcopal conferences, like the Italian one, haven't even launched independent investigations to study their cases. The next pope won't be able to look the other way.

Women and lay people

The synodal reform promoted by Francis opened its doors to appointment of women to key positions, such as the first female "director" of a department of the Vatican Curia in January. The appointment came after a historic synod—an assembly of bishops—open for the first time to lay people and women, also reflected on the possibility of allowing married men to enter the priesthood or the diaconate for women. On the latter issue, the Pope even created a specialized commission, which was dissolved without reaching any conclusion. The high expectations raised by some of these reforms, promoted with the aim of including lay people, women, and minorities in the Church, ended up disappointing progressives, who are demanding more radical changes. Sooner or later, Francis's next successor will not be able to ignore them.

Ordination of married men

The misinterpreted disposition of Francis ofopen the doors to the ordination of married men This sparked a fratricidal war in which even Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI intervened. Finally, he did not authorize the ordination of married men in remote areas of the world to address the lack of vocations, as suggested by the Amazon Synod held in 2019. A proposal that, according to critics, would have been a step forward. Progressives, on the other hand, consider it an essential step for the survival of the Church.