Preparing for the Pope’s Passing
At the time of this writing, Pope Francis is in critical condition at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome with a complex case of pneumonia in both lungs and early-stage kidney failure. Before all else, we pray for his well-being and peace. But death is in the air. The Swiss Guard have held funeral rehearsals. The pontiff has shared his plan to relinquish the papal triple-interlocking casket and confided that he doesn’t believe he will survive this bout. Even before this decline in his fragile health, however, political preparations for the pope’s passing had begun.
For those who haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated Conclave, that flashy film is a startling instance of how important the papacy has become to the powers that be. It is fascinating that such a film exists and has received such attention in its creation and criticism. Though it may easily be passed off as an ideological cloak-and-dagger thriller, Conclave betrays a serious concern that the world has for the Church, though it often acts with dismissive indifference of such stifling religious spiritualism.
Conclave is not as prophetic as it is perceptive, expressing a deep apprehension about the Church both by its existence and its acclaim. It bespeaks a dread that the liberals will lose their foothold after Pope Francis dies. Bishop Robert Barron said that Catholics should “run away” from Conclave—and perhaps they should. But the film provides, in its warning, a revealing glimpse into an acknowledged significance of the Catholic Church, and it is
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