Nobody Wants to Be Pope
Or Why the Chair of Saint Peter is the Greatest Burden
The Successor of Saint Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church—whatever you may call the Pope—has arguably been one of the most powerful positions in the entire world for the last two millennia. In addition to the pastoral and magisterial power the Pope possesses, the temporal and political power held by the office is quite influential. Throughout history, the Bishop of Rome has exerted power over heretical and rebellious leaders, and many medieval theologians took up the task of justifying his power to depose kings and intervene in temporal affairs.1 Even in modern times while the Church has stepped away from interference with temporal matters, as the spiritual Father of over 1.3 billion people worldwide, politicians take due regard of the Pope’s statements and desires.2
With all this power, you would expect a great struggle, a heavy political battle between cardinals to fulfill this awesome position. Indeed, the history of the Church, for as much as it is a history of saints and salvation, is also a history of sinners and scandal. Reforms famously needed to occur, establishing harsh penalties for simony, to prevent clergy from selling episcopal positions. Even Benedict IX was accused of buying (or at least attempting to buy) the papacy. There have certainly been popes we would recognize as unworthy of their office, whose memory leaves a stain on the holy history of the Chair of Saint Peter.
Still, given all these facts, I don’t think this characterization is a very good one at all. When it comes down to it, the office of the Supreme Pontiff is excruciatingly heavy; and if some popes vied to receive their office at first, they likely soon realized the severity of their position. Mike Aquilina’s book, Good Pope, Bad Pope, details the sudden changes in some popes’ attitudes toward doctrine upon their election—Liberius, for example, was openly heretical until taking profoundly orthodox positions as Pope. My point here is that whether or not you have to find out the hard way, the Supreme Pontiff is not a desirable position. In the end, nobody wants to be Pope.
This is not mere conjecture about how stressful the job might be. Scripture gives us very good reason to think that the duties of the Pope are undesirable. After his resurrection, when Jesus reminds Peter to feed his sheep, he continues by telling him:
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. (John 21:18)
We see this in the very name of the room in which the newly elected pope dons his white cassock and new vestments—the “Room of Tears”. As Jesus said, he will be elected by cardinals, dressed by assistants, and lead to that balcony over Saint Peter’s square to face the world as their new Father. Tears are not the reaction of a power-hungry man looking to get “what he deserves”; they are the reaction of a man knowing his duty, humbly submitting to the weight of such great responsibility in spite of what he deserves. I can imagine that many a time has an incoming Pope had in mind the words of the Roman centurion, the words that we repeat every Mass: “Lord, I am not worthy….” (Matthew 8:8).
The command of Jesus to Peter (and his successors) is also reminiscent of a legend told of Saint Peter. As Peter fled the Romans who sought to kill Christians, he saw Christ appear on the road walking in the opposite direction. “Quo vadis?” asked Saint Peter. “Where are you going?” Our Lord responded: To Rome, to be crucified once more. Peter immediately turned around and walked to his martyrdom. He was led to where he did not want to go, yet went for the glorification of Christ and His Church.
The duties of the Pope are heavy. As Vicar of Christ, we expect that the Pope would somehow share in Christ’s suffering to lead his flock. In a way, the faith of the whole world—even your fellow bishops—rests on your shoulders. As Jesus said to Peter in the Garden before His Crucifixion:
I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers. (Luke 22:32)
The Pope is not only responsible for the lives of billions—he is responsible for their souls. This is not only in a pastoral sense either. The Pope has the responsibility of maintaining the magisterium of the Church. In such a powerful position, I’m sure there is an overwhelming feeling of a lack of ownership—by this I mean that there is a profound sense in which the Pope’s teaching is simply handed down to him, borrowed, as it were, from Christ’s teaching. While the Church is guaranteed some infallibility, there must nevertheless be an immense pressure to say every word carefully and promulgate each declaration with solemn forethought. (At least, this is how it seems to have quickly dawned on Liberius.) All eyes are on you, and whatever you say or do is the de facto model for your flock.
I cannot see how the desire for political power overcomes the dreadful weight of these responsibilities. Nobody wants to be Pope, whether they realize it or not. They are simply given the immense responsibilities by their brother bishops and must do their best. They carry this burden where they do not want to go, all for the glorification of Christ and His Church.
Obviously, this reflection was spurred by the current conclave and recent debates about the papacy.3 So then, the million dollar question, the thing everyone is wondering: Who is going to be the next Pope? I couldn’t tell you. Though I don’t think it should matter to us all that much. While we are not guaranteed a good Pope—as I have said before, there have certainly been some bad popes in history—Christ promises us one thing:
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
Therefore, pray for the next Pope, that he lead the Church well and may be able to bear the weight of his flock. Pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, who once had to carry this burden. Pray for the Cardinals who are about to choose our next Pope, for they must discern with prudence and the Holy Spirit who is best suited for this burden. Finally, pray for the Church, that we may make the burden light by readily following the Holy Father into our faith in Jesus Christ.
I am thinking here of, among others, Francisco Suarez, Francisco de Vitoria, and Robert Bellarmine.
For an authoritative discussion of the place of the Church in the temporal world, see Gaudium et spes.
I will humbly note that, as with all popular news nowadays, everyone suddenly seems to become an expert in the current “hot topic.” I do not write this letter as an “expert,” but simply as a reflection from my own limited perspective. We would do well to adopt some humility in our modern age.