As conclave begins, reform groups prepare for Pope Francis’s successor by Michael Centore

As the papal conclave begins today at the Vatican, members of church-reform groups are preparing themselves spiritually, emotionally, and practically for the direction of Pope Francis’s successor.

The organization FutureChurch said in a statement: “This conclave does not take place in a vacuum. . . . FutureChurch recognizes this moment as a pivotal opportunity to build on Pope Francis’s legacy of opening the entire Church to dialogue, accompaniment, and reform.”

FutureChurch defines its mission as “seek[ing] changes that will provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in Church life, ministry, and governance.”

Russ Petrus, executive director of FutureChurch, elaborated on the statement by identifying two “critical pieces” by which to evaluate the conclave: the process of synodality put in motion by Pope Francis, and the church’s relationship with and concern for the world.

The synod represented a “terrific hope” for many Catholics, Petrus said, though there is “anxiety about going backwards” under a new pontificate.

“There are questions about what the next papacy is going to do in terms of synodality,” he said, adding that “continuing to raise the experience and the sacredness of LGBTQ Catholics will be very important going forward.”

Petrus said that the church “can’t just be naval-gazing in this moment.” He singled out the effects of climate change and the rise in authoritarianism around the world as two issues where the church “needs to be on the side of the people, especially the most vulnerable.”

Petrus credited reform-minded Catholics with “persevering and modeling synodality in the world” in the decades leading up to Francis’s synod. Regardless of the outcome of the conclave, the reform community “would continue to be the torchbearers” for a synodal church, he said.

Asked how he might communicate the importance of synodality to the cardinals assembling at the conclave, Petrus said that he would urge them to “carry the final documents of the synodal assemblies with them, and let those voices speak to their hearts and minds.”

To cultivate a sense of prayerful hope during this transitional time, FutureChurch is sponsoring a “Praying for the Conclave” initiative.

Those interested in participating can sign up to receive daily prerecorded prayers. In a synodal fashion, participants can send in their own prayer intentions for the conclave, which will be included in the daily recordings.

“What we do is we root ourselves in the Holy Spirit, who is with us, in us, among us. We hope and we pray with, in, and among the cardinals in the conclave,” Petrus said.

“I don’t want an image of the church being unified, I want the church to actually be unified in this moment in prayer,” he continued. “I think if we begin with prayer, that will help bring us all closer together in this moment that could be very divisive.”

On the other side of the Atlantic, the UK-based reform organization Root and Branch has launched its own initiative in preparation for the conclave, “‘Papabile’ Women.” Papabile is a term used to describe a Catholic cardinal who is believed to have a chance at being elected pope.

Press materials for the initiative state that “an autocratic monarchy is not the answer” for the needs of a collaborative Christian community. The “‘Papabile’ Women” document gathers biographies of “multitudes of women in the Catholic Church who are Spirit-led and have the gifts that are needed, yet who are barred from any governance of the institutional Church whatsoever,” according to the press statement.

The women featured in the initiative have “pastoral, theological, emotional, therapeutic and management talents [that] make them indeed, Papabile,” the statement reads.

Mary Ring, a member of the Root and Branch Core Team, said that the idea for “‘Papabile’ Women” was inspired by the group’s frequent conversations in the Spirit.

“A lot of what we do is driven by Spirit and led by Spirit,” Ring said, describing a shared brainstorming process that “sparks ideas and enthusiasms.”

Fellow Core Team member Mary Varley said that names for the document “began to emerge in dialogue” and that they are “quite a mixture of people who are extremely well known and people who have been doing amazing things but probably would not be known by the vast majority of Catholics.”

Ring acknowledged that it was impossible to include everyone they might have wished, and that the document is offered “on behalf of the myriad women whose names are never known” even as they do the daily work of supporting, maintaining, and upholding the church.

Both Ring and Varley pointed to the many women religious included in the document, whom Varley characterized as “tremendous leaders and fighters for justice.”

Varley emphasized that while the document highlights the gifts of a particular group of women, “there are some men who share those gifts.” No one person can bring all the charisms necessary for the church entirely on their own, thus “a collective sense of leadership is so important,” she said.

Varley identified the ministry of Jesus as exemplifying the characteristics of the initiative, especially his “sense of responsibility and accountability to his people.”

“We can only in the tiniest way match Jesus’s wisdom, but even if we could acquire a fraction of that, how might it transform things?” she asked.

Ring spoke of how Jesus made women a “central part of his mission,” yet said that this “fantastic opportunity” for equality and co-responsibility has been buried by a history of misogyny within the church.

Pope Francis “never let up on the gospel message, and he lived it out,” though his focus on mercy and justice did not go far enough in terms of women’s equality, she said.

By being a figurehead “who can create a mood music,” the next pope may be able to “embolden women’s roles,” Ring said. Still, she cautioned, “The only way that change will come is from the grassroots in small communities, worshiping, praying, living, loving, sharing.”

“If enough of us get together, that is where the change will come from,” she said.

One group fostering such collective action is the Women’s Ordination Conference, which describes itself as “a grassroots-driven movement that promotes activism, dialogue, and prayerful witness to call for women’s full equality in the Church.”

Members of the Women’s Ordination Conference are currently in Rome for the conclave.

“Though the doors of the Sistine Chapel will be dramatically locked shut in just a few days, WOC is here to declare that the Holy Spirit knows no closed doors, and moves freely among the people of God as a force for loving justice and equality,” states a post on the group’s Facebook page.

The Women’s Ordination Conference held a lay-led liturgy at the Caravita Community in Rome on the evening of May 6 to pray for the cardinals who will elect a new pope. The liturgy, titled “Spirit Unlocked,” was live-streamed on Tuesday.

Following Scripture readings and psalm responsorials, Women’s Ordination Conference executive director Kate McElwee offered several prayer intentions, including one to ask that the Holy Spirit “grant [the cardinals] a willingness to be surprised, the courage to make bold decisions, and a faithful commitment to the needs of the People of God.” ♦

Michael Centore is the editor of Today’s American Catholic.