Connect with us

Published

on

In the US, conservatives close to Trump hope for a less progressive pontiff. But the composition of the conclave seems to favour a continuity with Francis’ reformist agenda

The death of Pope Francis has rekindled tensions within the Catholic world, particularly in the United States, where a section of the electorate close to Donald Trump – the so-called Maga Catholics – looks to the upcoming conclave with the hope of a reversal. The declared objective is to elect a pontiff who will openly oppose the reformist openings of the Argentine pope, in favour of a more rigid line adhering to traditional doctrine.

Summing up this position is Jesse Romero, a Catholic podcaster from Phoenix, who has called for ‘a Trump-style pope’, capable of restoring Christian values according to a more conservative interpretation. Even harsher criticism came from Roger Stone, Trump’s historic advisor, who called the posthumous praise of the pontiff ‘nauseating’ and even questioned his legitimacy.

The opposition to Francis’ pontificate is rooted in a series of choices deemed unacceptable by large conservative sectors: the blessings to homosexual couples, the commitment on climate change, the openness to migrants, the liturgical reform with the downsizing of the use of Latin. A discontent that has structured itself over time, also fostered by a generational change among the American clergy: a recent survey by the Catholic Project indicates that over 80% of priests ordained since 2020 define themselves as conservative.

Universities such as the Franciscan University of Steubenville and Ave Maria University have formed a new traditionalist ecclesiastical elite, increasingly influential in US Catholic circles.

But Francis, even in the last years of his pontificate, has responded firmly to these thrusts: he removed the Texan bishop Joseph Strickland, revoked the Vatican salary and lodgings of Cardinal Raymond Burke, author of the notorious ‘dubia’ on Amoris Laetitia, and openly condemned the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The future of the Church will be decided at the conclave, but the majority of US cardinal electors – six out of ten – were appointed by Francis himself and largely share his pastoral vision. ‘It is more likely that the next pope will be a Francis II,’ admitted John Yep, leader of the Catholics for Catholics group.

Nevertheless, Maga Catholics are not giving up their cultural battle: they dream of a pontiff capable of ‘healing the fractures in the Church’ and curbing, in their view, modernist tendencies. But for now, at least in the College of Cardinals, the numbers seem to be in favour of continuity.

THE LATEST NEWS

Elon Musk proposes solar satellites to regulate Earth’s climate

Elon Musk envisions a constellation of solar-powered satellites equipped with artificial intelligence, capable of modulating solar radiation to reduce global...
Read More
Elon Musk proposes solar satellites to regulate Earth’s climate

Jeffrey Epstein emails reveal contacts with Donald Trump

An email from Jeffrey Epstein shows that one of his victims spent hours at his home with Donald Trump, raising...
Read More
Jeffrey Epstein emails reveal contacts with Donald Trump

Paracetamol during pregnancy, no link to autism: Trump proven wrong

Study in The BMJ proves Donald Trump wrong: paracetamol is safe during pregnancy An in-depth scientific review published in The...
Read More
Paracetamol during pregnancy, no link to autism: Trump proven wrong

US shutdown: Democratic senators ready to unblock agreement

Towards a bipartisan agreement in the Senate to end the federal government shutdown US shutdown — After more than a...
Read More
US shutdown: Democratic senators ready to unblock agreement

Typhoon Fung-Wong hits the Philippines: one million people evacuated LIVE VIDEO

Fear in the Philippines over super typhoon Fung-Wong: winds of 230 km/h and almost one million people forced to leave...
Read More
Typhoon Fung-Wong hits the Philippines: one million people evacuated LIVE VIDEO

Mystery Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister who has disappeared from public view

Sergei Lavrov has not appeared in public for days. The Kremlin denies tensions with Putin, but his absence from the...
Read More
Mystery Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister who has disappeared from public view

(Photo: © AndKronos)

Di Tendenza/Trending