What is a pope for? The analysis of the historian Christophe Dickès

What distinguishes the popes for the 20th and 21st centuries, from their predecessors?

It is simple, before 1870, the popes governed the church but they were also at the head of the pontifical states, and therefore of the princes. But in 1870, the papacy lost these territories, against its will. By pragmatism, and because he was a spiritual pope before being a policy, Pius X (1903-1914) will be the first to admit that these “states” must be forgotten.

Even if, in France, he is poorly considered for his condemnation of modernism, Pius X is the pope who brought the papacy into the 20th century. He is, for example, the renovator of canon law, which is deeply modern! Previously, there were a multitude of specific rights in the church. Saint Pius X does, with canon law, what Napoleon has done with the Civil Code. Paradoxically, because of its loss of temporal power, the papacy will quickly find an important place on the international scene.

For what reason?

In the name of the evangelical message, but also in the perspective of the moral education of Saint Thomas, at the beginning of the 20th century, the papacy proposed its “good offices” from Léon XIII (1878-1903). That is to say, she plays the role of referee and mediator in conflicts. We come all the more willingly to seek it that she has no more clean interests as she had before 1870.

It thus gains in credibility. The papacy ended up covering a place on the international scene throughout the 20th century, a place that it had largely lost since the Westphalia Treaty, in 1648. This treaty rediscovered the borders of Europe without the Pope having had her say. With Léon XIII, the papacy begins to open embassies (nonciatures) worldwide. It will continue this diplomatic activity throughout the 20th century, notably under the pontificates of Paul VI and especially of John Paul II, and until today.

But does the Pope become a popular figure?

Precisely, he begins to be from the loss of his states. Become “prisoner” of the Vatican until 1929, the Pope aroused the compassion of Catholics, who suffer with

Pope Francis also embodied a break with the centralism of his predecessors. He seeks to empower the bishops by decentralizing the church. The responsibility of bishops is at the heart, for example, of its response to the terrible scandals of pedophilia which splashed, in recent years, the institution.

However, ecclesiology reminds us that it has always been up to the Pope to decide the ideological conflicts within the Church. Thus, in 451, on the occasion of the Council of Chalcedon, Pope Léon le Grand led a conflict that divided the Eastern Empire. It was said at the time: “Pierre spoke through Leon’s mouth. Rome, for centuries, has therefore played this role of conflict arbiter: it has become as an appeal body.

Have modern media helps to modify our perception of papacy?

Certainly. The development of the mass media since the after the Second World War has enabled everyone to instantly access pontifical speech and their image: newspapers, radio, television, smartphones … In the whole history of the papacy, the sovereign pontiff has never been so accessible by so many people. You can view your Wednesday audience in a few clicks on the Internet. So much for the means.

As for the form, François innovated in relation to his predecessors by his spontaneity. He communicates very easily, sometimes without being wary, in his desire to build bridges between men. However, some words may not be explained enough, or even distorted and truncated by journalists.

Since John Paul II have not the popes become large travelers?

Yes and no. The first traveler pope was Saint Peter himself, who still arrived in Rome, on foot and by boat from Galileo! For essentially pastoral reasons, the popes have always moved. In 1095, Urbain II came to preach the crusade from Rome to Clermont, in France. Then popes settled in Avignon in the 14th century … What changed is not their will to travel, but technical progress.

A pope can now go to the other side of the world in a few hours. Paul VI (1963-1978) was the first to go to five continents. Benoît XVI also traveled a lot-much more than John Paul II at the same age. François, he went to the outskirts of the Western world. Because he thought that the future of Catholicism is played out mainly in emerging countries. He was also very attentive to the North-South reports.

Does the Pope keep temporal prerogatives?

Nothing remains of this temporal power. At most the 44 ha of the Vatican. When the French president visited Pope Francis on June 26, 2018, he was not there to see the “King of the Vatican”, but the head of the Universal Catholic Church. Today, the first role of the Holy See is to protect Christians where they are. This is the reason why François negotiated with China.

He wanted Chinese Christians to have churches, schools … In addition, the Pope continued to offer his mediation services. The Saint-siege also played a role in the rapprochement between Cuba and the United States. Further in the past, in 1978, he negotiated many years to avoid a war between Chile and Argentina.

The Pope is finally intended to be an interlocutor in major modern debates concerning society, such as the marriage of homosexual people or on bioethics issues. Usually, the power of a country is measured by its army. The pope has only one thing to offer: his word. Sometimes it is understood, sometimes not.