Political analogies for understanding the papal conclave are everywhere: left vs. right; liberal vs. conservative; progressive vs. traditionalist.
The New York Times called the conclave a “particularly perilous moment for a church that Francis left deeply divided, with progressive factions pushing for more inclusion and change, and conservatives seeking to roll things back, often under the guise of unity.”
The Washington Post’s labels were better, speaking of “the forces buffeting the church — secularism, the growth of evangelical churches — remain present even as new fault lines have opened, particularly between church traditionalists and reformists.”
Still, these labels becloud more than they enlighten. They are employed because they are familiar and easy and because politics has infected virtually every nook and cranny of the culture. And, I confess, I use them sometimes too. They are almost unavoidable.
The core issue facing the church is not ideological. The core issue is the definition of catholicity. When we recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday, we Catholics state that we believe in the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” Each of those adjectives has a meaning that escapes the narrow ideological confines of a left vs. right binary.
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With thanks to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and Michael Sean Winters, where this article originally appeared.
