The late Pope Francis opened the way for women in the Roman Catholic Church to serve as readers and altar servers, and to assist priests during services or in administering Communion.
But the church continues to bar women from the roles of deacon or priest, and debate over that issue doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
In the Sistine Chapel, cardinals have officially been locked in a conclave to elect a new pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and as of Wednesday, a decision hasn’t been made.
The 133 cardinals, representing 70 countries, were sequestered from the outside world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new pope.
The conclave is said to be the faith’s most geographically diverse group with cardinals as far as Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.
Black smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Wednesday, signaling no pope had been elected. White smoke will emerge when a pope is chosen.
Not having a first round pope pick is fairly common.
Reuters reported a pontiff has not been picked on the first day of a conclave in modern times. It’s unclear how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope.
The longest conclave in history lasted nearly three years. Many believe this will be much shorter.
Vatican News reports cardinals will begin their conclave routine at 7:45 a.m. Rome time Thursday, which is 1:45 a.m. in Pittsburgh.
Routine starts with their departure from their lodgings to the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
Mass in the Pauline Chapel is planned for 8:15 a.m. Rome time followed by a move to the Sistine Chapel for another round of voting.
The report suggests smoke signals may be seen after 10:30 a.m., or 4:30 a.m. local time and then, following the morning’s second vote, after noon Rome time, or 6 a.m. local time.
Officials said if a second vote is to take place immediately, the ballots from the first vote will be burned only at the end, together with those from the second vote.
So, the smoke will appear around 10:30 a.m. only if a pope has been elected. Otherwise, there will be no signal until after noon Rome time.
The voters will return to the Casa Santa Marta for lunch at 12:30 p.m.
Voting resumes at 4:30 p.m. in the Sistine Chapel. The smoke could appear following the day’s third ballot after 5:30 p.m. Rome time, 11:30 a.m. local time, and after the fourth ballot at around 7 p.m. Rome time, 1 p.m. local time, according to Vatican News.
The Catholic Church has about 1.4 billion faithful across the world.
Luca Sacco of Hempfield is among the millions of Roman Catholics who do not have a vote in the conclave, but he does have a request of the convening cardinals.
“I would like to see the next pope be Italian,” said 94-year-old Sacco, who was a youngster when he immigrated from a village south of Rome to the United States with his family in 1936.
Sacco does not anticipate the new pope will change the Roman Catholic Church’s centuries-old tradition of ordaining only men for the priesthood.
The Rev. George Saletrik, pastor of Holy Family Church in Latrobe, believes it’s an issue Pope Francis’ successor will face.
“Undoubtedly, our next Holy Father will need to address and have that conversation,” Saletrik said. “There is such a diversity of viewpoints. That’s a good thing but also a challenge.
“Our next Holy Father will have to continue to move that discussion forward. We can do that in a way that’s respectful and open to the Spirit, to allow the church to go forward.”
An accepting approach
Under Pope Francis’ leadership, the Vatican also set forth conditions under which a priest could bless a same-sex or unmarried couple, as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and doesn’t equate the couple’s union with marriage.
Saletrik said he is among priests who admired Francis’ welcoming approach as pope.
“Church teaching is church teaching, but there are ways we can approach church teaching on the role of women in the church or other issues,” Saletrik said. “The teaching of the church has to be applied pastorally.
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“Sometimes there are those — whether they are LGBTQ or some other group — who feel they are not welcomed by the church, and that should never be the case.
“I admired Pope Francis for his openness, that the church is a place where all are supposed to be welcome. We minister to people who they are and where they are.”
Greensburg resident Henna Bautista prayed for the conclave during Wednesday morning Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral.
Bautista said she would like to see the next pontiff continue Pope Francis’s spirit of love for others.
“Pope Francis always instilled in us love — love no matter who you are — and then unity and peace,” she said. “That’s what I want to see — whoever the pope is, to continue what (Francis) started.”
Her husband, Primo Bautista, said he hopes the next church leader is equally accepting of the LGBTQ community as Francis was.
“Pope Francis has said, ‘These people, no matter what, they are people, too.’ We’re all humans — LGBTQ, Christians, non-Christians, Muslims,” he said. “We’re all one.”
Christine Honan, of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, also attended the Greensburg Mass. She said she would like to see another pontiff who is similar to Pope Francis.
“There were just a lot of very humble things about (Francis),” she said. “And similar to (Pope now St.) John Paul II, (Francis) taught us a lot about forgiveness, which I admire.”
Cranberry resident Tim Ciocco, Honan’s brother-in-law, said he trusts the conclave to bring forth the best candidate to guide the Catholic church.
“I am not looking for anything specific in the pope,” he said. “I have complete faith in the conclave, that they will pick the right man, and he will lead the church the way all the other popes have led it.”
Ciocco’s wife, Mary Beth Ciocco, said she will trust the new pope to handle issues that have led to controversial conversations among the Catholic faith in recent years — including the involvement of women and the LGBTQ community in the church.
“For me,” she said, “it’s as simple as (the pope) is wiser than me, more prayerful than me.”
Politicized faith
Elizabeth Fazzini, who attends St. Margaret Mary Church in Lower Burrell, said she’s praying the voting cardinals in the conclave are continually open to the Holy Spirit as they select a new pope.
“In this highly politicized world of outspoken views, I believe the Church needs a very wise, merciful pope with a strong, genuine relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said. “He must be a compelling and approachable advocate for proclaiming Christ’s Resurrection to the world at this time in history.”
Fazzini believes evangelization is a key issue the next pope will have to deal with, and how the Church will fulfill its mission to live and preach the Gospel, bringing people to Christ in modern times.
“Another key challenge could be addressing church teaching on matters that pertain to the God-given dignity of every human being; the priesthood, and family,” she said.
Anthony Shea of Gilpin said he would like to a pope “take a role in the world as a peace maker.”
“The pope has a lot of influence on bigger issues,” said Shea, who is also an Armstrong County commissioner.
Shea, who has been a practicing Catholic since 2000 and is a member to Christ the King church in Gilpin, also would like to see the pope be a “little more conservative” than Pope Francis was.
“I’d like to see someone with a diplomatic side to him,” Shea said.
Although he said it’s probably not likely, he would like to see an American pope, or a pope not from the continent of Europe, to get representation of areas where there is growth in the Catholic population. He liked the fact that Pope Francis was from South America.
“I think it gave a new perspective,” Shea said. “Catholicism is more expansive than just European.”
In a statement from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop David Zubik didn’t directly address what he would wish for in a future pope but did say he asked his diocesan staff to devote time to Eucharistic adoration each workday of the conclave.
“I ask everyone’s prayers for the election of a Pope who will manifest the love and mercy of Christ to all people,” Zubik said. “This sacred election is a deeply prayerful undertaking, rooted in our foundational belief that the Holy Spirit guides the Church.
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“Let us trust the Spirit to work within the hearts of the cardinal electors, guiding their discernment and leading to the election of a shepherd who will faithfully serve our Lord and lead us in unity and love.”