Why the Papal Conclave Matters to the Globe

Cardinals from across the world were sequestered in the Vatican on Wednesday morning in preparation of selecting the next pope, who will lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. The next head of the church will be a powerful voice at a time of increased international conflict and polarization.

After black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on the first day of voting, the electors—cardinals below the age of 80—returned to their secured Vatican residence. They will now continue to cast ballots twice each day until they agree on a candidate with a two-thirds majority. White smoke will indicate that the cardinals have selected a new leader. 

Pope Francis—who raised the profile of the papacy in foreign affairs—cared deeply about global representation in the church’s leadership, which affected how he chose the College of Cardinals. This has brought new perspectives to the body and raised speculation that it could elect its first pope from Africa or Asia.

The Council on Foreign Relations turned to Joe Donnelly, a CFR member who was the most recent U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, to discuss the conclave and the important role that the next pope will have on the global stage.

All eyes are on the Vatican right now. Why is this such a big moment for the globe? Why is the conclave an important moment in foreign policy?

I think that the voice of the Pope, probably along with the voice of the president, is one of the voices that is heard the most around the world at this point. Pope Francis, because of his papacy, made it so that the whole world listened when he spoke. And, in particular, he expanded the church’s breadth and scope into Africa and Asia so that the most trusted voice in a place like the African continent was Pope Francis.

I think that will be true for whoever follows after Pope Francis. When you look at the most prominent public leader for foreign affairs around the world, I think you’re looking at whoever is going to be sitting in the seat of Peter. They are the voice for more than one billion Catholics, but they are also the voice for the voiceless. So, it's a consequential Conclave, but at the same time, it's pretty wide open.

You’ve seen the papacy in action as ambassador to the Holy See, as a senator, and as a Catholic. How have you seen the Pope’s role change or develop on the global stage, and how have you personally seen it affect foreign affairs?

I worked almost nonstop during my time at the Vatican with the Pope’s Special Envoy for Ukraine, Cardinal [Matteo] Zuppi, to try to bring home the more than 30,000 Ukrainian children who have been taken by Russia. Cardinal Zuppi’s mission was undertaken for several reasons. Number one is that Ukraine is a free country from which people have been taken. These are souls that the church cares about. They want to make sure that no one is left behind, that—whether you're the poorest child on the planet or the richest person on the planet—God loves you both equally. The mission encompasses things like that.

But the seat of the pope has expanded in recent years because there’s such a global need for a moral voice. What I saw on a constant basis was not only him providing spiritual guidance for Catholics, but moral guidance for the world.

Cardinals from across the world are voting on who will fill the seat of St. Peter. How broad are their perspectives? What kinds of challenges and opportunities does that create?

You have cardinals in this conclave who have spent the better part of their lives working in the Curia in the Vatican, and know everybody. And then you have cardinals from what they call “the peripheries,” who have never even been to Rome before, other than when they were given their red hat.

So, you have a whole array of different perspectives that you’re trying to put together to come up with the best decision. A lot of that is from some of the old hands, I guess you’d call them, reaching out to the others with context to say, “Hey, here's this, here's that.” But some of the new ones are saying, “Well, here's some other perspectives to take a look at as well.”

It is probably the most diverse conclave that we’ve ever had.

Pope Francis had an immense role in diversifying the College of Cardinals. How did he approach that?

He made cardinals in countries that never had cardinals before—instead of just places like Europe and the United States. The College of Cardinals is in all corners of the globe now, and naturally, that brings in different perspectives. That’s what Francis wanted; he didn't want it to be the same shop at the end of his day that it was at the beginning.

He appointed in the neighborhood of 80 percent of the cardinals who will be voting. I think that’s going to be important in trying to make sure that we don't return to a place where the church turns inward and withdraws from the world.

There are voices in the church that advocate a more conservative approach and others who want to continue the reform pathway that Pope Francis established. How much could the new pope’s direction affect a fairly polarized world?

I think that the next pope is going to try to bring people together, in that I don’t think he’ll be too far to the right or to the left. I think he’ll be someone who wants to include everybody. And through his actions and what people can see and hear, he will be sending a clear signal of “look, we’re all best off when we all work together, and that’s what we need to do.” And I think that's how this conclave could turn out.

Pope Francis’ immense influence on the global level is a large part of his legacy, maybe more so than popes in the past. What do you think his legacy was ultimately?

At one point, he said the church “should have the smell of the sheep on us,” and what he meant by that is that we are engaged in the world of those we are trying to shepherd. We don’t conduct ourselves in a standoffish way. He said that the church should be a field hospital for the sick and for those who are struggling, as opposed to a prize for the perfect. And that lays out the two sides of the argument of whether it should be more doctrinal or whether it should be more focused on all of the families, kids, and everybody who’s hoping to see their life become a better one.  I think that there’s a way to blend those to achieve both goals.

It’s a complicated time, and this moment with the Conclave could be one of reflection. What does it raise to you about the state of the world and where things are headed?

As you see the world and the situation we’re in, what I think the next pope will epitomize, hopefully, will be integrity, character, and decency. There’s an old saying that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We need a pope to show how much he cares, and then to have the courage to stand up and say no to those who want to take advantage of others.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. It represents the views and opinions solely of the interviewee. The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher, and takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.