12th January 2025
What we do next...?
During my post-Christmas break, I went to the cinema to see Conclave. Based on the book by Robert Harris, this film tells a fictional story of cardinals gathering in Rome for the conclave to elect a new Pope following the death of the previous one. During a conclave, cardinals are sequestered from the world until the decision is made and white smoke rising from the Vatican announces to the world the message that a new Pope has been chosen.
One thing the film did brilliantly was to convey the claustrophobic atmosphere of the conclave. Although the cardinals were lodged in comfortable surroundings, with good food and drink provided, they were still effectively imprisoned, and some of the corridor shots expressed this powerfully. In such an atmosphere, old rivalries surface, secrets are uncovered and hearts laid bare...
It was especially interesting to me to watch the film in the aftermath of the resignation of our Archbishop of Canterbury following the Machin report on John Smyth's abuse in the church, and in the context of the selection of a new Archbishop. In the Church of England, there is no conclave, but the issues explored in the film also resonate for us. The division between traditionalists / conservatives and liberals / progressives was clearly demarcated, and the question of who is fit for the top job analysed at some length. When something he had done a long time in the past effectively scuppered the campaign of an early front-runner, he exclaimed in exasperation "Should a mistake of thirty years ago disqualify me for the job now?" The answer from the audience in the rows behind me came out loud as a resounding "yes"!
That public perception is cause enough for reflection, but the line that has stayed with me came from an outsider in the group. He berates the assembled cardinals as "little men" with big ambitions, who seek only power and not the good of the Church or the people the Church is meant to serve. And he concludes his speech thus: "The Church is not the past, it is the future. The Church is what we decide to do next."
In this new year, as we continue to pray for what we, here in Penge, do next, we pray for those responsible for selecting a new Archbishop, and for those contending for the role - for our Church will be what we decide to do next.
