Major tests confronting next pontiff

The Roman Catholic cardinals who file into the Sistine Chapel Monday for the first conclave in a quarter century have a difficult task. They must elect a man who can not only fill the shoes of an immensely popular pope, but lead a global church with urgent and complex challenges.

The dynamic era of John Paul II spurred major growth in the church and gave the papacy added clout on moral issues. But it also left unfinished business that will seriously test the next pontiff.

Among the bigger challenges:

• Replenishing a global shortage of priests. Last year, 17 percent of parishes in North America had no priest.

• Settling the balance of power between bishops and the pope. John Paul II recentralized power in Rome, but many Catholics urge local control.

• Making the church's teaching on sexuality and family more relevant to lay Catholics.

• Dealing with challenges from Islam and evangelical traditions, while improving interfaith ties.

The next pope will assume the mantle at a time of heightened insecurities in the world. Religious competition and conflict in several regions demand his attention, along with the persistent challenges of globalization and poverty.

For an institution centered on the Eucharist and defined by a sharp distinction between clergy and laypeople, the shortage of priests is potentially devastating. "The Catholic Church wouldn't be Catholic without the Eucharist and sacraments, and it can't have them without priests," says the Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of America, a Catholic weekly.

Despite John Paul II's travels and inspiring persona, the number of priests worldwide remains the same as at the start of his pontificate, while the Catholic population has grown by 40 percent.

In North America, there is one priest for every 1,300 parishioners. In South America, the ratio is one for every 7,000. The fact that priests in many places on that continent show up only once a month to say mass has helped spur the exodus to evangelicalism, researchers say.

Clergy and laypeople want the new pope to consider the possibility of married priests. "The next pope must acknowledge that providing the ... sacraments ... is more important than mandatory celibacy," Father Reese argues.

Perhaps the most difficult test facing the new pontiff will be how to devolve authority within the institution, an issue rankling church leaders around the world. John Paul put power back in the Vatican, clipping the wings of bishops conferences and local churches, stifling debate, and making it more difficult to adapt practices to local cultural contexts.

"Problems differ in various parts of the world, and people want less intrusion from Rome in their affairs," says Paul Lakeland, professor of religion at Fairfield University in Connecticut. "People on the right and on the left both want that."

The balance of power between the Vatican and bishops - what in the church is called "collegiality" - is seen as a prime issue for cardinals in this week's voting.

Some Catholics say it's time to consider electing bishops at the local level, a practice that occurred in earlier periods in the church. Others suggest that devolution should include more responsible involvement of the laity.

In today's atmosphere of global tensions, the new pope will have to decide how best to build on his predecessor's monumental efforts in interfaith relations. By most accounts, Islam tops the agenda. Catholic communities face difficult encounters with Islam in Africa and elsewhere, and it's crucial for the church to reach some kind of modus vivendi.

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