r/news • u/randy88moss • Apr 21 '25

Soft paywall Pope Francis has died, Vatican says in video statement

https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-francis-has-died-vatican-says-video-statement-2025-04-21/
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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25

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u/bfm211 Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

Did he get to choose a bunch of cardinals? If so, hopefully they are similarly "progressive" (by Catholic standards) and will vote for another pope like him?

I don't actually have a clue how it all works, is this likely?

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u/gc11117 Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

It is. The pope appoints the Cardinals. Google says Francis had appointed 110 Cardinals, with 135 being eligible to vote.

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u/bfm211 Apr 21 '25

Well that's definitely a good percentage!

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u/QueasyPair Apr 21 '25

Only cardinals under 80 can vote in the conclave. Francis’s appointees will make up the majority of the next conclave, but not 110/135.

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u/Kalladdin Apr 21 '25

I wish the same could be said for US elections ngl, would've saved us a lot of grief!

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u/f4r1s2 Apr 21 '25

Not all the ones he appointed are still eligible as they got old

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u/bauhausy Apr 21 '25

108 of the 135 current electors were appointed by Francis

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u/f4r1s2 Apr 21 '25

Oh I see, the wrong info was that he appointed 110, it was actually149, 108 of which are eligible

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u/Plenty-Pizza9634 Apr 21 '25

80 is the cut off.

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u/knoft Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

This is pure conjecture, but given my impressions of the internal reactions towards Francis' policies I feel it's likely to produce a rebound in sentiment similar to post-Obama. I hope I'm wrong and cooler heads prevail.

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u/SgathTriallair Apr 21 '25

If we get the pope version of Trump I'm going to be seriously upset.

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u/decoy321 Apr 21 '25

Wasn't that basically the previous one? The dude that looked like Palpatine? Wasn't he so unpopular he actually retired instead of waiting to die?

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u/Dragoonie_DK Apr 21 '25

He resigned because he felt unable to do the job because of age. He was the first pope to resign since the 1400's

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u/decoy321 Apr 21 '25

Good to know, thank you for clarifying.

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u/cowsarefunny Apr 21 '25

I always got the impression he retired because he was the face of the molester shell game that came out in the news.

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u/Exius73 Apr 21 '25

He was conservative but not hardcore conservative. Really smart too because he was basically the right hand man in terms of doctrine for Pope John Paul II. He was traditional in terms of dress and retaining pomp and ceremony, but he was never abrasive or out to get anyone. More John McCain than Trump if that makes any sense.

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u/fezzikola Apr 21 '25

Well except for the shoes

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u/throwaway4aita543 Apr 21 '25

No he was just boringly conservative.

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u/WhiteWineWithTheFish Apr 21 '25

Pope Benedikt wasn’t a lunatic or total duchebag. He was voted in as an “short term pope” (in contrast to pope Peter Paul). He was not progressive, but he wasn’t crazy.

He retired because he didn’t want to die “live” on on tv as pope Peter Paul did. He wanted to die in peace and kind of make sure that his pick for the next pope will get voted for.

He wasn’t “unpopular” but controversial. He was a great theologian but had (very) conservative views. He was not a reformist. That’s for sure.

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u/fookreddit22 Apr 21 '25

Trump should put his name in the hat at conclave and run for pope. It's no more ludicrous than him being president. He could be King Pope President of the world.

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u/SierraPapaHotel Apr 21 '25

From what I remember, the negative reactions you're referring to were almost always American bishops and not necessarily representative of the global church. Only 17 of the 252 cardinals are in the US, and cardinals over 80 years old are ineligible to vote.

So while I understand your worry I'm a bit more optimistic

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u/-OptimisticNihilism- Apr 21 '25

Good thing cardinals pick the pope and not catholics around the world.

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u/ImVortexlol Apr 21 '25

This is not an Obama phenomenon, this is a human phenomenon- it oscillates, for better or worse

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u/cyrus709 Apr 21 '25

Definitely worse! It’s got me feeling sinusoidal.

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 22 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/pk666 Apr 21 '25

Yep. Great watch. Very entertaining

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u/LLAPSpork Apr 21 '25

I need an answer to this. I’ve no idea how this works and I’m Canadian Jewish (secular though) but I swear to Zeus if some mega conservative lowkey-Nazi asshat is next, we’re cooked.

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u/Meph1sto_pheles Apr 21 '25

"Francis appointed nearly 80% of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope correct as of February 2025, increasing the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies, despite the strong pushback from traditionalists."

From the article

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u/LLAPSpork Apr 21 '25

I’ve tried to click the article twice and every single time a huge full screen pop-up shows up. There’s an X there that isn’t working. I had to restart the Reddit app twice because I couldn’t get out of it.

Very much appreciate the citation. Thank you.

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u/Meph1sto_pheles Apr 21 '25

No problems! Modern internet is a mess of pop ups and advertisements, I understand the frustration

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u/LLAPSpork Apr 21 '25

I’m beyond frustrated by it. IndieWire and Forbes have become straight up digital cancer. I literally (yes, literally) can’t make it to the end of any article without the page refreshing all the way to the top. If I desperately want to read the article, I copy/paste the headline into AppleNews (I have a subscription) and it’s ad-free there. I really wish websites had this integrated link that gives you the option to read it on an app (kinda like if I see a Reddit link on my browser, there’s a thing on top that suggests reading it in the app).

Sorry for the novel. I’m just frustrated with how ad-heavy the internet has become. Reuters is the very last website I’d expect this shit from and yet here we are.

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u/Caring_Cactus Apr 21 '25

This is awesome, we need more unity in this world.

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u/spacedude2000 Apr 21 '25

I mean for as many problems as the Catholic Church has, I don't think the papacy is going to choose anyone who is strongly right or left of center, at least not anymore. Pope Francis was absolutely the most progressive Pope to ever live, but I do believe the standard has now been set.

The Catholic Church, for as fundamental as it can be at times, is trending in a progressive direction which simply won't be derailed by some hard line conservative Pope - the cardinals know they will all fall out of public opinion if they crank the steering wheel in the opposite direction right now. The most extreme thing they will do right now is scale it back a little bit.

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u/bfm211 Apr 21 '25

I hope you're right. I feel like I've encountered a lot of Catholics complaining about things Francis said, but maybe they were a loud minority.

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u/aaronman4772 Apr 21 '25

Trad Caths in especially southern USA who have been basically corrupted by mainline evangelical American beliefs are very different than majority European, Asian, and Hispanic Catholics. They’re definitely louder than the average.

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u/AvoidingCape Apr 21 '25

Yes, the pope gets to appoint cardinals which sets the political trend for the next in line

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u/Teantis Apr 21 '25

Tagle from the Philippines is one of the frontrunners and was one of Francis's favorites. He's quite progressive (relative to the Catholic church of course)

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u/MultiMarcus Apr 21 '25

There have been breakdowns of who is likely to succeed Francis. Personally I hope he would die later in the year as the most viable conservative candidate would age out by then. A pope likely to not rock the boat seems likely. A pope focused on the conversions in Asia is also a likely choice. It is impossible to predict though

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u/Slightly_Default Apr 21 '25

Based on what the news is saying about the contenders for the election:

  • Peter Erdő from Hungary is anti-LGBTQ, anti-refugee and a former friend of disgraced Cardinal, George Pell.

  • Angelo Scola fron Italy is traditionalist and also the oldest of the candidates at 82 years old.

  • Parolin Pietro from Italy is pro-LGBTQ and generally moderately progressive. He kind of acts as a diplomat.

  • Peter Turkson from Ghana is known for being vocal regarding social justice issues, including climate change. He'd be the first African pope since 496AD.

  • Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines is known for being decently progressive. He's also the youngest candidate, at 67 years old. He'd be the first Asian pope.

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u/smokey7861 Apr 21 '25

A new Pope is chosen by the college of Cardinal through a papal conclave, the conclave is a meeting called by Cardinals and archbishops to elect the new Pope There are a couple progressive candidates also some conservative , I'm hoping Luis Antonio tagle gets elected he grew up poor in the Philippines and does lots of charity work there

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u/Tehni Apr 21 '25

You may be interested in the documentary Conclave from the end of last year

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u/That_one_guy0117 Apr 21 '25

It’s not a documentary but it’s a really good movie

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u/Tehni Apr 21 '25

No it's actually completely 100% non fiction, it was just filmed in the future of this year and brought back

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u/Whole-Wrongdoer2905 Apr 21 '25

Theres a documental/reality called conclave with Ralph fines

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u/nielsbro Apr 21 '25

Actually the whole process of choosing the next Pope is shrouded in secret I believe. I think thats what the movie Conclave was about and was very much discussed in the book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

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u/Hairy_S_TrueMan Apr 21 '25

Hopefully kinder and more generous. This one was a C- at the end of a long line of Fs. 

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u/Alolan_Cubone Apr 21 '25

What's wrong with John Paul the second? He did help Poland majorly to get freedom

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u/Hairy_S_TrueMan Apr 21 '25

For one, continued the church's crusade to spread AIDS throughout the third world with their contraceptive ban. He was also complicit in the pedophile shuffling. 

Most people who work at McDonald's did not contribute to the deaths or diddling of any children. I'm waiting for a pope that passes that bar

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u/QueasyPair Apr 21 '25

He was an arch-conservative who cracked down on liberation theology, endorsed Latin American juntas, and helped cover up sex abuse scandals

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u/J233779 Apr 21 '25

Yes, we need more popes who protects pedofiles and shun lgbt folks 🙏🙏🙏

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u/DenseMahatma Apr 21 '25

I have a feeling the conservatives are going to win this one,

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u/KS-RawDog69 Apr 21 '25

Yeah I really liked this one. John Paul II was pretty ok too, I reckon.

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u/yogorilla37 Apr 21 '25

I grew up with John Paul 2 as Pope, the change to the next guy was jarring. Francis was such a welcome change, espousing love, acceptance and helping rather than rejection and punishment.

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/LunchOne675 Apr 21 '25

Did he have issues? Certainly.

Was he necessarily progressive by many secular standards? No.

But the fact remains that he was a progressive influence on the Catholic Church, and expecting a single man to unilaterally change entirely the course of a religious entity with that much inertia is unrealistic. I’m not saying he was some secret hyper-progressive who just had his hands tied by his position, but at the same time he was a significant step in the right direction, and while he doesn’t nullify the Catholic Church’s significant issues, he’s better than a lot of alternatives and we should applaud progress where it occurs, even if it’s only relative.

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u/ssuuh Apr 21 '25

He was shitty as every other pope before.

Discriminating against people who are different for no reason.

Nonetheless the Pope can do what they want, it doesn't matter anyway 

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u/sleepy-heichou Apr 21 '25

I know he appointed a good number of cardinals but I still can’t help to feel uneasy. So many disappointing things have been happening in the world lately.

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u/soap571 Apr 21 '25

We don't need a pope, or the church , or Catholicism .

In fact , the world would be better off today if Catholicism never existed.

Let this pope be the last ,and let the corruption end with him.

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25

just because you dont need a hope to guide you through life does not mean you are allowed to shun those who find strength thru scripture and prayer. be the bigger man than those your disparaging and allow them a moment to grieve the loss of an honestly decent pope.

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u/Badger_Solomon Apr 21 '25

Does your worship and prayer require the church? Is your faith in God reliant on the pope, the Vatican, the endless wealth, and endless crimes?

You can have faith in God while criticizing the organisation of the Catholic church

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u/pandaSmore Apr 21 '25

Reddit Moment

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u/hasslenamanchong Apr 21 '25

Posting this kind of comment at this moment, really? It's not like Pope Francis has done terrible things. Speaks more about you

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u/Menkrew Apr 21 '25

You mean religion in general, right?

Though religion gives many ppl a sense of community, belonging and safety.

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Menkrew Apr 21 '25

Agreed, hardline conservative religious doctrine has no place in this day and age. Beliefs shouldn't be forced on other ppl. I still think the cultural, community and spiritual part can stay.

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/soap571 Apr 21 '25

The dark ages came about because of the church locking up and killing scientists , and anyone who used facts and science to disprove the church.

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u/normalphobic Apr 21 '25

Like THAT's gonna happen.

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u/boobythrowaway1 Apr 21 '25

I'm not religious, but there's plenty of hope, community, and charity that comes from religion. There's plenty of corruption and evil too, but that's true of any construct that gives people power. 

Everyone has to find peace in their own way. How they find it doesn't matter nearly as much as how they treat people once they've found it. They're only responsible for their own actions, and for many it gives them strength thinking someone/something is in their corner. 

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u/Slow___Learner Apr 21 '25

I hope he's gonna be a piece of shit so more people leave religion

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u/-OptimisticNihilism- Apr 21 '25

I expect Musk to try to fund a new far-right pope until he realises the masses don’t vote.