The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, died yesterday morning aged 88 after weeks of ill health. The pontiff had been admitted to the hospital in February to be treated for pneumonia and spent five weeks undergoing treatment, where he suffered “two very critical episodes”.
News of his passing, on Easter Monday, prompted a wave of tributes from world leaders and mourners around the world. He was hailed as a progressive figure in the church, notably championing acceptance of the LGBTQ community.
The pontiff was also a passionate advocate for migrants throughout his time in the role, calling for humanity to “revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas” in his final address.
Until such time as a new Pope is chosen, the governing of the church will be under the control of the College of the Cardinals.
Following Francis’ funeral on Saturday, these senior figures will begin the secretive process of selecting his successor.
A number of names have emerged as leading candidates, many of whom share starkly different outlooks.
Among them is Péter Erdő, 72, a cardinal from Hungary who has been the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary since 2003.
He is also the former president of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe. Erdo is regarded as a leading candidate on the church’s conservative wing.
In 2015, the 72-year-old opposed remarried Catholics receiving the Holy Communion – unless they abstain from sex.
That year, during the European migrant crisis, he also opposed the Church taking people in, bizarrely suggesting doing so would constitute human trafficking.
However, he is said to have changed his stance following a meeting with the Pope, as per Time Magazine. Erdo is also firmly opposed to same sex marriage within the church.
He has spoken in support of Viktor Orban’s leadership in Hungary on some issues, but has opposed the President’s Fidesz party on others, including the nationalisation of the country’s IVF clinics.
Zoltan Laky, a Catholic journalist with the Hungarian outlet Valasz Online, told Balkan Insight that while Cardinal Erdő is conservative, he is “not reactionary, and comes across as both pragmatic and diplomatic”.
And while Erdo’s beliefs may have been at odds with Pope Francis’ more liberal world view, he never openly clashed with the pontiff, and dutifully built bridges with his more liberal outlook, as per Reuters.
He’s therefore seen by some as a potential compromise candidate, with the potential to appease different ends of the church’s ideological spectrum.
Erdo was made a cardinal by Pope Francis’ predecessor but one, Pope John Paul II, in 2003.
You can find out more about the men that could succeed Pope Francis here.
