With the passing of Pope Francis, the world will look to Rome to see who the conclave of cardinals will pick to be the next head of the church. The conclave is a very political event with backroom deals, favors and handshakes being exchanged. And like this country, there seems to be an ideological divide between cardinals who want to be more liberal and open to the changing world, and those who want to pull back into a more conservative sphere.
Of course, when the College of Cardinals meet, there is one country that should be at the front of mind when picking the new pope. The country with the fourth-largest Catholic population, spurred by immigration, that finds itself in a bit of a spiritual crisis: the U.S.
There is no doubt that the role of the pope is a political role along with that of a religious leader. We saw this play out in the 1980s when Pope John Paul II was elected and proceeded to take his ministry all around the world, especially to his homeland of Communist Poland. That pope found himself locking horns with the Soviet Union over its influence in Eastern Europe to the point that some believe that Moscow tried to have him killed.
Pope Francis was no different. Whether he addressed abortion, gender and sexuality, the war in Gaza, or the treatment of the United States of its migrant workers, he wasn’t afraid to lock horns with Presidents Obama, Biden or Trump. The last go around happened right before his death when he sat down with Vice President JD Vance to discuss the issue of migrants. The moves by the pontiff bought an interesting reaction. U.S. Catholics seem to shrug at his suggestions and instead back Trump’s political movement.
Catholics broke more toward Trump in 2024 than previously with the biggest movement in places like Florida and Texas. It doesn’t take much to realize why that was the case. Republicans might like to fearmonger about invaders and Marxists coming into the country, but the reality is most immigrants are Latino, Asian and African Christians. These are groups that are deeply conservative when it comes to religion and have not found the Democrats platform to be aligned with their spiritual views.
Conversely these communities had made their bed with a political movement that seems to whip back and forth between wanting their votes and wanting them to leave. The “Make America Great Again” movement has found itself combatting Pope Francis on everything. Vice President Vance even invoked medieval Catholic moral theology to justify the Trump administration’s treatment of migrants, only to get an embarrassing clapback from the pope.
This puts the Catholic Church in a remarkably interesting position. The conservative wing of the church may want to choose someone who is more compatible with Trump. Trump, for all his non-Christian behavior, does appeal to a lot of Christians. However, the conservative Catholics may have to take a gamble on how close they want to align with his movement.
The liberal wing of the College of Cardinals will have to take into consideration the potential for growth of the Church in the U.S. and America’s role in changing the world’s power dynamics. There is no doubt that Trump is on a mission to change (or dismantle) the world of globalization. An American pope who is in line with Pope Francis might be a strong enough voice to lead people away from Trump’s rhetoric.
Either way, there is an opportunity for the Catholic Church to flex its immense reach into a changing political world. The world is more connected than ever before and more people are exposed to the Catholic Church that normally would not be. Back at the turn of the 20th century, Catholics in the U.S. faced suspicion of their allegiance to Rome over Washington. It was an unfounded prejudice that thankfully went away.
But the Catholic Church can now have a figurehead that appeals to the largest Christian denomination in the most powerful country that can help shape the next few decades of both the U.S. and the world. An American pope would have an influence that even John Paul II never had when dealing with the Soviet Union. And that alone is a reason to consider electing an American to lead the Catholic Church.
Jos Joseph is a master’s candidate at the Harvard Extension School at Harvard University. He is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and lives in Anaheim, Calif.