Pope Francis, Cardinal Re, and the Absurdity of Legacy Panic
Before anything else, keep the Holy Father in your prayers as he faces a very serious illness.
Debunking the Conclave Conspiracy Theories
Reading Politico’s latest take on Pope Francis is like flipping through The National Enquirer—minus the bat-boy sightings but with just as much wild speculation. The theory? That Francis’s decision to keep Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals is some cunning maneuver to cling to power from beyond the grave. What better way to control the future of a 2,000-year-old institution than by entrusting an 89-year-old with no voting power?
Let’s be real, if Pope Francis were truly hellbent on securing his legacy, appointing a figurehead with the shelf life of an overripe banana wouldn’t be the masterstroke. Instead, the far simpler, more logical explanation is that experience and stability matter (especially in an institution as huge as the Church).
The issue I have with this is it dramatically inflates the dean’s role, mistaking tradition for control. A dean presides over meetings—he doesn’t puppet-master them. He has zero real power over conclave outcomes—its the voting Cardinals that decide not a dean with an honorary gavel.
In the history of the Church deans don’t dictate papal elections. If they did, we’d be living under a centuries-long reign of their preferred candidates, which we are decidedly not. And if Pope Francis really wanted to pull the strings on his successor, his strategy would focus on influencing the papal election—not keeping an elderly administrator in a ceremonial seat.
IMO all this is is an attempt to keep things steady in a time of transition. Think about it, Pope Francis has appointed a record number of new cardinals. A seasoned leader like Re ensures they don’t bumble through the process like lost tourists. As you know the Church tends to favor continuity over upheaval; a veteran in the room provides reassurance, not revolution. I do not believe that this a some shadowy maneuver—its about stability.
Lastly, the idea that Francis is fretting over his legacy is laughable when you consider what he’s already done. I think he’s been pretty clear that he doesn’t care about controlling the Church’s future (he’s even encouraged easier papal retirements). He’s hand-picked over 70% of the voting cardinals. If he wanted a say in the next pope, that’s where the influence actually lies. His legacy isn’t bound to one figure—it’s embedded in the structural and ideological shifts he’s already made.
The notion that Francis is clutching onto power through Cardinal Re crumbles under scrutiny—this isn’t some Dan Brown-level intrigue. (Are those books even still a thing?) The secular media’s obsession with turning every Vatican decision into a power play is exhausting. As always, political journos insist on viewing papal decisions through their one and only lens—politics. But not every Vatican move is some grand chess match. Sometimes, it’s just about keeping the wheels from falling off.
© 2025, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.
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