One of the cardinals who was considered a strong contender to be elected as the new pope to replace Pope Francis has spoken about his relief that he was not chosen.
He has also described how the related pressures and responsibilities behind his relief are having an impact at other levels of the Catholic hierarchy, deterring priests from becoming bishops even after they have been selected by the Vatican as being worthy of the task.
Cardinal Mario Grech, from Malta, has said that anyone who actually wants or seeks the role of pope is either “a martyr" or "crazy”.
Grech was <a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-mario-grech-the-maltese-falcon-full-of-surprises/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">one of the group of cardinals</mark></a> that the majority of Vatican watchers and commentators saw as a papabile – which literally means “Pope-able” – cardinal, following the death of Pope Francis on 21 April.
<a href="https://timesofmalta.com/article/i-relieved-i-wasn-t-chosen-pope-mario-grech.1110297"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Speaking</mark></a> to the <em>Times of Malta</em>, the cardinal said he was deeply relieved to be able to leave Rome “a free man” after the conclave that resulted in the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, the <a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/can-a-us-born-pope-confront-americanism-or-is-it-just-a-phantom-heresy/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">first pope from the United States</mark></a>.
Asked whether he was relieved not to have been elected by his fellow cardinals in the conclave, he said: “Yes, definitely ... I returned home a free man. Someone told me before the conclave: in order to want it [the papacy], you must either be a martyr – and I don’t feel I’m one – or crazy."
He added that he had even urged his brother cardinals not to push him forward as a candidate, telling <em>The Times of Malta</em>: “Several people would tell me they’re praying for me, and I would say, ‘Continue praying, but according to my intention, not yours’.”
He added: “It wasn’t a matter of not wanting to be chosen, but rather, I reflected on Jesus’s question to the mother of Zebedee’s children: ‘Are they willing to drink from the chalice I will drink from?’”
<em>The Times of Malta</em> notes that in the biblical context, “drinking the cup” often symbolises suffering, tribulation or even death, particularly in reference to Jesus’s impending passion and crucifixion. Grech further explained that he held that story close to his heart during the conclave.
“I embarked on this journey with that unwavering conviction, uncertain of what the future held,” he said.
Cardinal Grech, 68, who was appointed a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2020, comes from the smaller island of Gozo to the north of the main island of Malta.
He said it was wrong to assume that all cardinals harbour a desire to become pope, while noting that just as many cardinals are wary of the enormous responsibilities involved, similar concerns over assuming higher office permeate throughout the Catholic hierarchy and at other levels.
To illustrate this, he noted that around a quarter of priests who are chosen by the Pope to become bishops are turning down the promotion.
“They don’t want it, because the burdens of authority in the Church are truly immense," Grech said.
As a member of the Synod of Bishops, he described how he had seen the problem first hand: “When a bishopric becomes vacant anywhere around the world, we receive dossiers from the local nuncio detailing three nominees. We review these files, rank the candidates by preference, and submit them to the Pope for his final selection.
“Yet, it’s increasingly common for the chosen candidate to decline – roughly 25 per cent refuse the appointment. One in every four priests chosen by the Pope to be bishops are refusing.”
Such pressures and responsibilities reach a stratospheric level when it comes to becoming pope, he highlighted.
“I only realised after the conclave why the new Pope takes a new name – because his old life is not his any more," Grech said.
"He is not his own man any more. He cannot even go out for a coffee or for a short walk. And those are just the little things.”
<a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-mario-grech-the-maltese-falcon-full-of-surprises/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><strong><em>RELATED: Papabile of the Day: Cardinal Mario Grech, the ‘Maltese Falcon’ full of surprises</em></strong></mark></a>
<em>Photo: Pope Francis and Cardinal Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo, during the first day of Pope Francis's two-day trip to the Mediterranean archipelago, Malta, 2 April 2022. (Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
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