7 Global challenges facing the next pope (and some at home)

“It will be very difficult to succeed Pope Francis.” This reflection, often heard in the corridors of the Vatican since the beginning of his pontificate in 2013, touches on points that are both symbolic and very concrete... Starting with his residence.

The Argentine pontiff chose to remain permanently at Casa Santa Marta, the residence of the cardinals during the conclave, in order to live his daily life closely following his Jesuit community habits. But the next pope could return to live in the papal apartments, which were symbolically sealed a few hours after Francis' death, even though he never slept there.

“I’m certain that the next pope will return to live in the Apostolic Palace,” says a Roman priest. He explains that for those who passed through St. Peter's Square in the evening, seeing the light on in the pontiff's apartment was, under previous pontificates, an important symbol of the pope's protection over the people of Rome.

Another important aspect concerns his communication style. Pope Francis gave more than 200 interviews to sometimes unexpected media outlets, speaking without a filter, often to the dismay of his own staff. His press conferences on the papal plane also revealed a great freedom of tone.

Will the next pontiff return to a more academic and polished, more institutional style of speech, even if it means attracting less media attention? It seems that some cardinals would like a pope who speaks less and more sparingly. However, the future head of the Catholic Church will still need to demonstrate a certain knowledge of current media languages in order to spread his message.

In addition, Pope Francis focused the image of the papacy on the poor and those on the margins of society. He shared with the world his concern for interfaith dialogue, particularly with Islam, opening up new perspectives. Also, he renewed the Catholic Church's discourse on ecology, linking the protection of nature to social justice.

His successor will have to build on this legacy in the face of climate change and growing social disparities around the world, which are likely to lead to increased migration.

This challenge is not new. Every time the Church welcomes a new pope, the faithful have to adjust to differences in character. While they serve as Vicar of Christ, they each bring their own human personalities, talents, weaknesses, and strengths.

Francis' pontificate has not halted secularization in the West, a long-standing and complex phenomenon that is reflected in the Catholic Church by a steady decline in vocations.

In the space of 10 years, from 2011 to 2021, Europe saw a decline of 27,000 priests, 6,000 seminarians, and nearly 80,000 nuns, resulting in an overall decrease in the number of priests worldwide. There were 413,418 in 2011 compared to 407,872 in 2021.

Nevertheless, Africa and Asia have seen an increase in the number of priests over this period: 52,000 priests in Africa compared to 39,000 ten years ago. Still, this isn’t enough to offset the decline in vocations globally. More worrying for Rome is that even in Asia, a continent favored by Francis, the number of seminarians has fallen during his pontificate (-9% from 2011 to 2021).

While continuing the Argentine pontiff's momentum in the peripheries, the next pope will have the task of remobilizing Catholicism in the countries with an ancient Catholic tradition. In this difficult context, the strong rebound in adult and youth baptisms in France and the United Kingdom has been met with surprise and interest in Rome.

“Something is happening in France. It may be the harbinger of a new springtime for the Church,” rejoices a cardinal of the Roman Curia who was very close to Pope Francis.

There has never been a shortage of divisive issues in the Church. One in this pontificate was the restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass since the summer of 2021. The next pope will have to take up this issue while still facing the thorny question of dialogue with the Society of Saint Pius X, which is not in communion with the Church but promotes the Tridentine Mass.

Furthermore, the various synods organized under Francis' pontificate — these large assemblies for reflection on the family, young people, and the specific challenges of the Amazon — have sometimes given the impression of a Catholic Church going at different speeds.

Since 2021, the broad process of the “Synod on Synodality” has provided an opportunity to review many issues relating to the governance of the Church and the shared responsibility between priests and laity, and the role of women.

Some observers are concerned about the “Anglicanization” of the Catholic Church, with doctrinal differences that could eventually crystallize from one continent to another, as is the case in the Anglican Communion.

By choosing not to publish an apostolic exhortation at the end of the last Synod, Pope Francis has left his successor free to make decisions on the most sensitive issues. However, while he was in the hospital, he released a synodal calendar that now extends to 2028 and is intended to mobilize dioceses around the world.

The question of the unity of the Catholic Church in China will remain a major concern. It has been nearly seven years since the signing of a provisional agreement on episcopal appointments intended to reunite the underground and official churches, but its implementation is proving extremely complex.

The crisis of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy had already shaken the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The central place of this issue during the 2013 conclave prompted Pope Francis to create a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in March 2014. However, the work carried out by the commission was marred by the departure of several of its members, who were disappointed by its functioning and what they said was a lack of cooperation from the Roman Curia.

Numerous scandals related to abuse have marred Francis' pontificate, a sign that the issue still causes uncertainty in the Vatican. Among these, we should note the resignation of the bishops of Chile, the dismissal of former Cardinal McCarrick, reports of alarming abuse by the German and French episcopal conferences, and revelations about numerous important figures in the Church.

Specific cases include Abbé Pierre in France and former Jesuit Marko Rupnik, a Slovenian artist and priest very close to the pope who has been accused of abuse by some 20 women.

The pontiff will have the difficult task of continuing the Church's fight against this scourge, particularly in Africa and Asia.

During his pontificate, Pope Francis pushed forward an ambitious program of reforms aimed at rethinking the functioning of the Roman Curia, the administrative heart of the Catholic Church. His goal was to make the Holy See a more open, transparent, and modern entity at the service of the dioceses. This reform ultimately led to the promulgation of a new apostolic constitution, Praedicate Evangelium, in 2022.

However, the pontiff's determination has been hampered by several obstacles, starting with internal resistance. Controversial decisions regarding human resources management have also created a sense of unease among employees in recent years.

While Pope Francis cleaned up the accounts, he has not managed to put the finances on a sustainable footing. The Vatican remains structurally in deficit, due in particular to a decline in donations from the faithful, which is affecting its pension fund in particular.

Finally, the financial scandal surrounding the “London building affair,” which led to Cardinal Angelo Becciu being sentenced to five and a half years in prison, appears ambivalent. It highlighted a certain persistent opacity in the Vatican's financial management, while revealing the Pope's desire to put an end to a system undermined by nepotism and amateurism.

Many Vatican sources agree that the next pope will have to “reassure the apparatus” by continuing the reforms, but without brutalizing or humiliating the staff.

Pope Francis was scheduled to visit Turkey around May 24 to commemorate the Council of Nicaea (325), thereby marking a rapprochement with the Orthodox Church. The future pope could make a highly symbolic first trip on this occasion.

Contacts between Rome and the Patriarchate of Constantinople have accelerated dramatically under Francis' pontificate, but the situation remains deadlocked with part of the Orthodox world. “The Patriarch of Constantinople wants unity with Rome, but the other patriarchs aren’t all in agreement,” explains a source close to the matter in Rome.

The main stumbling block is the Moscow Patriarchate. The meeting organized in Cuba between Kirill and Pope Francis in February 2016 seemed to open up a new breakthrough. However, the dialogue broke down due to the Moscow Patriarch's active support for the Russian offensive in Ukraine, which he described as a “holy war,” a position unacceptable to Rome.

Furthermore, in 2023-2024, the Fiducia Supplicans declaration caused deep incomprehension among the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Coptic Church thus announced the suspension of theological dialogue with the Catholic Church. The Vatican's efforts to restart it have been unsuccessful so far.

On the other hand, dialogue with various Protestant denominations — Anglicans, Lutherans, Evangelicals, and Waldensians — has made substantial progress under Pope Francis. His successor will certainly be able to build on these achievements to strengthen partnerships between churches, particularly on social issues, while preserving the Catholic Church's unique identity on bioethical issues.

The proliferation of wars has been a “cross” for Francis' pontificate. He gave prominence to the theme of reconciliation during delicate trips to Bosnia, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Myanmar, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan.

The war in Ukraine, which began in 2014 in the Donbass region but spread to the whole country following the Russian offensive in February 2022, has been a particular focus for Pope Francis. He made dozens, maybe even hundreds, of appeals on behalf of “martyred Ukraine,” while receiving criticism for his positions, which were perceived as too neutral, even complacent toward Russia. 

His hope of visiting both countries and acting as a mediator proved futile, and his tears of helplessness during the Marian prayer on December 8, 2022, left a lasting impression. The meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of his funeral may nevertheless temper this sense of failure by showing that the Vatican remains a valuable platform for contacts.

The war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' offensive against Israel on October 7, 2023, and marked by massive Israeli bombardments that left more than 50,000 Palestinians dead, also caused Francis great suffering.

“By calling the Gaza parish every evening, even when he was hospitalized and limited in his ability to speak, the Pope showed courage and helped save hundreds of lives,” said one cardinal. “Because of the media attention his calls attracted, this parish was one of the only places the Israelis didn’t dare to bomb,” he said, paying tribute to the pope's attention to this ”little flock.”

Nevertheless, the Pope's voice did not prevent the war from continuing. More broadly, given global geopolitical developments, the world of 2025 looks increasingly fractured. The future pope will have to contend with the rise of various populist movements and the growing influence of authoritarian regimes that sometimes endanger their neighbors.