"The Two Popes" Gives Way to Pope vs. Pope on the Issue of Celibacy in the Priesthood
Author: Paul Elie
February 2, 2020
In a Daily Comment for the New Yorker, Senior Fellow Paul Elie writes that the conflict between progressives and traditionalists in the Catholic Church has hardened around the two popes. It tipped toward an open dispute in recent weeks, with the publication of a book that presents one pope indirectly rebuking the other on an issue that has long divided the Church and is now up for consideration in Rome: the question of priestly celibacy. Elie remarks that Benedict XVI's resignation has changed the nature of Vatican governance from courtly fealty to something like a coalition. He concludes that the drama of the two popes makes clear that the different factions in the Church have to find ways to resolve conflicts without invoking papal authority.
