Commentary
Marina Salandy-Brown
Our ninth prime minister since independence was elected on April 28. It is the remarkable second coming of our first and only female prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, whose UNC party conducted an excellent marketing campaign to oust the PNM. Fortunately for her, the slick and unorthodox succession planning method employed by Dr Rowley to ensure the leadership of his protégé, Stuart Young, didn’t save their party.
Fortunately for us, the elections came fast and the results too, leaving little time for mischief-making. The Roman Catholic community worldwide, alas, cannot conduct polls to forecast who the next pope will be. They must wait perhaps another week to know who will assume the papacy after the death on Easter Monday of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit, first Latin American and person from the global south to be Holy Father.
Pope Francis became a most beloved spiritual leader of our time among Catholics, other faithfuls and even non-believers. His simplicity, humility and seemingly genuine pleasure when among his flock touched people. His championing of the needy, disadvantaged and marginalised felt like the right leadership for this time. His calls for environmental protection, peace in Palestine and Ukraine were on point. He also won admiration, not necessarily from the Vatican bureaucracy, for his persistence in attempting to bring the Holy See’s financial management into the 21st century and balance the budget.
His championing of justice for migrants stood in direct opposition to the often inhumane anti-immigrant policies of most governments, while his daily rejection of the opulence and trappings of the papacy won hearts. Francis did not change the church’s stance on an all-male clergy though he promoted women to previously male-only positions in the Vatican administration. Nor did he change reproductive or transgender teaching but he empathised, and without causing a revolution he changed the papacy’s style from authoritarian and top down, to collegial, shifting the power to the periphery.
In an intuitive bout of cinema programming last weekend, MovieTowne offered special screenings of Conclave, the film that garnered a number of nominations in the 2025 Oscars. It depicts the intrigue of the cardinals in a fictitious conclave – the meeting of dozens of them to choose the next pope.
Some time this week in Rome a real papal conclave will take place. Cardinals from around the world will be sequestered in a room to vote in a series of rounds until a precise majority determines who the new pope is. Behind the scenes, an ideological battle will probably take place over the future path of the Catholic Church. Will Francis’s belief that the church is about people, and less about doctrine win over the conservatives who may wish to return to a more hierarchical and conventional modus operandi?
It depends on who is chosen. The number of Catholics is dwindling in Europe, while the largest congregations are in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Pressure is growing for the papacy to reflect that reality but the desire among the many Italian cardinals for the return of an Italian leader might be irresistible. If the novel/film the Conclave is a guide, anything could happen.
It would be wrong to view the pope as merely a religious leader although great moral authority is vested in him as the successor to St Peter, Vicar of Christ on earth and the supreme spiritual leader of the Catholic church’s 1.3 billion followers. That reach extends his influence across the world through congregations, its 30-plus embassies and the Vatican’s observer status at the UN. He can use all those platforms to shape global politics. In addition, the pope is head of the Vatican, a state within a state, where he has executive, legislative and judiciary powers. He is the most powerful leader on earth, with no nuclear arsenal or even an army.
But the profound changes in society and its values are a time bomb. All faiths and governments must find a way to appeal to the young and remain relevant to the needs of ordinary people among whom inequality and alienation are growing. It is a challenge, even for someone infallible and with divine guidance.
Our PM has a big job on her hands in this time of international volatility, a shrinking economy and deepening social strains. We must hold her accountable for her campaign promises, not to be wilful but because TT needs determined, intelligent and strategic leadership at this time. Crime is the biggest social ill and tough policing is not the total answer. Improving people’s lives will reduce crime. That does not only mean financially, but spiritually, emotionally, educationally, culturally and intellectually. We need transformative justice that is victim focused, an end to state violence and violence in homes and communities. These are difficult times but our PM should take Desmond Tutu’s advice that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.