On Leo XIV’s second consistory: A form of government or a consultation?

The second consistory of Leo XIV indicated, in a certain sense, that the transition from one pontificate to the next is underway, but not yet complete.

It is not certain it will ever be.

For Leo XIV, the consistory meetings appear to be more of a broad consultation than an instrument of governance, a form of consultation very different from Pope Francis’s preferred venue, the Synod of Bishops.

At the end of the consistory, Leo XIV said: “Little by little, we are rediscovering the true meaning of the Consistory: the gathering of the College of Cardinals around the Successor of Peter so that, through mutual listening and shared discernment, the Holy Spirit may help the Pope guide the Church. It is not a parliament, not a congress in which opinions or interests prevail, but an experience of communion at the service of the mission”.

It remains to be seen whether and how the regular yearly consistories Leo intends to call will impact the Synod of Bishops and the way the Synod is currently administered.

From the beginning of his pontificate, Leo XIV has stated that his goal is unity in the Church, and his first consistory, convened immediately following the Holy Year proclaimed by Pope Francis, marked a first step.

After concluding the Holy Year with all the events planned by Pope Francis, and even with a trip and an apostolic exhortation, Leo XIV convened all the cardinals, gathered them around the great theme of Evangelii Gaudium, and asked them to begin again, precisely with evangelization.

It was on that occasion that Leo XIV expressed his desire to convene a consistory every six months, for general discussion among the cardinals, but also to allow for discussion. And this open discussion is the great difference from the pontificate of Pope Francis.

Pope Francis addressed the issue of Church reforms by creating commissions and relying on a Council of Cardinals, the so-called C9 (also C7 or C6, depending on the members in charge), without, however, giving the Council any real decision-making power.

The cardinals met together for business only three times during the Francis pontificate: in the first two consistories for the creation of cardinals and then in the last one, to discuss the reform of the Curia that had already taken place.

The regular collegial meeting of all the cardinals, therefore, represents a fundamental transition from the pontificate of Pope Francis to that of Leo XIV. What will come of the change remains to be seen.

There was great anticipation among the cardinals, as it was hoped that the consistory would lead to an open discussion, in which every cardinal could speak. The way Leo’s first consistory was conducted, well, it was not universally appreciated.

Cardinals were divided into linguistic groups and their interventions entrusted to the synthesis of a moderator.

In general, cardinals prefer to take responsibility for their words, as has always been the case, and it was hoped this would also happen at Leo XIV’s first consistory. This was not the case. The method was kept similar. There was hope that the procedures would change for this consistory as well. But even in this case, the method remained the “synodal” one, that is, group work.

It’s not necessarily an ideological issue. It’s more of an organizational decision. But it also speaks to a transition that isn’t yet complete.

Leo XIV has been in office more than a year now, and still he has not changed many heads of dicasteries in the Curia.

The major change at the Dicastery of Communications will not take effect until November, although it has already been announced. Other senior positions will change, but with expiration dates, and a significant turnover due to age is expected throughout the year.

In fact, therefore, the protagonists of Pope Francis’s great era have not changed, nor have the organizational methods. It’s not a method everyone appreciates, but it has worked in some ways, is well-known, and has been appreciated by some.

For this reason, beyond expectations, beyond the preliminary letters that highlighted specific themes, the organization has since diluted into something else.

This consistory became a talking shop, considering a series of questions that sounded, in their formulation, more like pastoral conversation-starters than prompts for a governance debate.

And this seems to respond to Leo XIV’s desire to put the cardinals first and foremost in a position to be together and to put prayer and pastoral reflection back at the center. It is no coincidence that Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’s first exhortation, remains the main theme, if only because it speaks of evangelization, which is at the heart of the pontificate.

Nor is it a coincidence that the liturgy, which appeared among the possible topics of discussion in the first consistory, has completely disappeared from the scene. We are on the eve of new episcopal ordinations without a papal mandate by the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, and the members of the fraternity have also sent a long letter to all the cardinals on doctrinal questions and the errors of the Council.

But the pope won’t bring all this up for general discussion.

Because the pope acts first and foremost as a guarantor of the faith, these issues must be addressed from the center, not in public debate. Faced with a potential schism, fomenting another clash between “conservatives” and “progressives” in the consistory could actually create further divisions.

In short, the synodal method serves in some way to maintain continuity, to avoid tensions, and to dilute the debate, and it will remain to be seen whether this is Leo XIV’s form of governance or whether it will instead change over time, and with the new leadership of the curia.

The transition has begun, then, but it’s not yet complete – and that is one key reason why it would be a mistake for observers to make too much of the consistories’ methodology.

This is the case, even though there is lots to say for the idea that Leo XIV’s pontificate truly began with his trip to Spain.

His public pontificate, his imprint on the optics and the substance of the message he was there to deliver, were surely on display throughout his time in Spain.

Leo’s governing pontificate hasn’t fully begun yet.