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By John Houk

At the present moment the death of Pope John Paul II has captured the attention of people like few other events ever have. He was a super-hero pope, with a charismatic personality that accomplished great things such as exercising global influence and courageous inter-religious dialogue. Yet this is also a time to push back from this outpouring of interest in the person of this pope and look at popes in general because we will soon have a new one.

Our next pope will be pope number 263. He will be following a pope with one of the longest terms in history (26 years) who was preceded by one of the shortest (John Paul I was pope for 33 days when he died suddenly). For me this is pope number seven. Each pope brings his particular gifts and style to this office. One of the most visible characteristics of a pope is his leadership style.

Following the example of John Paul I, John Paul II chose his name from that of their two predecessors, Popes John XXIII and Paul VI, to enhance a sense of continuity of belief and practice. However, by the very power of his personality John Paul II’s leadership style took on a forceful, almost autocratic, style not seen in either John XXIII or Paul VI.

John XXIII was a common pope in the sense that he was one of us. He opened the windows of the Church and let in the fresh air of the modern world. He invited our participation because he was not afraid of the modern world or the people in it like you and me. Paul VI consulted. He wanted to know what people thought although he was resolute in his decisions even in the face of opposition.

People in general tend to be attracted to one style of leadership or another. The significance of a long papacy like we have just experienced is that the Church itself can, over this long period, gravitate towards the style of a particular pope. It is easy, under these conditions, to come to believe that a particular style of leadership is normative for a pope and for the Church when in fact it is unique.

Soon we will see white smoke, the sign that a new pope has been elected. Will he be a common pope who helps us believe in ourselves and invites our participation like John XXIII? Perhaps he will be someone who will want to know what others think yet acts with conviction like Paul VI, or someone who will lead by the force of their personality like John Paul II? What style of leadership do you hope for in our next pope?