New pope, the media and the strange ‘charm’ of the Vatican

At the age of 18, I interviewed a celebrity for the first time: the leader of a Catalan rock band.

I had seen him in concert, his songs were on the radio, and there we were in a tavern in Barcelona, chatting quietly about his life and his music. I remember that he was interested in me and my two classmates, and he wondered how we felt about studying journalism, now that we were taking our first steps.

Over time, we learned to separate our admiration for a public figure from the task of journalism, which consists of using this privileged access to people with some kind of power to ‘ask the questions that others cannot ask’, as one of my university professors put it. In other words, journalists must not be just another fan.

But this central principle of journalism does not always work, as we see when Roman Catholicism sets in motion the ostentatious machinery to bid farewell to one pope and choose his successor.

There was barely concealed enthusiasm and nervousness as they reported on the fumata bianca. It felt like the football World Cup or Eurovision, except that these were journalists who otherwise approach current affairs with seriousness, rigour and critical thinking.

Six days later, another anomaly in journalism. Some 4,000 correspondents from major media outlets around the world (and a number of influencers) attended the pope’s first audience. It was not a press conference. They were not going to ask questions.

Organised by the Vatican, the journalists waited seated in the Paul VI Hall and burst into a standing ovation when the “Holy Father” appeared, as he was introduced by broadcaster Vatican News. Cheers could be heard as dozens of smartphones captured every step of Leo XIV towards the centre of the huge auditorium.

The new pope sat on a chair as white as his robes. Shouts of ‘Long live the pope’ rang out, accompanied by broad smiles. Prevost spoke for 10 minutes, thanking journalists “because you have captured the essence of who we are and conveyed it to the whole world through every form of media possible”. He also spoke of peace, of journalists unjustly imprisoned, and of the need to report without distortion. The crowd interrupted him eight times with applause.

After rising for a papal blessing (followed by another ovation), he came down to shake hands with a few selected guests, finally leaving through a corridor where dozens of other journalists tried to get his attention.

[destacate]What other political or religious figure of global reach is cheered by journalists? How often do the media enthusiastically attend an event where they will not be allowed to ask a single question?[/destacate]A report in newspaper La Voz de Galicia recounts it as follows: “In the first crowd bath of his pontificate, which the audience with journalists ended up becoming, some reporters took the opportunity to give gifts to Leo XIV or ask him to bless or sign objects. A US American, for example, managed to get him to sign a baseball, while some female reporters jokingly asked him if he wanted to play tennis with them, Prevost’s favourite sport, or if he would even agree to participate in a charity match with André Agassi”.

All this charming effect that the Vatican exerts over journalists from all over the world is very striking.

What other political or religious figure of global reach is cheered by journalists? How often do the media enthusiastically attend an event where they will not be allowed to ask a single question? And why does the change in leadership of a religion completely disrupt the programming of the world's major media outlets for weeks?

“A naive observer might think that the rapid process of secularisation is also making our politics less and less religious. But in reality, the opposite is happening”, wrote Ramón González Férriz, a columnist for El Confidencial, a few hours later. “The most obvious example has taken place over the last fortnight in Rome and in the media around the world”.

The author referred to the latest data in Spain, which show that less than one in five now consider themselves practising Catholics. But despite the fact that “Leo XIV will have less power than a UN secretary-general and less moral influence than global media stars, his election has been narrated as if it were a momentous political event”, he observed.

“Politicians taking photos in sacred settings? Millionaires jumping on the bandwagon of belief? Atheists defending religion? Progressive media enamoured with the papacy?” All this is difficult to reconcile, the columnist acknowledges, who is satisfied with the explanation that the powerful (this would include some journalists) are ultimately seeking to ride the waves of “popularity” in order to maintain their public image.

[destacate]In the conversation surrounding the conclave on social media, even the most anti-clerical came out to give their opinion on the direction the Vatican should take[/destacate]Another explanation for what we have seen in recent days, I believe, would be to recognise that Catholicism has not lost as much influence in recent decades as we had thought in Europe. Despite archaic power structures, the mishandling of abuse, the much-criticised luxury of the Vatican, or practices such as displaying the corpses of saints for public veneration, there are still many who feel curiosity and a certain identification with what has been the religion of their parents, dominant in many parts of the world for centuries.

In the conversation surrounding the conclave on social media, in a Spain where Christian nominalism is crumbling, even the most anti-clerical came out to give their opinion on the direction the Vatican should take.

Be that as it may, the “exaggerated media saturation” of the entire transition process at the top of the Vatican demonstrates “in an indisputable manner the political power of the Roman Catholic Church in much of the world and especially in southern Europe”, writes Julio Pérez, an evangelical pastor and director of Radio Onda Paz.

In Spain, he continues, “it doesn't matter whether the government is left-wing or right-wing, everyone pays total homage and submission to the Roman Catholic Church. TVE’s Channel 1 has reported much more intensively and continuously than the rest of the mainstream television stations, most of which are predominantly Catholic”.

The fact that the mainstream media presented the Catholic leadership as the main topic of current affairs for two consecutive weeks “fuels” a type of “Catholic populism”, writes Pérez, that challenges the reality of the secular state that Spain claims to be according to its Constitution.

Certainly, one of Pope Francis’ greatest successes has been to reinforce the centripetal movements towards Catholicism. The conclave has shown that the Vatican’s power of attraction remains enormous.

The media are the most visible example of this magnet effect, but the expressions of fascination with the Vatican heard in many other contexts these days, including some evangelical circles, would deserve a separate analysis.

Joel Forster, journalist in Valencia (Spain) and director of Evangelical Focus.

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