Bishop Barron: Next pope should be ‘a believer in Jesus’ before anything else

Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron speaks to EWTN News Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn in Rome on Monday, May 5, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, May 6, 2025 / 10:27 am (CNA).

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, this week said the next pope should be a disciple of Christ first and foremost, one who places “the declaration of Jesus” at the center of his papacy. 

Barron spoke to EWTN News Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn on May 5 in Rome. The U.S. prelate noted that the Church is on “pins and needles” during the interregnum before the election of the next pope, though he admitted it’s “an exciting time.”

Asked by Flynn about the commentary that has proliferated around the papacy since Pope Francis’ death on April 21, Barron said the “politicization” of the papal selection process reflects a “lack of proper prioritization.” 

The bishop pointed to Australian priest and theologian Father Gerald Glynn O’Collins, SJ, who when  asked what he was looking for in the next pope after John Paul II’s death, responded, as Barron put it: “I want someone who declares the resurrection of Jesus in a compelling way.”

“Because that was Peter’s job,” Barron said, “and this is the successor of Peter. I think to put the stress on the spiritual, on the evangelical, on the declaration of Jesus — that’s what matters.” 

The prelate admitted that there are “further implications” to a pope’s job. He told Flynn that there are “political strategies” that help advance the “moral principles” espoused by the Church.

“[T]he preoccupation with — oh, is he left-wing? Is he right-wing? Climate change, immigration — OK, we can get to all that,” Barron said. 

“But the first thing I’d look for is a disciple, a believer in Jesus, and who has the capacity to proclaim the Resurrection in a compelling way,” he said. “That’s the pope’s job, [and] to be a source of unity for the Church.”

The politicization of the papacy is “seeing [the role] through a relentlessly secular political lens,” Barron said. “And you know, again, I get it. But I’m annoyed at the way it gets the priorities off.” 

Asked about the cardinals who are considered top contenders for the papal election this week, Barron pointed out that, during the last conclave, “nobody” suspected then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would become Pope Francis. 

“I always put that forward as a caution whenever we’re talking about candidates,” the bishop said. “There is certainly a good chance it won’t be any of these people.”