With the passing of Pope Francis, the world will look to Rome to see who the conclave of cardinals will pick to be the next head of the church. The conclave is a very political event with backroom deals, favors and handshakes being exchanged. And like this country, there seems to be an ideological divide between cardinals who want to be more liberal and open to the changing world, and those who want to pull back into a more conservative sphere.

Of course, when the College of Cardinals meet, there is one country that should be at the front of mind when picking the new pope. The country with the fourth-largest Catholic population, spurred by immigration, that finds itself in a bit of a spiritual crisis: the U.S.

There is no doubt that the role of the pope is a political role along with that of a religious leader. We saw this play out in the 1980s when Pope John Paul II was elected and proceeded to take his ministry all around the world, especially to his homeland of Communist Poland. That pope found himself locking horns with the Soviet Union over its influence in Eastern Europe to the point........

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