JENI O’DOWD: Why Pope’s death and who will replace him matters for us all

I’m not a real Catholic. But I play one in my day-to-day life.

My kids go to Catholic schools. I’ve muttered through enough Hail Marys at liturgies to pass.

I’ve attended First Communion, school chapel services and religious-themed Mother’s Day breakfasts featuring bad coffee and laminated prayers.

I’ve nodded earnestly at principals who mention “our shared values” and managed the sign of the cross without poking myself in the eye.

And yet, when I heard Pope Francis had died, something in me paused. A real pause. Not just a news-scroll stop, but a moment.

I felt… what? Reverence? Sadness? Something that surprised me. Because for someone who’s mostly faked her way through the rituals, I didn’t expect to feel anything at all.

Maybe it’s because Pope Francis didn’t feel like a distant, gold-robed monarch perched in a marble palace.

He felt human. Humble. More likely to be holding a refugee child than a sceptre. He spoke of climate change, compassion and poverty— things that felt grounded. Worldly. Things even pretend Catholics can believe in.

And maybe that’s precisely why his death matters, because he was one of the few religious leaders who managed to feel relevant in a world increasingly allergic to dogma.

He didn’t always get it right. The Catholic Church is still grappling with centuries of scandal, exclusion and power hoarding. But he tried to open the door wider. To lead with grace rather than fear. He made space, even if just a little, for people like me.

People who send their kids to Catholic schools for the values and the discipline — and maybe a bit of the guilt — but who sit in the pews knowing they don’t quite belong.

And there are a lot of us. In Australia, more than 750,000 children attend Catholic schools.

Not because their parents are true believers, but because the schools are good. Safe. Structured. Academically solid.

The Catholics have pulled off something genuinely clever: they’ve made it entirely socially acceptable to outsource moral guidance without actually subscribing to it.

You want decent schooling? Great. But you’re also signing up for scripture, sacraments and a few gentle attempts at indoctrination. All part of the package.

And yet, for all the weight of his passing — the moral leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, a man considered by many to be the conscience of the modern Church — the news landed in Australia with a strange quiet thud.

For the first time I can remember, both Channel 7 and Channel 9 broke a major story — live, direct, with the gravity it deserved, before it was online. The Daily Mail and The Nightly quickly followed. But others? Many major news sites took up to 15 minutes to report it. Fifteen minutes. In news terms, that’s not just a delay. It’s a shrug.

And it speaks volumes about where the media is now — hollowed out and under-resourced.

And then there’s Peter Dutton.

The man can’t catch a break. With the Federal election set for May 3, his campaign is already struggling to gain traction. And now he will be competing with a global event that has eclipsed everything.

For the next two weeks, the world will be watching Rome. The funeral. The processions. The speculation over who will replace Pope Francis.

The soft power moves from world leaders hoping to be seen as reverent and relevant. This is blanket coverage territory. Good luck trying to land a major policy or launch a new initiative in that news cycle.

Even if Dutton had a silver bullet announcement tucked up his sleeve, it will be drowned out by incense, Latin hymns, and wall-to-wall papal nostalgia.

And now comes the next big question: who replaces Francis?

Some say the Church may look to Africa or Asia for its next pope, marking a further step away from the traditional European roots.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana has long been considered a potential trailblazer.

Similarly, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, renowned for his charisma and global influence

But others believe the College of Cardinals will swing back to conservatism after Francis’s more progressive tone. If that happens, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Italy — a diplomatic insider — could rise quickly.

Whoever it is, their appointment will shape not just the direction of the Church, but its place in a fractured world.

And for those of us who aren’t sure we believe, but still tune in anyway — maybe that matters more than we think.