Will the New Pope Reform the Church?

The Church is protected from error in her teachings. The Pope and his Bishops, speaking on matters of faith and morals are guided by the Holy Spirit and always will be until the end of time. Jesus made that guarantee when he told Peter, "You are rock and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Mt. 16:18 and "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Mt 18:18.

The Church's teachings do not in fact flow from the Church at all. They flow from God. The Church is merely the deliverer of these teachings, has no authority to change them, and in any case would be guided against this by the Holy Spirit. This is the reason you find that the Catholic Church has stubbornly held firm in it's teachings throughout history despite the reality of sometimes having corrupt individuals as members.

Yes, members of the Church can be corrupt. Jesus didn't guarantee us that the members of His Church would be perfect, and certainly many of them haven't been (as the media will surely not let you forget). Rather, Jesus guaranteed us that the Church itself, as a whole, would still always proclaim His correct and unchangeable teachings. Jesus, who is the source of truth, is the same now as He was back then, and so His teachings will never change. 

This is why many in secular society today find the Catholic Church so "stubbornly" standing in the way of "progress" by holding on to such "outdated" and "old fashioned" teachings even in the 21st Century. These people hold on the the erroneous and futile illusion that a Pope could or would change any of these "pesky" teachings. They should not hold their breath waiting to see if the next Pope will change anything. The next Pope will still be guided by the Holy Spirit to proclaim God's laws. Even if the next Pope is a disappointment as a man, which has happened before, he will still be guided by the Holy Spirit to not pollute any Church teaching. 

The author of the article below (Paul Donovan writing for cnn.com) is a perfect example of one holding on to such false hope. He harks back to the days of the Vatican II Council and all the "progress" he perceives he brought. He is wrong. While he is correct that Vatican II may have changed a few minor details (such as the adoption of the vernacular language for Mass) Vatican II didn't change a single teaching on faith and morals. In fact, Vatican II upheld and reiterated all of the Church's eternal and unchanging teachings (such as contraception). The author is under the illusion that a future "Vatican III" could change some of these teachings that he disagrees with. 

Vatican II had no authority to change any Catholic teachings just as Vatican III will not and Vatican XXXIII will not. Pope John XXIII didn't have this authority, Benedict XVI doesn't, and the next Pope won't. These Popes and the Councils they convene and the Encyclicals these issue have always and will always continue to uphold the eternal and sacred teachings that flow from Christ the King who established them to do just that and always that. 

Link to article by Paul Donovan, Feb 11, 2013: "Catholics" demand that their Church "reform"

Photo courtesy of: http://www.thesacredpage.com/2010/08/is-peter-rock-part-3-you-are-petrina.html