Some New Cardinals And Some Old Problems

By Jerry Slevin
Christian Catholicism
February 22, 2014

http://christiancatholicism.com/some-new-cardinals-and-some-old-problems/

Ex- Pope Benedict XVI joined Pope Francis at a celebration Saturday creating 19 new cardinals who will elect the papal successor, assuming the College of Cardinals and Papacy survive intact. In watching the images of the celebration, one is reminded of King Louis XVI’s inability to see the French Revolution coming in 1789. Extravagant French kings and their Palace at Versailles also came to mind with the latest video report by CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the current US Bishop of Bling, Newark NJ Archbishop Myers’ “summer palace” shown here

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/21/serving-the-needy-while-building-a-retirement-palace/

Images of the storming of the Paris Bastille are also conjured up as well by the report that Germany’s Bishop of Bling may have used donations intended for the poor for his palace construction as reported here

http://www.enca.com/life/bling-bishop-built-lavish-home-using-funds-poor

Nevertheless, with all the world’s cardinals gathered, no consideration seemingly was given by Pope Francis to addressing decisively, with the world’s cardinals fully assembled, the worldwide Church scandal of priest child abuse and related lack of bishop accountability. The storm is gathering, notwithstanding the Vatican’s festive celebrations and the episcopal palace obscenities.

The momentum to challenge the Vatican to obey the law continues to build worldwide, as tone deaf Archbishop Myers continues spending donations on his personal summer “Versailles” palace, after eluding prosecutors apparently with support from his reported pal, NJ Gov. Chris Christie. Hello ?

The Vatican’s recent response to the UN child protection committee was mainly to the effect that the pope doesn’t control his hierarchy and that the Vatican will be more transparent henceforth. Yet, a few weeks after the UN report is issued, 19 new cardinals on worldwide TV swear their obedience to Pope Francis and pledge to maintain secrecy. Does the Pope think his Bastille is more secure than Louis XVI’ s was? Does the Pope think UN committee members and prosecutors don’t own TV’s. As an international lawyer, I think it is clear that the Pope’s legal position is already very vulnerable. It is only getting weaker with Francis’ benign neglect of the abuse scandal.

Early this week, Pope Francis met with his select group of cardinals mainly to review matters relating to the Vatican financial scandals. Over 180 cardinals then met in two closed sessions with Pope Francis this week to reconsider the Catholic Church’s rules on marriage and the family and the related sexual morality issues. Only cardinals attended these meetings. Also on Friday, US Cardinal Burke reportedly confirmed in the Vatican newspaper Pope Francis’ continuing opposition to gay marriage and abortion.

 As noted above, no consideration seemingly was given by Pope Francis to addressing with the world’s cardinals fully assembled the worldwide Church scandal of priest child abuse or related lack of bishop accountability.

After a long presentation to the 180+ cardinals by highly regarded German Cardinal Walter Kasper on the topic of family life on Thursday morning,  43 other cardinals  made responsive remarks.  Among the key topics reportedly discussed were how to treat Catholics who divorce and remarry and still seek to receive the Catholic sacraments and how to simplify annulment procedures.

The cardinals reportedly also discussed other issues of marriage and family life as a step in preparation for a global October meeting of bishops, known as a Synod, which has the theme “Pastoral Challenges of the Family …”

In the fall, the synod office sent a 40-question questionnaire to individual bishops around the world, asking them to distribute the questions “as widely as possible.” Among the topics expected to be addressed at the Synod are: the Catholic hierarchy’s position prohibiting the use of artificial contraception, the possible ability of a divorced Catholic to remarry or receive Communion, and the number of young people who choose to live together before marrying.

The various cardinals’ secret meetings as reported were confusing and even disappointing. The group of 8 focused privately mainly, it appears,  on protecting the Vatican’s wealth and its cardinals from liability for financial misdeeds. Yet, apparently,  there still has been no full and independent audit of the Vatican Bank conducted or one even scheduled for the Vatican’s own financial and real estate holdings.

Next the 180+ cardinals reportedly focused privately on marriage and the family. Apparently, the thinking is that out of 180+ childless and celibate senior men, the group could cobble together some insights into married couples and their families. Why weren’t some couples just invited to participate as Popes John XXIII and Paul VI did in the 1960′s with the so-called birth control commission?

And why the secrecy? Many of these issues were addressed openly and publicly at Vatican II and during the birth control commission meetings. Of course, the master of ceremonies for the 180+ cardinals meeting was Cardinal Sodano, as dean of the College of Cardinals. It showed. Secrecy prevailed generally.

The well respected Cardinal Kasper’s long talk on marriage was, in effect, censored and dribbled out in selective pieces to non-cardinals, something Kasper’s early mentor, the persecuted Fr. Hans Kung, would fully recognize. If , as reported, Pope Francis’ praises Kasper so highly, why cannot all Catholics hear what he had to say without the “editing” and “cherry picking”? Francis appears to be going backwards on transparency.

The sequencing of which hierarchs consider the marriage/family issues is also puzzling. Oddly, the Church’s top leaders, the cardinals, are considering as a group first the “family” issues ahead of the Synod bishops, without benefit of the touted questionnaires or of any Synod’s input or any meaningful direct lay involvement. Again, where were the mothers and fathers at the meeting who know something about families? Catholic sexual theology is based mainly on New Testament writings about married couples that were likely written by married people. You don’t need a degree from the Gregorian to understand them.

What is really going on? Why are the cardinals seemingly afraid of being open? Does anyone seriously think it is really progress to have 180+ senior celibate and childless men discussing family issues by themselves?  They created much of the current sexual morality confusion.

Is Francis just planning to string out “family” issues until the Synod II October 2015 (or longer), two and a half years after his election? Is he just buying time to deal with the governmental financial investigators?

Why hasn’t Francis set up broad based committees that include informed and independent lay participation like John XXIII and Paul VI did? As Jesuit provincial in Argentina, Francis reportedly was perceived by many as excessively authoritarian. Is he still authoritarian under that smooth smile?

Haven’t Catholics had enough bad experiences with “Father Knows Best” approaches to trying to regulate sexual intimacy, especially when the Father is celibate. Does that make any sense?

What is Francis up to? A half century ago, the cardinals and bishops met publicly at Vatican II. Their related committee deliberations on contraception included full participation of mothers and fathers, who obviously know much more about family planning matters than childless celibates.

Will the “Sodano Rules” prevail in October when Synod I is held, or in October 2015, when Synod II is held? Will mothers and fathers fully participate in the Synods? If not, why not? If not, why bother?

Increasingly, the People of God are following their consciences on sexual intimacy matters, (A) as all couples did for tens of thousands of years, (B) as Christian couples did for 1,500 years after Jesus and before the Council of Trent, and (B) as billions of other couples did and still do in non-Catholic settings.

Of course, after Trent especially, popes gradually understood better that sexual morality constraints generated potential papal power and annulments were a new profit center. This papal power increased dramatically when Pius X mandated  a century ago that children of 7 years of age begin frequent confessions. Previously, confession was mainly for adults and usually infrequent. Is it any surprise that a few years after Pius X mandated this, Pius XI imposed secrecy on dealing with confessional related child abuse?

Perhaps the Synod should consider addressing other productive topics like abolishing the College of Cardinals and crafting rules for the popular selection of bishops, as was the case in the Church Jesus’ first disciples left behind?

Meanwhile a prominent US legal expert, Professor Marci Hamilton, called on President Obama to step up and address the epidemic of sexual abuse of children by religious institutions as noted here:

http://verdict.justia.com/2014/02/20/sex-assaults-evangelical-colleges-united-nations-vatican

And, Betty Clermont, the author of “The Neo-Catholics”, also called on President Obama to cancel his March 27 meeting with Pope Francis mainly in light of the recent UN report severely criticizing the Vatican’s policies relating to children and the Vatican’s evasive response to the UN report as noted here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/21/1279266/-For-the-Sake-of-Our-Children-President-Obama-Please-Cancel-Your-Meeting-with-Pope-Francis

These calls are in addition to my recent advice as a retired international lawyer to President Obama noted here:

http://christiancatholicism.com/advice-for-president-obama-about-pope-francis-current-strategy/