US cardinal voices doubts on Vatican reform, Communion for divorced

By Michael O'loughlin
Crux
February 15, 2015

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/02/14/us-cardinal-voices-doubts-on-vatican-reform-communion-for-divorced/

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, was recently elected by US bishops as one of four US delegates to an October Synod of Bishops at the Vatican.

ROME — A US cardinal said he has some unanswered questions about the practicality of proposed reforms in the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s main administrative bureaucracy, although he praised efforts to clean up Vatican finances and to combat clergy sexual abuse.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, also told Crux in a wide-ranging interview on Saturday that he’s skeptical about proposals to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

That’s especially significant since DiNardo, vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, was recently elected by US bishops as one of four US delegates to an October Synod of Bishops at the Vatican, where that issue is expected to be debated.

On the subject of Vatican reform, DiNardo was reacting to a presentation given to all the cardinals of the world on Thursday by the pope’s council of nine cardinal advisors, which featured the idea of creating two new “super-departments,” one for justice and peace and the other for the laity and the family, by combining a number of smaller offices.

“But how are they going to do that, to find a way to put together a number of Vatican congregations?” he asked. “If you do that, the structure has to be different. And that I did not hear,” he said.

Other suggestions for reform, such as including lay people at the highest level of Church governance, will face resistance, he said.

“It’s fine by me,” he said of including laypeople generally. “The problem is, to bring anybody in as a head, there’s a question the canonists raise, can [a layperson] be head if they have delegated power [from the pope]?”

He said it isn’t possible to have laypeople lead major Vatican departments, such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“You’re dealing with issues relative to theology and the very dimension of the faith. I think the pope wants somebody there who’s at least a bishop,” he said.

DiNardo, who serves on the Vatican committee leading financial reform, lauded Cardinal George Pell, whom the pope tapped to bring the Vatican’s finances up to par with international norms. He said cardinals seemed to welcome Pell’s update, delivered to them on Friday.

In an exclusive interview with Crux, Pell said he informed the cardinals that the Vatican has roughly $1.5 billion more in assets than previously reported, bringing the total to around $3.2 billion, although it also has a roughly $1 billion shortfall in its pension fund.

Even having basic budgets used across all Vatican departments will take time, DiNardo said.

“It’s obvious not everyone in the Vatican really knew clearly how to do budgets as we understand budgets, the actuals and the budgeting, what is your patrimony, what is it that you actually have,” he said.

He said the big test for the financial reform will come in 2016, when Vatican departments are expected to present uniform budgets for the first time.

When it comes to sexual abuse, DiNardo said cardinals are still fighting off the notion, even among themselves, that it’s not a universal problem.

“There is still some lingering sentiment that this is fundamentally maybe an Anglo-Saxon problem, a problem in developed countries. That’s not true. It’s everywhere,” he said.

How poorer churches will be able to implement the Vatican’s new protocols on sexual abuse, such as hiring sexual abuse watchdogs, is under review, he said, although he said that some cardinals suggested wealthier nations and foundations should offer assistance.

Looking forward to the October Synod of Bishops on the family, DiNardo said he isn’t “persuaded” by proposals to allow divorced Catholics who remarried without an annulment to be readmitted to Communion.

Would he vote no?

“I would right now,” he said.

DiNardo said he finds these ideas theologically murky.

“People on one hand are saying yes, [marriage] is indissoluble, then they’re saying, but it’s not exclusive. I don’t get it,” he said.

Rather than relaxing the rules on Communion, he favors streamlining the annulment process.

He plans to read up on ways the Church can support young families, and rejects the notion that divorce and other hot button issues — such as same-sex relationships and contraception — will play a major role in October.

“It’s the way the media can make something sound interesting to people. I do not think they are the most significant issues,” he said.

He said he sympathizes with couples who choose to cohabit, especially in poor immigrant communities, but said other issues, such as finding ways to strengthen marriage prep programs and supporting young families, will be his focus in the coming months.

Pope Francis has been criticized by some Catholics for seemingly emphasizing mercy in pastoral situations at the expense of upholding Catholic teaching, and DiNardo said the two must go hand in hand.

“These couples who are in these difficult situations need to be accompanied. But to accompany them, and to give them a sense of strength, is not the same thing as saying, just immediately come to the sacraments, or eventually come to the sacraments,” he said. “Good doctrine is good pastoral care, has a good pastoral sensibility.”

DiNardo, vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the pope told him in October that the family will be a major theme of his US visit, including a September speech to Congress.

“I hope he addresses the needs of people on the margins, our immigrants, and people who maybe feel out of hope in life. He’s always shown himself to be just superb at doing that,” he said.

While he hopes the pope will talk about some of the good America does in the world, he said lawmakers should be prepared to take some heat about America’s role in the global economy.

Neither political party in America should feel the pope is on its side, he said.

“One of the reasons for that is, people say, ‘Oh, well, he’s been emphasizing the economy and all that,’ and he has,” he said. “But he’s been very stern on the pro-life issues. I think we will hear some of that, I think he’ll be very clear on it.”