ROME
Vatican Insider
The Archbishop of Chicago, George, admits U.S.S cardinals know very little about the Vatileaks case
Paolo Mastrolilli
Rome
The Archbishop of Chicago, Francis George shakes his head, smiles and says: “It’s not the rules that are the problem: even if all cardinal electors had arrived in Rome, I would not want to start the Conclave now, for one very simple reason: We are not ready yet.”
The sun is setting over the Pontifical North American College on Rome’s Janiculum Hill where the powerful U.S. bishops’ delegation is currently residing.
New York’s Cardinal Dolan returns from the Vatican and greets his colleague from Chicago who had led the U.S.S Episcopal Conference before him. Just a few metres away, the Archbishop of Boston, O’Malley, dressed in his Capuchin monk’s robes, is getting ready to stroll into the city centre: “There are still too many questions that need to be answered and too many people to meet,” said the cardinal who tops the list of American papabili.” “It is still too soon to start the Conclave: whilst it is true that we would all like to return to our dioceses in time for Easter, we have a choice of historic dimensions to make here and we must take all the time we need to choose.” Also so that cardinals have time to familiarise themselves with all that has gone on in the Vatican recently: “I’m not saying the Vatileaks scandal will be the determining factor but I expect to familiarise myself with all relevant aspects of what we do,” Cardinal O’Malley added.
Top Vatican correspondents reported behind-the-scenes information about the Curia, particularly its Italian members, wanting to speed up the voting process as this would give one of their candidates an advantage over others. This would explain the interpretation of the rules according to which the vote for the Conclave start-date can be held even if not all cardinal electors have arrived in Rome yet. Foreign cardinals, on the other hand, would like more time, to get to grips with the Vatileaks case and possibly reach a consensus on a foreign figure for Pope: a pastor, a surprise.
O’Malley was more explicit about the behind-the-scenes situation: “It is true that there are two schools of thought. The first one claims that since the source of the Church’s current problems is the Curia, we should go for a leader who comes from the outside; the second school of thought, however, says the future Pope needs to be someone from the Curia, because his number one task will be to reform this body.” The Boston friar is the first school of thought’s favourite because he was efficient in reforming the archdiocese that was at the centre of the Church’s sex abuse scandal in the U.S. He shielded himself, however, by saying: “I have worn these Capuchin robes for forty years and I plan to do so until the very end.” But he suggested looking close to home: “Latin America has a very dynamic Church. It will have a strong influence.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.