VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
The U.S. has criticised Pope Francis for not having replaced the Vatican Secretary of State yet
ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY
“We also wanted someone with good managerial skills and leadership skills, and so far that hasn’t been as obvious.” This is what the Archbishop of New York and American papal candidate, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, had to say about Pope Francis at World Youth Day in Rio a few weeks ago. The cardinal voiced this rather frank criticism during an interview with Vatican correspondent John Allen, published on the National Catholic Register website last 24 July.
Basically, one of the most media-friendly protagonists of the last Conclave that elected Bergoglio to the Throne of Peter just four months ago has said that Francis, the Argentinean Pope “from the other side of the world” has not been enough of a “manager”. In his comment, Dolan was particularly referring to the fact that the Vatican Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, has not been replaced yet. Bertone, who was Benedict XVI’s right hand man, was widely criticised during the pre-Conclave discussions. “I would expect that after the summer lull, we’ll see some more signs of management changes,” Cardinal Dolan added, after stating that he had expected the replacement to happen before the summer, as many had wrongly predicted.
Dolan’s comment is completely separate from other statements made by top figures in the U.S. Catholic Church, such as the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, who admitted he was quite disappointed Francis was elected Pope by “members of the right wing of the Catholic Church” in an interview with the National Catholic Register. Many websites and blogs had the same reaction. Unlike certain conservative and traditionalist circles, the Archbishop of New York does not complain about such things as the little changes made to the liturgy, about the current Pope’s simple style or about the fact he has not repeatedly stressed the Church’s well-known position with regard to abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. But Dolan has not hidden his dissatisfaction regarding Francis’ failure so far to act as a real “manager” – a typically American concern.
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