UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
In a surprisingly candid assessment about a much anticipated speech today by Pope Francis, a leading Vatican reporter, John Allen of CNN and the National Catholic Reporter, stated: “Given that a cleanup operation in the Roman Curia was a large part of the mandate Francis received from the cardinals who elected him, and given the fevered speculation in Rome about what further changes might be coming, many observers were anxious to see if Francis would drop some hints in his Saturday morning speech. In the end, there was nothing like that.”
So what else is new? How many cardinals really elected Francis to conduct a “clean up operation”, as opposed to a “preservation operation, to protect cardinals’ power and wealth?
This was unexpected candor, because too many Vatican reporters spend so much time promoting the distracting PR spin about Francis’ “popular nonsense”. Francis’ photo ops and sound bites are appealing, but will not ultimately satisfy. One suspects that Francis and his clique, including Cardinal Sodano, must chuckle often at how easy it has been for Francis to get Catholics to miss noticing Francis’ recurring avoidance of the real challenges the Catholic Church faces, like holding bishops accountable for enabling priest child abusers or worse or treating women equally and with respect.
These challenges may be avoided for now, but they will just get worse by Francis’ benign neglect. Changes are coming, whether the Vatican wants them or not. They will even come sooner than Francis and his clique expect. See, “A New Year’s Wish For Catholic Church Democracy”, at: http://wp.me/P2YEZ3-W7
One is reminded of Pope Pius IX, who tried to meet the pent up demands for reform by an absurd Syllabus of Errors, followed by a self serving declaration of papal infallibility in 1869. Pius IX also hyped Marian devotions, as Francis does so often. Distractions didn’t work for Pius IX and they won’t work for Francis. Most Catholics have had enough and want to return their Church to a consensual structure like the one the Apostles left behind.
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