UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Thomas C. Fox | Feb. 27, 2014 NCR Today
As part of the Feb. 25th PBS Frontline documentary, “Secrets of the Vatican,” the producer asked me to write an essay assessing the chances Pope Francis can succeed in his agenda to reform the church. This is what I wrote:
Can Pope Francis restore his church’s shattered credibility? Tend the wounds of millions of disaffected Catholics, pillared by decades of clerical sex abuse and cover-up? Can he bury a church authority structure modeled after kings and their courts?
These are tall orders for a 77-year-old bishop who moved to Rome just one year ago to find himself suddenly heading a church of 1.2 billion followers.
Change does not come easily in the Catholic Church, yet I for one am more than modestly optimistic Francis will succeed in ways few have yet to imagine. Consider these points:
One: He was elected by his fellow cardinals with a solid mandate for reform, starting with a Vatican bureaucracy that is widely perceived as inept and out of touch. He has appointed a council of eight cardinals from around the world to move this task forward. A roof leaks from the top down. Francis has wisely started his reform at the top.
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