UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
Pope Francis, as an elderly “interim pope”, had about three years to go until his 80 year old normal Cardinal retirement age, when he admirably and reluctantly agreed last year to serve as interim pope. He projected a very friendly public image, but had little international or even Vatican experience, as the Vatican was in the midst of an unprecedented and unexpected crisis triggered by the first papal resignation in 600 years. Francis’ challenge was and is to preserve an unaccountable top down leadership structure and its wealth.
In 225 years since the French Revolution, no other European absolute monarchy has been able to evade democratic oversight of its actions and finances. Neither will the Vatican much longer, despite Francis’ and his Vatican cliques’ well funded and desperate efforts.
Francis then established, likely with the guidance of the ex-Pope and Cardinal Sodano, a two step process to convene (1) an interim Synod of Bishops, now under way, at least to discuss Church changes after a year and a half, and (2) a larger Synod of Bishops next October to discuss further potential final changes. This process in 2016 would allow Francis then, in his eightieth year, to implement as pope whatever changes evolved at the final Synod that he decided he wanted to approve. Francis then could retire and pass the papacy on to his much younger (now 59 years old) likely successor, Sodano’s protege, Cardinal Parolin, who is evidently being groomed as the top prospect to be the next pope.
This two step Synod plan would then for three years also enable Francis to contain mounting pressure from many Catholics for long overdue changes. In the meantime, other Vatican Cardinals could deal with the Synod charades, like disregarding lay Catholics’ questionnaires and locking out independent lay participation at the Synods. And ecstatic Catholic “reformers” and “wishful thinkers” and opportunistic papal cheerleaders could endlessly recycle all the “happy talk” of change, until Francis is finally flushed out in 2016.
Francis’ three year plan is, however, in real jeopardy. Reality has finally overtaken Pope Francis’ well funded myth makers. Marketed last year as the new “Francis of Assisi” and TIME’s Man of the Year, the new pope has this past week faced a confluence of bad news and resistance relating to more hierarchical scandals and uninspiring change proposals.
Pope Francis, with the ex-Pope’s and Sodano’s apparent concurrence, if not direction, as seemingly originally planned, could then let Sodano’s “man”, Cardinal Baldisserri, run the Synod, and the ex-Pope’s “man”, Cardinal Mueller, run the Vatican’s doctrinal and discipline department, as has already occurred. Pope Francis could then, as he has for 19 months, focus mainly on the Vatican’s No. 1 priority — trying to salvage, by political alliances with powerful elites, by massive media campaigns and otherwise, some cardinals and bishops who may be facing potential criminal investigations relating to child abuse and financial scandals that exploded under the mismanagement of the ex-Pope and his actor predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
Like Dumas’ Three Musketeers, the Catholic hierarchy is “all for one and one for all”, especially since, with their many shared secret sins, if one falls publicly, a domino effect may be triggered taking down many more, as happened with another secretive international all male group, the Mafia.
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.