UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
* A leading US “expert” on the Vatican, John Allen, in an unexpected analysis, raises fair questions about the wisdom of Pope Francis’ new approach to appointing Cardinals, while a prominent conservative US economist, Stephen Moore, sharply questions the pope’s current approach to economics and climate change. Meanwhile, Pope Francis struggles to steer the Vatican through a child abuse and financial scandal infested tsunami and to change the subject, and may be quite surprised at the unexpected criticism from these seemingly predictable papal promoters. Is Pope Francis’ free pass with the media, even the “friendlier media”, continuing to dissipate?
* Allen raises concerns about the recent appointment of new Cardinals, indicating that many lack both ecclesiastical bureaucratic experience and power bases in large traditional dioceses. Please see Allen’s , “The pope’s new cardinals could perpetuate the system, not upend it” at:
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* And a journalist at the influential Los Angeles Times is even questioning whether Pope Francis’ purported aim for diversity among Cardinals is mainly an effort to centralize more power in the Vatican. Please see:
* Meanwhile, Moore, a prominent right wing Catholic economist and former Wall Street Journal editorial writer, has sharply questioned Pope Francis’ approach to economics and climate change in an article entitled, “Vatican’s left turn would leave the poor even poorer”. Given that Pope Francis’ top financial adviser is reportedly Peter Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International and former Chairman of BP, Moore may be taking Francis’ typical rhetoric more seriously than the pope’s inconsistent actions suggest Moore should.
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