VATICAN CITY
Associated Press
BY NICOLE WINFIELD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is once again flexing his papal muscle by seeking to keep tabs on his cardinals who live in Rome.
Francis asked the head of the College of Cardinals to remind his fellow Rome-based princes that they must inform him when they leave town and where they’re going.
It wasn’t known if there was a particular cardinal whose activities irked the pope, but some of his more conservative critics have delivered speeches and lectures abroad that have questioned Francis’ pastoral line, particularly concerning his divisive opening to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive the Sacraments.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano reminded his confreres in a May 31 letter that there is a “noble tradition” of cardinals informing the pope of their whereabouts. He asked that they revive it, particularly when away from Rome for long periods.
Asked Wednesday about the letter, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said merely that it was a good and “long-standing tradition.”
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