UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
While it may seem overly pessimistic to say that the next Pope will fail too, it is just being realistic; and yet there is also room for much optimism. The papal resignation is tantamount to an admission of failure and will lead to de-mystification of the papacy quickly. Pope Benedict XVI, soon to again be non-Pontiff, Joseph Ratzinger, and his Vatican clique led by Cardinal Sodano et al., have already set the stage for the next failure.
The sudden call for a quick election conclave substantiallly diminishes any chance of a real opposition being mounted by non-Vatican Cardinals. Since the Pope apparently knew for some time he would resign, the suddenness seems well planned. The recent public shaming of Cardinal Mahony, evidentally with a papal blessing, and the related inevitable aggravated prosecution risk for Mahony, should chill any real opposition anyway, as was likely Ratzinger’s intention. Ratzinger will soon be living a few hundred yards away from the new Pope in his refurbished retirement base, hardly a monastery, that was built 20 years ago to house a dozen nuns that were reportedly all moved out by last November when renovation started. Perhaps they joined Nuns on the Bus?
Of course, the media loves the chance to report superficially the “papal election horserace”, even if their picks are uninformed and wild speculation, often intended apparently to garner some local readers or repay or enhance old sources. It is nice theater; but mainly irrelevant. Ratzinger and Sodano already likely know who will be the next Pope and one would be foolish to bet against them. Since the weather is bad in Rome this time of year, perhaps Cardinals might save some money by just mailing in blank proxies to Sodano.
The reason for some optimism is that the Vatican clique’s apparent raw power grab will now just accelerate the sinking of the Vatican Titanic that much sooner. Even overly trusting Catholics will see through the clerical charade. Various prosecutors and survivors lawyers will now be able to reach Ratzinger, who loses his legal immunity in a few weeks. While they may not serve him with subpoenas in Vatican City, they will wait for their chance, perhaps aided by Ratzinger’s former butler or another “Vatileaker”. It will likely only be a matter of time, even if no more scandals erupt as predictably they will. Once the rule of international law starts pulling hard directly on papal threads, the Vatican hierarchy will be quickly uncovered and forced to initiate reforms, perhaps after some senior officials face prosecution, which cannot be too far off. …
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