Damian Thompson, "Revealed: the Pope's war with the Vatican" (The Spectator, August 23, 2014). Interesting stuff:
If you want to understand how Pope Francis is planning to change the Catholic church, then don’t waste time searching for clues in the charming, self-effacing press conference he gave on the plane back from South Korea on Monday.
It’s easy to be misled by the Pope’s shoulder-shrugging interviews and impromptu phone calls.... The media has concluded that Francis wants the church to change its stance on divorcees and same-sex couples.
But the media are wrong. Neither of these subjects is high on Francis’s agenda — and, even if they were, he wouldn’t alter Catholic teaching on sexuality.
The first non-European Pope was elected to do one thing: reform the Roman Curia, the pitifully disorganised, corrupt and lazy central machinery of the church....
... To quote a senior bishop: ‘Benedict allowed the Roman Curia, and specifically the Italians in it, to kill his pontificate. Francis will not permit that to happen.’ He will strike first. (emphasis added)
How can one kill that which is already dead?
ReplyDeleteThe Holy Office and The Curia were emasculated during the reign of Montini.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote the speech read at V2 by Cardinal Frings which was a dissembling personal attack on the great Roman, Ottaviani, and the contents of which speech contained factual lies, but, there were personal scores to settle by some of the conciliar periti weren't there?
There is no doubt that the Hierarchal Church (Monarchial from the get go) is being systematically deconstructed and any person, place or thing that is too tied to Europe and Catholic Tradition will soon discover its head is on the block.
Do not discount or ignore all of the talk about Synodalism by the Bishop of Rome; our modern prelates think the schismatics of the East are true role models whom we ought imitate.