I make a point of reviewing what the other bloggers have submitted. That way, I can avoid redundancy or I can provide another perspective on a topic. It occurred this past week, when, inadvertently Martin Mallon and myself had written something about the Pope's comment about the CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) at his informal meeting with CLAR (Caribbean and Latin American Religious) There are a number of versions of this meeting. All the versions tell us that Pope Francis says, that "he is disorganized when it comes to administrative matters, especially, matters to do with the reform of the Curia". (paraphrased) I wrote about this statement in my blog and today, in Martin Mallon's blog, he has news, that the Pope has "appointed a management consultant" to advise about Curial reform.

This certainly was a most interesting piece of news: i.e. the Pope hires an administrative consultant, and not just any consultant!….a consultant who has some definite ideas about change for the Church from the German perspective….where the voice of reform has probably been the strongest! This consultant whose name is Dr. Von Mitschke Collande, was a manager for a consulting firm named: "McKinsey & Company. He was referred to Pope Francis by a Cardinal. Interestingly, Dr. Von has written a book about the Catholic Church in German. The English title could be read as, "Does the Catholic Church want to destroy itself? or "Is the Catholic Church going out of business?" Needless to say, I would love to get my hot little "mits" on this book. Does anyone know the contents?

Appointing an advisor might well be the "ticket", but, is Dr. Von the right man? Will the Pope be satisfied that this is the way to go? Will we, the ones in the pew, be kept informed? I suggest in my blog, that this is a turning point for the papacy and the Church. With this injection of news, I am encouraged in my prediction!

Another item that appears in Martin Mallon's blog is his notion, that our troubles may be over as far as the power and control tactics of the CDF are concerned. (paraphrased) You did give me pause for thought, Martin, as you are of the opinion that the CDF is no longer a threat for reformers and their writing and speech. I would like to think so….but, was it simply Pope Francis caught unawares as to what he really said?….From my perspective, what he said about the CDF was an insensitive remark, especially for people like Father Tony Flannery, Father Roy Bourgeois and many more. The CDF has created much heartache for many people and my sense was that the Pope does not understand or appreciate this…. We are now left wondering, what is the true relationship between the CDF and the Pope? Does he support any of their past actions? If he does, which ones? And If he doesn’t, why isn’t he correcting wrongs? He speaks a lot about brotherly love….but, I need to see it happening with Him and the "brothers so loved" that were treated more like servants of Satan, rather than servants of Christ. I also question whether we really have an atmosphere with this Pope, where there is "freedom of speech".

My "heart" has "ached" for more than 30 years now with the pain of not being able to speak with the ones that say they are our priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes. I have wept for the injustices and abuses that were and are consciously or unconsciously meted out by the clergy, and in particular, the Pope and the Vatican! I realize that I could say the same about trying to be heard by our politicians and the Prime-ministers. Somehow, the Church situation hits me really hard……I believe, it was Sister Joan Chittister who wrote about the people being WEARY with the former papacy and the way the Church does business….I’m afraid, that that weariness and heaviness of heart is not too far away, if, justice within the Church does not prevail. 

Pope Francis is rightly concerned about the poor, but, he has ‘poor’ within the Church who look to justice and being heard. I know that I am one such ‘poor’ woman who has endured the bruiser in Rome for most of my life and I wonder how many others would say the same. He either just doesn’t get it or he poop-poops the impact that the hierarchy has had on Church members, especially, women. One would think, he’s saying, politely of course…ah, just suck it up….No, I wish, you were right on this one Martin…but, I fear not. It is most assuredly a turning point in his papacy with the appointment of the advisor and the 8 cardinals preparing topics for the bishops synod….It is also a turning point for anyone or any group in the Church that needed his audience and support, but, failed to get it…..I’m sure Pope Francis will continue to make a difference in some areas….but, ignoring the voice of reformers and others will only serve to create greater problems and even perhaps, schism. Brendan Butler said on the ACP(Association of Catholic Priests)…"that until, Pope Francis lifts the silence on Father Flannery, he sees no hope for the Church under Francis"…..I say it another way…….Unless, we see these CDF issues addressed, we know that there will be some interior redecorating, and maybe even a renovation or two with the curia….but, until those wrongs are corrected and further ones avoided….the systemic rot…of the Church.. will continue and continue to do unspeakable harm. The systemic rot comes from the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees and in our case from the royal clerics and clericalism. The axe must be taken to clericalism, or ultimately, any change, in the Church is just window dressing.

I repeat, I like Pope Francis, and he is a rose in a field of dandelions, but, I really, really, hope, the abuses within the Church are recognized by him and corrected, otherwise, there is no substantive reform.

What I have discussed above is not even given any consideration in the most recent reflections on Pope Francis's first hundred days. For instance, the Preacher's Initiative have written what they might call the "Good and Promising News of Pope Francis in his First 100 days" I viewed this on the ACP website. I am relieved and delighted that they are so positive, but, what I have written, I believe, is a "clear and present danger".

Yes, we have a "Good" man in Pope Francis...."Good" as it is used in the scriptural sense, but, I believe, he also, as a cleric, suffers with some "Scotosis of the Church", a blindness, to certain realities of injustice in the Church. I pray with my whole mind, heart, and soul that Church wrongs are corrected and that there is a "brotherly love" reconciliation. Then, we have a truly reformed Church at the core.

Note: Brendan Butler is not a Redemptorist priest......I said this in error. I may have referred to him as such on a previous blog.

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