March 5, 2013      Martin Mallon  (Ireland)      Martin's previous articles

                    REFORM AND EVANGELISATION

If another example was needed to explain why the Roman Curia needs reforming, here it is; Cardinal Mahony has stated that the nuncio phoned him requesting that he attends the conclave and that this request was initiated by those at the top in the Vatican:  

 “Without my even having to inquire, the nuncio in Washington phoned me a week or so ago and said, ‘I have had word from the highest folks in the Vatican: you are to come to Rome and you are to participate in the conclave’,” the cardinal said.  

Considering Mahony’s history it appears that the Roman Curia want all the conservative cardinals at the conclave, especially those with a record of covering up clerical child sexual abuse. The curia has a better idea than most of how bad the underlying clerical child sexual abuse, and cover-up, situation really is throughout the church and the fact that they want Mahoney at the conclave indicates that the situation is terrible and they want the status quo maintained.  

If a more progressive cardinal is selected as Pope there is the possibility that he will deal with the clerical child sexual abuse situation properly and decisively, opening the files to local police authorities and even ensuring that bishops who took part in cover-ups, to any degree, would have to bite the bullet and resign.  

This was not the policy under Pope Benedict XVI; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, in the wake of the Murphy report into clerical child sexual abuse in his diocese, called for bishops, who attended board meetings where abusing priests were shifted quietly to another parish or a cover-up was implemented, to resign. Three bishops did resign, one had reached retirement age so his resignation was accepted, but the resignations of the other two bishops were not accepted by Pope Benedict. Worse, Diarmuid Martin was called to Rome and was, apparently, slapped on the wrist for having called on bishops to resign and he has made no such calls since.  

What should be done with the Roman Curia? It is needed in some form for administrative purposes, however, if all cardinals, bishops and priests had to carry out pastoral work for five years after serving five years in the curia then many of the problems experienced in the modern Roman Curia would disappear.  

But most importantly the collegiality of the bishops, including the Pope, needs to be enforced with the bishops’ synod/conference/council having real authority, not just an advisory role. Hence, what curia there is would have the job of administering the bishops’ synod/conference/council’s rulings rather than just those of the Pope. This would call a halt to the Roman Curia believing and acting as if they were an extension of the Pope and that they, therefore, had papal infallibility.  

This type of action would call a halt to many of the arcane decisions of the CDF, such as silencing and censoring priests on anonymous tip-offs without letting the priest defend himself properly; natural justice would be necessary in future. Justice would have to be seen to be done by the CDF; a radical departure for the CDF.  

What is clear is that radical reform is needed and, coincidentally, this witness would be a great form of evangelisation