June 18, 2013 Martin Mallon (Ireland) Martin's previous articles
CAN THE CURIA BE
TAMED
As
mentioned on this website on Wednesday June 12 here,
Pope Francis, in a meeting with CLAR
(the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women),
has once again launched a broadside at the Roman Curia. He told the members of
CLAR to continue their good work, even if they go a bit astray, and if they
receive a letter from the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) just
answer it and continue on with the good work! Wow, the CDF has been put in
it’s box, once again Francis has emphasised that orthopraxy is more important
than orthodoxy.
With
the appointment of the committee of eight cardinals to advise him, together with
his advice to CLAR and his daily actions and statements Francis has shown us
what the real revolution consists of which he has orchestrated. Helping the poor
is now the priority for the church, not orthodoxy. When liberation theology is
used and advocated by those helping the poor, so what, the poor are being
helped, the Gospel is being put into practice not just being talked about.
This
means the Curia will be in a position to carry out its real job of administering
the church where needed. Individual countries and bishops can get on with
looking after their own dioceses without having to continuously look over their
shoulders, expecting letters from the CDF based on unsubstantiated information
supplied by anonymous informers. The members of the CDF, together with the rest
of the curia, are now on notice to restrain themselves.
At last Vatican II is being unwrapped. Will the Pope follow through on
these developments? Going by
this Catholic Herald article, with the headline Pope Francis
‘appoints management consultant’ to advise on reform of Roman Curia,
he
has every intention of doing so.
Let
us hope that the Pope is successful, however, the task must not be
underestimated. Xavier Rynne, in his book The Second Session, Farrar, Straus and
Company,
A hundred years ago, an archbishop at Vatican Council
I gave utterance to these deeply felt words:
The
experience that I have acquired, during many years, of the personnel of
the Pontifical Curia has produced in me an unconquerable conviction that never,
never, to the very end of the world, will they consent to renounce Temporal
Power. They will utilise every means (at one time public, at another secret; at
one time more violent, at another less so) to repossess themselves of that
Power….
Clearly,
Francis has a formidable task ahead of him and he will only succeed with the
help of the Holy Spirit and our prayers.
This
new approach will be difficult for many from the USA to accept, the Catholic
establishment would prefer a more conservative non-South American Pope. They
will be uncomfortable with a South American Pope who wants to help the poor,
will canonise Romero and others who lived liberation theology and has first hand
experience of the US meddling in South America at the expense of the poor.
Francis will not be a fan of the School of the Americas, which the US uses to
train South American military officers and whose alumni have been involved in
many of the coups and atrocities in South America over the last fifty years.
Read more on the School of the Americas here
Hopefully,
there will also be a cessation to the appointment of conservative, Opus Dei
type, bishops in South America and instead bishops supportive of the poor, such
as Romero and Bergoglio, will be the majority
of those appointed. If so this will involve clashes between bishops and the
establishment in many South American countries. These bishops should have the
full support of Pope Francis who has strongly condemned “savage capitalism”.
Read the Pope’s condemnation of “savage
capitalism” here
It
is clear from the above that prayer is essential if change is to be effected and
Vatican II teachings and it’s spirit are to be implemented.
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