Comments on: RIP Pope Francis

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 14:12:48 +0000

The Holy See can be assiduous about the appointment of bishops, the composition of canon law, the operation of appellate tribunals and the like. It can teach and exhort. It simply does not now and never will have the manpower to ‘manage’ the Church.
==
The Church has a body of teachings which it has compiled since the 1st century. No need to elaborate much above and beyond cleaning up the mess Francis has made.
==
One can exhort the faithful to corporal works of mercy. No need to say much about social policy.
==
Another thing a conscientious Pope might do would be to discontinue inter-religious dialogue and limit oecumenism to discussions with the Orthodox and non-Chalcedonian bodies.
==
Another might be to restore the canonization procedures in effect prior to 1978.
==
Then there’s that grisly concordat with Xi. What to do for the underground church in China is a puzzle.

By: NancyB

NancyB — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:16:29 +0000

I can’t remember how I came to it, but this article on Francis’ papacy by Nathan Pinkoski seems to square the circle of this thread’s dispute with a concept of managerialism that is novel to me, the “prioritization of process over product” that actually makes a lot of sense in other realms as well:

https://www.compactmag.com/article/pope-franciss-managerial-revolution/

By: Paolo Pagliaro

Paolo Pagliaro — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:58:40 +0000

For instance: https://tinyurl.com/496hd4cu

“Pedophile priests will have to answer for their abuses before Almighty God, as well as before duly constituted tribunals”… “openly acknowledge your guilt – he exhorted – submit yourselves to the demands of justice”

Here is a timeline of many of BXVI’s actions and words against pedophilia:
https://tinyurl.com/yxpjwyh4

You have to translate it from Italian.

The fact that you never heard about this pronunciations from BVXI is hardly surprising.

Then, there is this, which I can’t confirm, but…:
https://x.com/Dn641608671/status/1914598889631416448

By: Paolo Pagliaro

Paolo Pagliaro — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:39:54 +0000

huxley
BXVI issued hundreds of such declarations, and promoted an investigation in the USA against the promoters and actors of such crimes. The media campaign AGAINST this investigation was incredible, and the very first act of Bergoglio as a Pope was to stop it and help bishop McCarrick & co. The media, who had been accusing Ratzinger for years about such cases, went immediately silent.

Pope Francis did NOTHING against pedophile priests in south America, again protecting them.
He had very hard words against abortion, but said nothing to Biden or Pelosi about that, publicly declaring they are “good Catholics”. He praised Emma Bonino, a politician famous in Italy for introducing abortion at every level, as the most exemplar Italian (together with President Napolitano, a post war Communist who supported Stalin and, in particular, in 1956 called the democratic spring in Hungary “a fascist coup”, applauding the Soviet intervention).

By: Bauxite

Bauxite — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 22:31:50 +0000

huxley – Francis talked a great game on abusive clergy, but his actions really didn’t back up the talk. That’s my point. The Declaration of Independence analogy really doesn’t fit.

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 20:03:35 +0000

In re misconduct by clergy, the Holy See has some ecclesiastical tribunals and can amend canon law. They can remove bishops. As a practical matter, discipline is applied by diocesan bishops and religious superiors or it is not applied. The option of complaining to civil authorities is present. The problem (seldom acknowledged) about misconduct by priests and religious (and bishops) is that complaints are seldom offered in real time, seldom offered within the boundaries of an ordinary statute of limitations, and commonly have a weak evidentiary basis.
==
Seminary rectors, vocations promoters, diocesan bishops, and religious superiors are also responsible for preventing troublesome characters from entering formation programs and / or proceeding to ordination. For a variety of reasons, they fail at that.

By: neo

neo — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 19:56:19 +0000

huxley: Apparently there were reforms under Pope Benedict as well, and then Pope Francis took them further.

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:29:55 +0000

huxley, since you’re still reading this, a summary of what Catholic insiders are saying about papal candidates:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3386646/pope-francis-successor-speculation/

Short version: Some even more liberal/progressive than Francis are fairly high on the list, and conservatives like Cardinals Sarah or Burke considered very unlikely.

By: huxley

huxley — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:22:50 +0000

huxley – If I may subtly correct you, Francis didn’t do something. He said something. His actions on that particular topic were decidedly mixed.

Bauxite:

Do as you like.

So I take it that the “Declaration of Independence” was just some people “saying something”?

I don’t accept your distinction.

I’m happy to consign all my comments on this blog to mere “saying something.”

But when the first Pope in history writes an official letter to the entire Roman Catholic Church which addresses sexual abuse and initiates real reforms, even if imperfect, that’s more than “saying something.”

By: miguel cervantes

miguel cervantes — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:39:34 +0000

he indulged in too many fashionable tropes, re climate change, social justice, immigration, there is certainly a place for the last two, but only in the context of the Word of God, for instance only one passage about the stranger from Deuteronomy,

the weather’s capriciousness can be chalked up to another
manifestation of sin, along with death and suffering
more clearly spelled out,

the cause of innocent life was less lightly touched upon, one is reminded of Marley’s reproach to Scrooge,