THE VATICAN TODAY
Commentators at every school, though for different reasons, with the possible exception of Father Spadaro SJ, agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or more respects, a catastrophe.
1. The Successor of St Peter is the rock on which the Church is built, a great source and cause of world unity. Historically, beginning with Saint Irenaeus, the Pope and the Church of Rome have a unique role in preserving the apostolic tradition, the rule of faith, in ensuring that the Churches continue to teach what Christ and the apostles taught. Previously the motto was: "Roma locuta. Causa finita est" [Rome has spoken, the cause is over]. Today it is: "Roma loquitur. Confusio augetur" [Rome speaks, confusion grows].
(A) The German synod speaks of homosexuality, of women priests, of communion for the divorced. And the papacy is silent.
(B) Cardinal Hollerich rejects Christian teaching on sexuality. And the papacy is silent. This is doubly significant because the cardinal is explicitly heretical; It does not use code words or innuendo. If the cardinal continued without Roman correction, it would represent another, deeper break in discipline, with few (or none?) precedents in history. The congregation for the doctrine of the faith must act and speak.
(C) Silence is even more evident when it clashes with the active persecution of traditionalists and contemplative monasteries.
2. The centrality of Christ in teaching is weakened; Christ is removed from the center. At times Rome even seems confused about the importance of a rigorous monotheism, alluding to a certain broader concept of divinity; Not really pantheism, but as a variant of Hindu pantheism.
(A) Pachamama is idolatrous, although perhaps it was not intended as such initially.
(B) Contemplative nuns are persecuted and attempts are made to change the teachings of charismatics.
(C) The Christocentric heritage of St. John Paul II in faith and morals is the object of systematic attacks. Many teachers of the Roman Institute for the Family have been dismissed; Most of the students have left. The Academy for Life is badly broken, for example some of its members have recently supported assisted suicide. Pontifical academies have members and invited speakers who support abortion.
3. Failure to respect the law in the Vatican risks becoming an international scandal. These problems have been concretized in the ongoing trial at the Vatican of ten accused of financial negligence, but the problem is older and wider.
(A) The pope changed the law four times during the trial to help the prosecution.
(B) Cardinal Becciu was not treated with justice because he was removed from office and stripped of his cardinal dignity without any evidence. He has not received due process. Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
(C) As head of the Vatican state and source of all legal authority, the pope has used this power to interfere in judicial proceedings.
(D) The pope sometimes, if not often, governs with pontifical decrees, motu proprio, which eliminate the right of appeal of those affected.
(E) Many staff members, often priests, have been hastily kicked out of the Vatican curia, often for no valid reason.
(F) Telephone tapping is regularly practised. I'm not sure how often this is allowed.
(G) In the English trial against Torzi, the judge sharply criticized the Vatican prosecutors. Who are either incompetent and/or have been conditioned, prevented from providing the full picture.
(H) L’irruzione della gendarmeria vaticana al comando del dottor Giani, nel 2017, nell’ufficio del revisore dei conti Libero Milone, in territorio italiano, era probabilmente illegale ed è stata in ogni caso intimidatoria e violenta. È possibile che le prove contro Milone siano state fabbricate.
4. (A) La situazione finanziaria del Vaticano è grave. Negli ultimi dieci anni (almeno) ci sono stati quasi sempre deficit finanziari. Prima del COVID, questi deficit erano di circa 20 milioni di euro all’anno. Negli ultimi tre anni sono stati circa 30-35 milioni di euro all’anno. I problemi datano a prima sia di papa Francesco che di papa Benedetto.
(B) Il Vaticano ha di fronte un pesante deficit del fondo pensioni. Intorno al 2014 gli esperti della COSEA stimavano che nel 2030 il deficit sarebbe stato di circa 800 milioni di euro. Questo prima del COVID.
(C) Si stima che il Vaticano abbia perso 217 milioni di euro sul palazzo di Sloane Avenue a Londra. Negli anni ‘80 il Vaticano fu costretto a sborsare 230 milioni di dollari dopo lo scandalo del Banco Ambrosiano. A causa dell’inefficienza e della corruzione, negli ultimi 25-30 anni il Vaticano ha perso almeno altri 100 milioni di euro, e probabilmente parecchi di più, forse 150-200 milioni..
(D) Nonostante la recente decisione del Santo Padre, i processi di investimento non sono stati centralizzati (come raccomandato dalla COSEA nel 2014 e tentato dalla segreteria per l’economia nel 2015-16) e restano privi del consiglio di esperti. Per decenni, il Vaticano ha avuto a che fare con finanzieri di cattiva reputazione, evitati da tutti i banchieri che godono di stima in Italia.
(E) Il rendimento delle 5261 proprietà immobiliari vaticane resta scandalosamente basso. Nel 2019 il ricavo medio (prima del COVID) era di quasi 4.500 dollari all’anno. Nel 2020 era di 2.900 euro per proprietà .
(F) Il ruolo mutevole di papa Francesco nelle riforme finanziarie (progressi incompleti ma sostanziali nella riduzione della criminalità , molto meno riusciti, tranne che allo IOR, in termini di redditività ) è un mistero e un enigma.
Inizialmente il Santo Padre ha sostenuto con forza le riforme. Poi ha impedito la centralizzazione degli investimenti, si è opposto alle riforme e alla maggior parte dei tentativi di smascherare la corruzione e ha sostenuto (allora) l’arcivescovo Becciu, al centro dell’establishment finanziario vaticano. Poi, nel 2020, il papa si è rivoltato contro Becciu e alla fine dieci persone sono state messe a processo e accusate. Nel corso degli anni, sono state avviate poche azioni penali a partire dalle segnalazioni di infrazioni dell’AIF.
Price Waterhouse and Cooper's auditors were dismissed, and Auditor General Libero Milone was forced to resign in 2017 on trumped-up charges. They were getting too close to corruption in the secretariat of state.
5. The political influence of Pope Francis and the Vatican is negligible. Intellectually, the papal writings show a decline from the levels of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict. Decisions and policies are often "politically correct", but there have been serious failures to uphold human rights in Venezuela, Hong Kong, mainland China and now in the Russian invasion.
There has been no public support for faithful Catholics in China who have been persecuted intermittently for their allegiance to the papacy for more than 70 years. No public Vatican support for the Catholic community in Ukraine, especially Greek Catholics.
These themes should be revisited by the next pope. The Vatican's political prestige is now at a low level.
6. At a different, lesser level, the situation of the Tridentine (Catholic) traditionalists should be regularized.
On an even more modest level, the celebration of "individual" Masses with small groups in the morning in St. Peter's Basilica should again be allowed. At the moment, this large basilica in the early morning is like a desert.
The COVID crisis has covered the sharp decline in the number of pilgrims present at papal audiences and masses.
The Holy Father has little support among seminarians and young priests and there is widespread discontent in the Vatican curia.
The next conclave
1. The College of Cardinals was weakened by eccentric appointments and was not reconvened after the rejection of Cardinal Kasper's positions in the 2014 consistory. Many cardinals are unknown to each other, adding a new dimension of unpredictability to the upcoming conclave.
2. Since Vatican II, Catholic authorities have often underestimated the hostile power of secularization, the world, the flesh and the devil, especially in the Western world, and overestimated the influence and strength of the Catholic Church.
We are weaker than 50 years ago and many factors are beyond our control, at least in the short term, for example the decline in the number of believers, the frequency of attendance at Mass, the disappearance or extinction of many religious orders.
3. The pope does not need to be the best evangelizer in the world, nor a political force. The successor of Peter, as head of the college of bishops, who are also the successors of the apostles, has a fundamental role for unity and doctrine. The new pope must understand that the secret of Christian and Catholic vitality comes from fidelity to Christ's teachings and Catholic practices. It doesn't come from adapting to the world or money.
4. The first tasks of the new pope will be the restoration of normality, the restoration of doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, the restoration of just respect for the law, and the guarantee that the first criterion for the appointment of bishops is acceptance of apostolic tradition. Theological competence and culture are an advantage, not an obstacle for all bishops and especially for archbishops.
These are necessary foundations for living and preaching the gospel.
5. If synodal gatherings continue throughout the world, they will consume much time and money, probably diverting energy from evangelization and service rather than deepening these essential activities.
If national or continental synods are given doctrinal authority, we will have a new danger for the unity of the world Church, so that, for example, the German Church already has doctrinal positions not shared by other Churches and not compatible with the apostolic tradition.
Se non ci sarà una correzione romana di simili eresie, la Chiesa si ridurrebbe a una vaga federazione di Chiese locali, con visioni diverse, probabilmente più vicina a un modello anglicano o protestante, rispetto a un modello ortodosso.
An immediate priority for the next pope must be to eliminate and prevent such a dangerous development, requiring unity in the essentials and not allowing unacceptable doctrinal differences. The morality of homosexual activity will be one of these critical points.
6. While the young clergy and seminarians are almost completely Orthodox, sometimes quite conservative, the new pope will need to be aware of the substantial changes made to Church leadership since 2013, perhaps especially in South and Central America. There is a new leap in the advance of "liberal" Protestants in the Catholic Church.
A schism is unlikely to occur on the left, where they do not routinely make dramas on doctrinal issues. A schism is more likely to come from the right and is always possible when liturgical tensions are inflamed and unabated.
Unity in the essentials. Diversity in non-essential ones. Charity in everything.
7. Despite their dangerous decline in the West and the inherent fragility and instability in many places, serious consideration should be given to the feasibility of an apostolic visit to the Jesuit order. They are in a situation of catastrophic numerical decline, from 36,000 members during the Council to less than 16,000 in 2017 (with probably 20-25 percent of them over 75 years of age). In some places, there is also a catastrophic moral decline.
The order is highly centralized, susceptible to reform or ruin from above. The charism and contribution of the Jesuits have been and are so important to the Church that they should not be allowed to disappear undisturbed from history or to be reduced simply to an Afro-Asian community.
8. The disastrous decline in the number of Catholics and the expansion of Protestants in South America must be addressed. This was very little mentioned in the Amazon synod.
9. Obviously a lot of work needs to be done on financial reforms in the Vatican, but this should not be the most important criterion in the selection of the next pope.
The Vatican has no substantial debts, but continued annual deficits will eventually lead to bankruptcy. Obviously, steps will be taken to remedy this, to separate the Vatican from criminal accomplices and balance income and expenditure. The Vatican will need to demonstrate competence and integrity to attract substantial donations to help solve this problem.
Despite improved procedures and greater transparency, ongoing financial difficulties pose a major challenge, but they are far less important than the spiritual and doctrinal dangers facing the Church, especially in the First World.
Demos
Lent 2022
