Pope Francis launched his harshest criticism to date of the
Vatican bureaucracy, likening it to an "ailing body," and setting
the stage for what is expected to be sweeping reform next year.
In his Christmas address on Monday to cardinals and senior
officials attached to the Curia, the church's Rome-based
administrative apparatus, Pope Francis warned against "spiritual
Alzheimer's disease," careerism and gossip.
The harsh critique grabbed wide attention, with the Religion
News Service offering a headline that said, "Pope Francis to Curia:
Merry Christmas, you power-hungry hypocrites."
Pope Francis has broken new ground during his papacy in a range
of areas, suggesting a more open approach to homosexuals,
advocating a stronger role for women in the church, rebalancing the
College of Cardinals to increase the weight of the emerging world,
and helping support the reopening of relations between Cuba and the
U.S.
The address to the Curia seemed to serve notice that he
aggressively plans to take on the problems that have developed in
the Vatican bureaucracy during the past decade from infighting
among cardinals to embarrassing leaks.
The detailed critique of the Curia suggested that reforms will
aim for greater transparency, greater efficiency and a more
positive model for the Catholic Church at large.
In the speech, the pope publicly takes on the fiefdoms within
the Vatican and seeks to break "the closed circles of power," said
Chad Pecknold, associate professor at the Catholic University of
America. "It's a full-on broadside to the heads of the Curia, but
also the 3,000 staff...who suffer from the same problems."
The pontiff's remarks presented a colorful 15-point list of
"diseases" from which the Curia suffers.
He warned against a "Curia that is not self-critical," likening
such a body to "the rich fool who thinks he will live for all
eternity." Some suffer from "the sickness of mental and spiritual
hardening: that of those who, along the way, lose their inner
serenity, vivacity and boldness," he said.
The pope also blasted the "ailment of rivalry and vainglory:
when appearances, the color of one's robes, insignia and honors
become the most important aim in life."
The pope has made waves within the Vatican for his decision to
repudiate the Apostolic apartments, where popes typically live, in
favor of a two-room apartment inside a modest rooming house. He has
also shunned expensive cars and elaborate robes, wearing a simple
metal cross.
The 78-year-old pontiff pointedly said that the Curia should be
a model for the entire church. "I once read that priests are like
airplanes: They only make news when they crash, but there are many
that fly," he concluded, adding that "one priest who falls may
cause" harm to the whole church.
The extraordinary address is the toughest criticism yet by a
pope who has wasted few opportunities to denounce the
scandal-ridden Curia since he was elected in March 2013. Before the
conclave that elected Pope Francis, the cardinals issued a clear
call for a pontiff who would shake up a bureaucracy that saw a
stream of embarrassing revelations of corruption and infighting
during the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.
Rev. Michael Barrett, who has spent five years in Rome,
primarily studying theology, noted that the church has been trying
to reform the Curia for at least two hundred years. But, he said,
this pope has already started making important changes. "If you're
trying to reform the curia," he said, "you have to be a very strong
man."
Pope Francis was chosen in part because, as archbishop of Buenos
Aires, he was far from the intrigue in Rome.
The pope has begun to overhaul the Curia, starting largely with
the financial management of the body, a task that is well under
way. But next year, he is widely expected to begin streamlining the
bureaucracy, collapsing some of the departments.
Many are also watching his choices of a new batch of cardinals,
expected in January, for more signs of his plans. He has made
little secret of his desire to rebalance the College of Cardinals
to reflect the growth of Catholicism in the emerging world and to
reduce the weight of cardinals--many Italian--in the Curia.
Terence McKiernan, President of BishopAccountability.org, which
tracks the sex-abuse scandal in the church, said the pope's speech
must be followed with real actions.
"This is a very capable man who is really making some remarkable
changes. Rhetoric is part of the way you change things, but it
needs to be accompanied by real and significant action," he
said.
"He's opening up a dialogue that never existed before and I
think that's a very healthy thing," said Raymond Flynn, former U.S.
ambassador to the Vatican, and a Catholic. "Some people will get
their nose out of joint, but in the final analysis I think this
makes the church stronger."
Mr. Flynn said the frank talk will go over well with younger
Catholics who will see "he's inviting dialogue and a new way of
looking at things."Sometimes you have to be provocative to really
get people's attention."
Write to Tammy Audi at Tamara.Audi@wsj.com and Deborah Ball at
deborah.ball@wsj.com
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