Vatican feuds, betrayals await next pope
2013-02-21 22:15
Vatican City - If evidence was ever needed that the next
pope must urgently overhaul the powerful Vatican bureaucracy called the Curia,
the scandal over Pope Benedict XVI's private papers is Exhibit A.
The pope's own butler stole sensitive internal letters to
the pontiff and passed them off to a journalist, who then published them in a
blockbuster book. The butler did it, he admitted himself, to expose the
"evil and corruption" in the Vatican's frescoed halls that he
believed was hidden from Benedict by those who were supposed to serve him.
And if that original sin weren't enough, the content of
the leaks confirmed that the next pope has a very messy house to clean up. The
letters and memos exposed petty wrangling, corruption and cronyism at the
highest levels of the Catholic Church.
The dirt ranged from the awarding of Vatican contracts to
a plot, purportedly orchestrated by senior Vatican officials, to out a
prominent Catholic newspaper editor as gay.
Ordinary Catholics might not think that dysfunction in the
Apostolic Palace has any effect on their lives, but it does: The Curia makes
decisions on everything from church closings to marriage annulments to the
disciplining of paedophile priests.
Papal politics plays into the prayers the faithful say at
Mass since missal translations are decided by committee in Rome.
Donations the faithful make each year for the pope are
held by a Vatican bank whose lack of financial transparency fuelled bitter
internal debate.
And so after 35 years under two "scholar" popes
who paid scant attention to the internal governance of the Catholic Church, a
chorus is growing that the next pontiff must have a solid track record managing
a complicated bureaucracy. Cardinals who will vote in next month's conclave are
openly talking about the need for reform, particularly given the dysfunction
exposed by the scandal.
"It has to be attended to," said Chicago
Cardinal Francis George. With typical understatement, he called the leaks
scandal "a novel event for us."
Cardinal Walter Kasper, a German who retired in 2010 as
the head of the Vatican's ecumenical office, said the Curia must adapt itself
to the 21st century.
"There needs to be more coordination between the
offices, more collegiality and communication," he told Corriere della
Sera.
Sandro Magister, the Vatican analyst who most closely
follows the comings, goings and internecine feuds of Vatican officials, said
the "disaster" of governance began unfolding in the 1980s, in the early
years of Pope John Paul II's pontificate.
"John Paul II was completely disinterested in the
Curia; his vision was completely directed to the outside," Magister said
in an interview. "
Under Benedict
To be fair, the Vatican under Benedict made great strides
on some internal governance fronts: The pope insisted on greater financial
transparency, and the Vatican passed a key European anti-money laundering test
last summer. He insisted on a Vatican trial, open to journalists, for the
butler who betrayed him.
And as cardinal, after priestly sex abuse cases bounced
for years among Vatican offices, the former Joseph Ratzinger took them over
himself in 2001.
But some analysts speculate that the revelations from the
leaks at the very least accelerated Benedict's decision to resign.
In early 2012, he appointed three trusted cardinals to
investigate beyond the criminal case involving his butler.
They interviewed widely inside the Curia and out and
delivered their final report in December. Its contents are sealed, though
speculation is rife that the cardinals minced no words in revealing the true
nature of the Curia.
Benedict's biographer, Peter Seewald, asked Benedict in
August how badly the scandal had affected him. He replied that he was not
falling into "desperation or world-weariness," yet admitted the leaks
scandal "is simply incomprehensible to me," according to a recent
article Seewald penned for the German magazine Focus.
The Holy See's bureaucracy is organised as any
government, though it most closely resembles a medieval court — given that the
pope is an absolute monarch, with full executive, legal and judicial powers.
There's a legal office, an economic affairs office and an
office dedicated to the world's 400 000 priests. Three tribunals tend to
ecclesiastical cases and a host of departments take up spiritual matters: Making
saints, keeping watch on doctrine and the newest office created by Benedict,
spreading the faith.
John Paul's 1988 apostolic constitution "Pastor
Bonus" sets out the competencies of the various congregations and
councils, and they function more or less as independent fiefdoms, albeit in
consultation with one another when the subject matter requires. In the end,
though, the real power lies with two departments: the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith and the secretariat of state, which can block virtually
any initiative of another office.
The Italian way
Though increasingly international, the Curia is also a
very Italian creature, which affects its priorities, weaknesses and style of
governance. "Genealogy is important, who begat whom," noted one
recently departed Vatican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as
to not antagonise former colleagues.
The typical Italian way of getting things done via
personal stamps of approval, or "raccomandanzione", guides
introductions. The Italian way of persuasion, less overt power play than Machiavellian
machinations, governs consensus-building and decision-making.
Italian commentator Massimo Franco recently concluded on
the pages of Corriere della Sera that the Vatican bureaucracy today is simply
"ungovernable."
Though it's open to interpretation, Benedict's final
homily as pope could be read as a clear message to the cardinals who will
choose his successor.
Two days after announcing he would resign, a weary
Benedict told his flock gathered in St Peter's Basilica for Ash Wednesday Mass
to live their lives as Christians in order to show the true face of the church
— a church, he said, which is often "defiled”.
"I think in particular about the attacks against the
unity of the church, the divisions in the ecclesial body," he said. He
told those gathered that "moving beyond individualisms and rivalries is a
humble and precious sign for those who are far from the faith or indifferent to
it."
The Vatican spokesperson, the Reverend Federico Lombardi,
said it was wrong to interpret the pope's words as being directed at the
Vatican Curia, saying the pope's message was intended as a call for unity among
all Christians, a priority of his as pontiff.
"Differences and diversity of opinion are part of
the normal dynamic of any institution or community," Lombardi said.
He said the way the Vatican's governance problems are
often described "do not correspond to reality."
- AP
