THE PAPAL ELECTION 2013

It seems agreed that whoever is elected Pope , the various Vatican departments of the Catholic Church have to be reformed.Not re-formed, that is, get now bosses and new officials but  be changed from head to toe. This is no new demand. As far back as the nineteen fifties the old among us can remember rather timid suggestions that this should be done. Later, less timid suggestions were made and occasionally a demand for reform. Unfortunately many of those who did this walked away in despair of ever getting it done.

In the nineteen nineties a book was published by a strongly non-religious company (Kaos) in which a Catholic group known as I Millenari made strong claims and assertions about how the Vatican departments managing Church affairs were working, not working or working for or even against the Church. The book was called Via Col Vento in Vaticano. The writers did not give their names although they were said to be important people – maybe that is why they did not give their names. That irritated , but it was a sign of times when  many  people gave other people power simply by being afraid of them.  James Connolly many years before had said the reason why some people  seem great is that we are on our knees looking up to them.

Anyway, the Vatican like any governing  body has its external and internal power struggles and these can be as severe as any other people’s.  When we ordinary folk try to enter into discussion about how our affairs are managed , we are told, The Church is not a democracy. Which is strange because the Church should be the greatest democracy in the world, since its members are told they are inspired by the Holy Spirit from perhaps the age of about 12. So they should have something useful to  say, especially about what concerns them most, the meaning of life, the careful management of goods, the existence of God. So whoever is appointed Pope, people know their own dignity and know how to keep it. So they speak and write and eventually make decisions. That has to be understood by the Vatican Departments .

11.3.13