The trouble in the Catholic Church begins with challenges to the Pope’s infallibility on certain ideological issues such as celibacy, homosexuality, equality for women and the like. Then there are practical matters concerning priests’ misbehavior, some of which is illegal and criminally abusive. There is the matter of institutional cover up. There are matters of graft and corruption in church operations. All of those things shake the foundation of the flock, except in the instance of Christianity; when the Pope is furloughed or missing in action, there is always a higher authority.
American government has reached a point of entropy resulting from one party refusing to acknowledge the duly elected executive branch. They are operating within the rules but not playing to win for Americans. Self serving ambition has usurped the better purpose.
In the picture post, Cardinals arrive at the Vatican under what appears to be a military welcome. I have never been a fan of clapping in church, and I am not a fan of a military-like welcoming committee. I am not fan of the Knights of Columbus either.
“O'Brien last week resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and said he wouldn't participate in the conclave after four men came forward with allegations that he had acted inappropriately with them -- the first time a cardinal has stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal.
Separately, the Vatican is still reeling from the fallout of the scandal over leaked papal documents, and the investigation by three cardinals into who was behind it.
Italian news reports have been rife with unsourced reports about the contents of the cardinals' dossier. Even if the reports are false, as the Vatican maintains, the leaks themselves confirmed a fairly high level of dysfunction within the Vatican bureaucracy, with intrigues, turf battles and allegations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the highest levels of the church hierarchy.
In one of his last audiences before resigning, Benedict met with the three cardinals who prepared the report and decided that their dossier would remain secret. But he gave them the go-ahead to answer cardinals' questions about its contents.”
Comments