Posted on 04/29/2025 4:34:01 PM PDT by Hieronymus
Rome is living these days in an atmosphere of unreality. The sentiment conveyed in the Eternal City, in the midst of the pre-conclave period, is a mixture of bewilderment, discretion, and silence.
Francis was gone with a speed that no one expected - not even his own allies - and the sectors most in favor of his pontificate seem to have dissolved away without the capacity of reaction. There are no meetings, no strategy, no slogans. The pontificate is over and “Franciscanism”, if it ever existed as a solid body, has imploded.
The College of Cardinals, for its part, presents itself as a surprisingly flat, horizontal body. There is no obvious leadership, no one sets the pace, no one raises his voice. But, as in the old medieval conclaves, what happens on the surface barely gives a glimpse of the real movements. And what is sensed these days is that many younger cardinals are looking to the emeriti. Yes, those who were relegated, marginalized, or simply retired by the previous regime, and who now walk the streets of Rome as if they were the true repositories of a resurgent tradition.
Prominent among these emeritus kingmakers are names like O'Malley, Ruini, Piacenza, Bagnasco, Cipriani, Antonelli, and Onaiyekan. They are there, talking to everyone, listening more than talking, and generating a kind of consensus that is not based on ideology, but on memory. They [the younger ones] are not looking for a new Pope with a program, but with solidity.
The authority of the elder bothers some who would like to be able to steer the conversations, and they try to discredit them, without success. Yesterday, it was the turn of the emeritus of Lima, Cipriani, who was the object of a crude campaign to try to question his presence in the general congregations, using an anonymous denunciation with no credibility in order to stir up the hornets' nest. Father Inca, secretary of the Peruvian Episcopate, quickly settled the debate: “He has much to contribute to the pre-conclave”.
A key moment of these days was Cardinal Re's homily in St. Peter's Square during the funeral. His intervention not only marked a strong presence of the older cardinals, but also had a very positive effect among the younger ones. Re's preaching was a clear example of how the older cardinals, with their experience and wisdom, manage to instill a calmness that has become very much appreciated in these uncertain times. It was a gesture of unity and control that contrasted with the sense of disorientation that still persists.
Yesterday, we also received some tasty details from the General Congregation of Cardinals. The interventions of Cardinal Willem Eijk and Cardinal Robert Sarah were very well received. The former, with his doctrinal clarity and accurate diagnosis of the ecclesial situation in Europe; the latter, with a voice that, as always, combines spiritual strength with a verbal elegance that does not need to shout to convince. The good tone that prevails among the cardinals is also surprising. There is courtesy, there is listening, and - despite the open wounds of recent years - there is a desire for unity.
In the atmosphere there reigns a sense of peace that, although fragile, seems to have replaced the intrigue and conspiracy that marked the previous weeks. The conclave has not yet begun, but Rome already smells of election. And in the meantime, the corridors of the Vatican quietly repeat an idea that imposes itself by pure evidence: the Pope is gone, and his people were not ready.
Ping
Given his long illness earlier this year how could they be “not ready”?
Cardinal Sarah would be an excellent Pope.
135 (and until two days before his death 136) electors, with 5/6ths of them scattered throughout the world are hard to organize if you want to get two-thirds of them onto the same page, and I imagine that herding cardinals is like herding cats, only without the tendency cats have to do whatever they are told.
If one has started to get things organized with the thought that one has only weeks, and then a recovery makes one think that one has months, having to get all one’s ducks in a row in less than a week can leave one flat-footed.
Works for me.
I would not care to argue a contrary position, and certainly cannot think of anyone who is an order of magnitude better.
He also seems to me potentially electable. Africa and nearly 80 strike me as two things that will generally be seen as positives.
No one outside of the Americas will want anyone from this hemisphere, and likely the same can be said of the Europeans.
Francis was supposed to be a caretaker Pope, but as Francis said to McCarrick, “Only the good die young” (or words to that effect). Who am I to judge? At any rate, that makes pushing 80 and willing to burn one’s self out in a few years an asset.
What a load of bullshiite. Antipope Bergolio and his close associates hid his health problems from everyone. To quote American communists “This version of Antipope Bergolio...is the best Antipope Bergolio Ever!”
Surprise us again, guys. Is there some priest from China who could make such a difference again?
There is an old saying that a Pope has impeccable health until he dies, or shortly thereafter.
In some ways the Vatican can resemble the Politburo or CHina—which are the closest things to traditional monarchies.
The one in charge indefinitely needs to be perceived as in control until he can control no longer-—and the more that he relies on other the more this is true.
Poland-—the only place behind the iron curtain where the Church had retained a level of autonomy and could be counted on not to be infiltrated.
Zen is too old and I wouldn’t trust any Chinese endorsed by Francis not to have been hand-picked by China.
I agree. Were they not paying attention?
What a load. In its entirety.
The man was old and in bad health....if they didn’t see it coming.....well, that’s on them.
Hopefully for the Catholics that are God fearing they won’t choose an alumni of satan this time.
God can work through committees.
God can work through committees.
He made all his tennis dates with Joe Biden, so this had to be a mortal shocker!/s
Like a thief in the night, the sinners were not ready and shoukd have resigned years ago for failing to leaf the church for 60 years!!!
Bergoglio was not resigned to his fate and was actively antagonizing even the faithful members of his “amen corner”, whenever they engaged in anything that had seemed, to him, redolent of self-promotion. He did this seemingly the whole time, practically all the way up to his death..
shoukd have resigned years ago for failing to leaf the church for 60 years!!!
This seems to be mixing Catholicism and Hockey. Leafing the Church is actually a bad thing.
Toronto has built up a 3-0 lead over Ottawa because it takes talent to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven, and even more talent to get fans psyched up for game seven after having blown so many of them in so many different ways.
I would think that Francis succeeded in Leafing the Church
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