What
is so clear and should have been from the instance he chose the name
of Francis, is that this Pope abhors pomp and circumstance. This
little vignette shows us that some must learn this the hard way.
Even better he is establishing a collegial aura in the Vatican that
is long overdue. I would be really impressed if he resurrected the
Rule of Twelve.
There
are many who wish to dismiss the Papacy as somehow unimportant or
some such canard, though that became shockingly wrong headed with the
reign of John Paul II. Yet rejectionism is still fashionable. We
forget just how St Francis, single handedly revitalized the Catholic
Church one thousand years ago. That this is the first Pope to choose
to follow in his footsteps tells just how difficult the challenge is.
You now know his secret agenda. You also have to understand that
his success will utterly change the whole world.
If
you are a believer, pray for his success because it will be
everyman's success. If not, understand what is possible and wonder.
Pope 'snub' of
concert stuns cardinals, sends signal
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters)
- A last-minute no-show by Pope Francis at a concert where he was to
have been the guest of honor has sent another clear signal that he is
going to do things his way and does not like the Vatican high life.
The gala classical
concert on Saturday was scheduled before his election in March. But
the white papal armchair set up in the presumption that he would be
there remained empty.
Minutes before the
concert was due to start, an archbishop told the crowd of cardinals
and Italian dignitaries that an "urgent commitment that cannot
be postponed" would prevent Francis from attending.
The prelates, assured
that health was not the reason for the no-show, looked disoriented,
realizing that the message he wanted to send was that, with the
Church in crisis, he - and perhaps they - had too much pastoral work
to do to attend social events.
"It took us by
surprise," said one Vatican source on Monday. "We are still
in a period of growing pains. He is still learning how to be pope and
we are still learning how he wants to do it."
"In Argentina,
they probably knew not to arrange social events like concerts for him
because he probably wouldn't go," said the source, who spoke
anonymously because he is not authorized to discuss the issue.
The picture of the
empty chair was used in many Italian papers, with Monday's Corriere
della Sera newspaper calling his decision "a show of force"
to illustrate the simple style he wants Church officials to embrace.
Since his election on
March 13, Francis, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina,
has not spent a single night in the opulent and spacious papal
apartments.
He has preferred to
live in a small suite in a busy Vatican guest house, where he takes
most meals in a communal dining room and says Mass every morning in
the house chapel rather than the private papal chapel in the
Apostolic Palace.
The day before the
concert, Francis said bishops should be "close to the people"
and not have "the mentality of a prince".
On Saturday, while the
concert was in progress in an auditorium just meters (yards) away,
Francis was believed to be working on new appointments for the Curia,
the Vatican's troubled central administration.
The administration was
held responsible for some of the mishaps and scandals that plagued
the eight-year reign of Pope Benedict before he resigned in February.
Francis inherited a
Church struggling to deal with priests' sexual abuse of children, the
alleged corruption and infighting in the Curia, and conflict over the
running of the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank.
Benedict left a secret
report for Francis on the problems in the administration, which came
to light when sensitive documents were stolen from the pope's desk
and leaked by his butler in what became known as the "Vatileaks"
scandal.
The Vatican source
said he expected Francis to make major changes to Curia personnel by
the end of the summer.
Anger at the mostly
Italian prelates who run the Curia was one of the reasons why
cardinals chose the first non-European pope for 1,300 years.
The key appointment
will be the next secretary of state, sometimes referred to as the
Vatican's prime minister, to succeed the Italian Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, who has been widely blamed for the failings of the Curia.
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