Political Agendas, Decisions, And A Short Memo To The Pope

Pope Benedict needs to weed some of these 'old boys' out of the ranks of Cardinals before he adds anymore because if he doesn't, he is not addressing the 'filth' in the Church.

I find the thinking of traditionalist apologists very fascinating. While generously accusing liberals of using the sexual abuse crisis to further their theological agendas, they in fact engage in the same. The following is from Damian Thompson who is a traditionalist columnist for the London based Telegraph. The article is referencing the second installment of Jason Berry's expose of the Legion.

Interesting fallout from the Legionaries scandal
By Damian Thompson Religion - Telegraph.com.UK - April 14th, 2010

My traditionalist priest friends are, thank God, not susceptible to the sin of Schadenfreude. But, if they were, they might note that several Vatican officials dragged into the financial side of the Legionaries of Christ scandal were stubbornly opposed to Pope Benedict XVI’s attempts to improve the worship of the Catholic Church by liberating the pre-Vatican II form of the Roman Rite. (It's only the liturgical progressives who take bribes from con artist pedophiles?)

As I said yesterday, I can’t see how Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, can cling on in the light of accusations of his links to the fabulously wealthy Legionaries made by Jason Berry in the National Catholic Reporter. And Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, formerly John Paul II’s private secretary, must also be a nervous man. (I agree. One would think both are nervous men and one can hope, both are remorseful men. But if they are anything like their patron, they are not.)

Dziwisz is accused by Berry of accepting charitable donations that smoothed the way, shall we say, for Legionary supporters to attend the “private” Masses of John Paul. Cardinal Ratzinger abandoned those semi-public occasions when he became Pope, perhaps because he suspected something was not quite right. Also, Berry reports that Ratzinger pushed away one of the Legion’s “charitable” bungs when it was offered to him in an envelope. His puritanical attitude towards money was one of several things that distinguished him from the curial backslappers, who were sometimes surprisingly effective at limiting his access to John Paul II. Another was his wish to act more firmly against senior clergy accused of sex offences. (Wishes do not change reality and Ratzinger made no dent in this reality, and after five years he has made no dent in this reality. Is he still just 'wishing' as Pope.)

Something I’d like to know: in their obsession with getting as close as possible to papal Masses, did the Legionaries exert any pressure on Archbishop Piero Marini, John Paul’s MC (and the designer of liturgies whose rubrics owed more to the Metropolitan Community Church than to Catholic tradition)? Archbishop Marini, you may recall, was given a slap-up party by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor in Westminster to celebrate the publication of a book subtly dissing (as we say these days) Pope Benedict’s reforms. (Please Damian, Archbishop Marini is not implicated in any wrong doing, and just in case you failed to notice, Cardinal Pio Laghi also turned the Legion and Sodano down cold after their bribery attempt to have their pet seminary raised to Pontifical status.)

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One of the complaints traditionalists had with the Legion before it's stunning fall from Grace, was that the Legion did not push too strongly for 'the reform of the reform' when it came to the liturgy. For a bastion of Catholic orthodoxy and piety, the Legion didn't seem to have it's act together when it came to reforming the Mass in the direction of a more vertical expression.

It could be that the Legion wasn't very on board with this reform because it suited their mentality to face their congregation to keep 'an eye' on them. Can't do that very well when your back is turned and you are supposedly focused on Jesus. Besides actors like to interact with their audience--kind of like JPII.

I keep wondering why Damian is so quick to blame Archbishop Marini for his distaste of JPII's Masses. Marini wasn't the actor, he was just the stage director. JPII was the director/actor. Anyone who doubts that doesn't get the type of papacy JPII ran. Even the 'courageous filth reformer' Cardinal Ratzinger, couldn't find the courage to buck JPII. Why would a reasonable person assume JPII was somehow subservient to the liturgical wishes of Marini?

It is nice to see that both liberals and traditionalists can see the need for Benedict to finally do something about the corruption in the College of Cardinals. Pope Benedict might strongly consider removing a bunch of Cardinals before he calls another consistory where he appoints even more of the same. That's just a thought. A sort of hopeless wish.

Msgr Georg Ganswein--Benedict's right hand man and all around papal assistant--was quoted yesterday in the German newspaper Bild that it was not Pope Benedict's job to comment on individual abuse cases. That was the job of respective bishops and dioceses:

"It does not make sense, nor is it helpful, for the Holy Father to comment personally on each case," the he told the German newspaper Bild.
"It is overlooked too fast that various bishops and bishops conferences carry responsibility," he said.
"Criticism that helps the cause is always legitimate," he was quoted as saying. "But I doubt that in this case the criticism really follows this purpose."

Ganswein has something of a legitimate gripe, but it is Benedict's responsibility to discipline and remove offending bishops and cardinals and so far his record is squat with this responsibility. He has removed none. Five years as Pope and the same corrupt Cardinals still have their positions or have actually been promoted. And if he finally acts in the case of Cardinal Sodano, once again it will be because he has been forced to act by the 'anti Catholic agenda driven media'. Just where is the courage in that?

Rumor has it that a papal commissioner will be put in charge of the Legion. That it will not be suspended or disbanded or at the opposite end given a 'certificate of good conduct' as was the hope of Cardinal Rode. Not terribly shocking that Rode would want to give the Legion, not just a get out jail free card, but a pat on the back.

Memo to Benedict, you must remove this guy because he no longer has any credibility. Any decision which comes from his dicastery about the Legion or the LCWR will be vilified. They will not be evaluated on their merits, but on his documented corruption. See, that's the whole issue with the Legion. It can not stand outside the personal corruption of Maciel and neither can any decision that comes from Rode's dicastery as long as that man is it's head.

There is a lesson in this for you as well Holy Father, because you are the head of the entirety of the Church and the less transparent, the less courageous and upstanding you seem, the more you cast the entire church in disrepute. It's all of a piece because that's the way it works in autocratic hierarchy. You are no better than the corruption you leave in place or try to hide.