12 October 2013

So which is it?

Okay, so here I am, back where I don't want to be, with Francis' interviews. I have a question for anyone who wishes to answer.

Here's the basic situation: The interview that Francis gave with the Italian newspaper, the one that the writer reconstructed from memory, has been posted on the Vatican website. Now here's a bit more background:

Remember how for years Summorum Pontificum was only available on the Vatican website in Latin and Hungarian? Remember how so many people took this to mean that the Pope was not in control of all things Vatican, and that there were certain groups in the Vatican working against the Pope? But now the fact that this interview is up is not seen as the same liberal forces are still in place, still trying to undermine the popes by first minimising the availability of a Conservative statement and then maximising the availability of a quasi Liberal statement of dubious origin. It is instead taken as proof of Francis' tacit approval of the interview and everything it has him say. To hold both postions requres us to believe that Benedict, who was the consummate Vatican insider as he worked there for decades, could not control the happenings at the Vatican but Francis, who has only been in the Vatican for a few months, can.

It isn't pretty, but this is what we have been reduced to: tying ourselves into pretzels to try and get the popes- yes, both of them- to say what it is we want them to say, or not, rather than actually listening to what they are trying to tell us.

Now the question: As regards the Vatican website, is the pope in control or not? So which is it? Choose one or the other, not both.

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