Pope Francis has just completed four years of his pontificate.
From the moment Jorge Bergoglio greeted Rome and the world with “Buona sera”,
he has been controversial.
That is no bad thing. Jesus himself was
controversial, to the extent that people left him in droves, unable to
stomach his teachings.
Pope Francis is both deeply loved
and deeply criticised by his flock. He also has had the most extended
media honeymoon of any pontiff since John XXIII.
In contrast, his predecessor, Pope Benedict,
could do nothing right in the media’s eyes. The gentle, scholarly
Benedict was constantly warding off judgments that he was either a
crypto-Nazi or some kind of Islamophobe.
Strangely, the media seem to
develop selective attention when Francis says something about abortion,
such as this this statement from Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of
the Gospel): “This is not something subject to alleged reforms or
‘modernisations’. It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by
eliminating a human life.”
However, they quote him
approvingly when he speaks about the environment, or the rights of
refugees. Francis is a much-needed voice on these issues and an
effective counterweight on the world stage to the appalling policies of Donald Trump.
The media constantly paint Francis as being on the progressive wing of the Catholic Church, and a leader who will bring about much-needed reforms.
Others are fearful that he is dismantling the traditions of the church. The London Times
alleged earlier this month that a campaign to get Pope Francis to
resign was under way and that it involved many cardinals who had voted
for him in the conclave.
Not far enough
These Catholics fear that Francis will to go too far and will water down essential church teachings.
However, there may be another,
more real fear – that Francis will not go far enough in certain areas.
He has a reputation as a reformer, but in some areas it is difficult to
see any meaningful progress, and in others there appear to have been
regressive steps.
Take the vital issue of clerical
sexual abuse of children. Belatedly, during Pope Benedict’s time, the
church began to tackle this issue and Benedict used canon law to remove
some 800 priests from the priesthood.
Pope Francis has a truly wonderful
emphasis on mercy and forgiveness.
But when it comes to a deeply-rooted
tendency such as paedophilia, what exactly does mercy mean?
Forgiveness can never be denied to
someone who genuinely repents.
But no child should be endangered. If
someone has abused a child, they should never again be in a position of
authority or be allowed to work with children.
Pope Francis has endorsed many
times a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards abusers, but has also overturned
decisions to remove priests from the clerical state.
One controversial case involves Italian priest Rev Mauro Inzoli, who was laicised by Pope Benedict. Inzoli had a penchant for fast cars and boys as young as 10.
Paedophile reinstated
He had his priestly faculties
restored by Pope Francis, along with a strict injunction to live a life
of prayer and penance and to stay away from children.
A life of prayer
and penance has one advantage.
A priest removed from the clerical state
disappears into the community, probably to wreak further havoc
anonymously.
A life of prayer and penance, at
least in theory, means that the church is still accountable for
supervision and control of the individual in a way that protects
children. However, that supervision must be exemplary and consistent if
it is to be a substitute for laicisation.
According to the publication The Week,
Inzoli participated in a family conference in Lombardy while supposedly
under supervision. He has since been convicted in the Italian courts of
child abuse and sentenced to nearly five years in prison. He was found
guilty by the church, too, and a second church trial is ongoing.
The recent resignation of Marie Collins from the Vatican
Commission for protection of children is another straw in the wind. She
pinpointed the curial culture as the vital factor in her resignation.
Where does this leave Francis, who has promised reform of the Curia
since the beginning of his papacy?
There is still a tendency by some
Vatican officials to dismiss clerical sexual abuse as a preoccupation of
the English-speaking church.
This will lead in only one direction –
children being harmed and an ongoing stream of revelations of neglect of
the issue by church leaders.
In other ways, Francis has been a huge success. The Central African Republic
is enjoying a period of tentative peace after his visit there to open
the Year of Mercy.
Traditionally, the first symbolic opening of the Door
of Mercy is in the Vatican. He insisted on opening the first door in
Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Citizens from all
religious traditions praise Francis as a vital factor in the current
peace.
Francis has considerable moral capital. He needs to spend it on definitively tackling crucial issues like the safeguarding of children