by David Virtue, VOL
The death of Pope Francis has put the Roman Catholic Church in limbo. The church is in transition. Which way will the church go now that its hero to many has gone? The last two popes before Francis were traditionalists; Francis sought to take the church in a new direction, with many believing it was a disastrous move.
His views on homosexuality, salvation, other religions, women etc. provoked outrage from traditionalists, and rejoicing from the great unwashed. For some, the rock of Peter now looks stained with the blood of the faithful. Add his collusion with China, his betrayal of Chinese Catholics and his veneration of the baby Jesus lying on a swaddling keffiyeh — the symbol of Palestinian resistance and Jew-hatred, and the full picture reveals a different Pope.
Publicly his persona was one of kindness and empathy showing concern for women, the poor, the immigrant, the marginalized and downtrodden, washing the feet of prisoners, even befriending, Argentine Anglican Archbishop Gregory Venables on the train together when he was simply Archbishop Bergoglio. He befriended the sexually abused when efforts were made to conceal and cover up abuse in Chile. But he never once went back to Argentina during his papacy. Did he know and cover up priestly sexual abuse and did not want to face his accusers? When his friendship with the artist Fr. Ivan Rupnik came to light with the Jesuit priest’s sexual assault on multiple nuns, it devastated the pope. Rupnik was expelled from his order. Francis was forced to defrock former Cardinal McCarrick, finding him guilty of sex abuse; both serious stains on the pope’s hands.
But the way forward has been marked and there is no going back. Pope Francis loaded his incoming College of Cardinals with men who thought progressively like himself; while cardinals and archbishops like Vigano, Strickland, Burke, Chaput, Sarah et al were sidelined or excommunicated. Crossing the Big Man in White was met with retribution, none of it divine. One could argue that this was about power and politics and you might be right.