Francis must put his foot down

From the editor's desk

From the editor's desk 

The Tablet

Francis must put his foot down

06 July 2016 Shortly before Christmas 2014 Pope Francis told members of the Roman Curia that they often suffered from “the pathology of power”, which produced a “superiority complex”. Such blunt statements from a chief executive might be followed by a shake-up of head office manpower – there are virtually no women involved, which may be part of the problem – but there was little sign of it.

Eighteen months on, he explained his management methods a little further. If obstructive officials were like nails, he hammered them further into the wood rather than cut them off at the head. By which he meant, apparently, that he waits for them to retire rather than sacking them. “They do their job and I do mine,” he told the Argentine newspaper La Nación. “They say no to everything. I continue straight on my way, without looking over my shoulder.”

That would be all very humane and admirable, if the consequences did not affect the good of the Church. But to admit that the Body of Christ of more than a billion members was still being administered by power-crazy prelates, working in what he had once called a “nest of vipers,” does raise questions. He has a reform programme, which is rapidly becoming overdue. Are curial officials dragging their feet?

Cardinals such as Gerhard Müller (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), Marc Ouellet (Congregation for Bishops), and Robert Sarah (Congregation for Divine Worship), are not men for whom a document like Evangelii Gaudium, the manifesto for this pontificate, would be favourite reading. They may feel that with a papacy heading in the wrong direction, foot-dragging is a duty. But that does not mean Francis has to put up with them.