I agree that one doesn’t become a priest or bishop to pursue an administrative career or secular affairs. I watch executive behavior and politics for a living. If the papacy is to be engaged with the world, it must have modern adminstrative structures and trained personal. There are few studies of the politics and organization of the Vatican but one of the best is Father Thomas Reese’s (a Ph.D. in Poli Sci) book Inside the Vatican. There have been reforms (mostly incremental) inside the Vatican but it is very possible that more comprehensive changes are needed to respond to the needs and reality of the 21st century. I am not saying that Vatican diplomats and other staff are not competent. Indeed they are often world class. I am NOT talking about matters of faith or morals but of administration, bureacracy and management. In short the Curia may be unable to reform itself, not an unusual thing for entrenched bureaucracies. Things seem to “fall through the cracks” too often. (it happens in the White House, Congress and most institutions as well) I am coming to suspect that Benedict (a brilliant thinker and pious man) has neither the temperment or skill to deal with such matters. He would not be the first in this regard. Make no mistake, I love the Church and greatly respect the intellect of Benedict XVI. But I fear that the Vatican administrative practices and organization may not be up to the task. Canon law specifies that the laity have the right and duty to share their knowledge and concerns with the Church. (Canon 212, §3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.) Whether one is talking about the failure to provide essential info on events to the Pontiff or not vetting documents well, or dealing with matters of media relations or handling crises such as the pederasty scandal, the Church often does a poor job. Again, I am NOT speaking of matters of faith and morals but of management and organization. Canon 212/3 does not, of course, oblige the Church to follow the advice of the laity, but it does seem to obligate the Church to respectfully listen.
I’m going to agree with one of your points and speak to some other things that I see happening around this issue.
I and many other well educated Catholics recognize that Benedict XVI is a scholar, one of the best in the world. He is definitely not a diplomat, statesman, and he lacks experience in the public arena. That would have been John Paul II.
Therefore, given that the electoral college elected a scholar to the Chair of Peter, there are going to be administrative flaws. There are also going to be moments like the Muslim issue, where the Pope will speak as a scholar and others will look at him as if he had two heads. No human being can be all things to all men, not even a pope.
This is also a young papacy. Not that Benedict is young, but that his time in office has been short. Hopefully he will remain in good health and around a few more years and he will become more savvy at this job. I’m speaking about the political side of it. He is very good at the theological end. As to his pastoral competency, only time will tell. Pastoral decisions and policies show their fruit in time, rarely immediately.
You also correctly quoted from canon law that the laity has the right to express its concern to the the Church and it should be heard. What some people confuse is that hearing and agreeing are not the same thing. The Church can turn a deaf ear to the laity. Canon law does not oblige the pope in any way. It obliges everyone beneath him. The Pope is not bound by canon law. He can abolish the entire thing as long as he preserves the faith.
In other words, all the lay people in the world can give him their opinion and he’s the only prelate in the Church who can turn a deaf ear without being disrespectful. It is not disrespectful to be deaf, when you have the authority to do so.
How much does the Pope know and how much does he not want to know? Who knows? That’s the power that comes with the office.
One thing that American Catholics seem to do quite often is confuse the Pope with the President. We hire the President. We don’t hire the Pope, even though we pay his salary.
It’s almost nonsensical for the laity to expect that the Pope will listen to all their concerns, demands, hopes, expectations, desires, beliefs, opinions, and so forth. I often chuckle at the naivete that I find on CA when it comes to the Holy Father. People often post as if they really have a voice in a system that is so theocratic.
The Pope said he didn’t know. End of story. The Pope says that Williamson must be silenced and he must distance himself from his position. End of story. The laity’s opinion and $1.50 will get us a ride on the local metro bus.
JR
