The Vatican in a State of Crisis
Amidst accusations that the Vatican is in a state of crisis, the former Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, has stated that the Roman Catholic Church “has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing”. His message was read out at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, one of four Cardinals who have questioned whether the current Pope’s controversial pronouncement on remarriage and communion is compatible with traditional Church doctrine. This intervention is regarded as a clear indication of Ratzinger’s support for those who have challenged the current pontiff.
Another senior Cardinal has also launched a scathing personal attack on the current Pope after being humiliatingly sacked from one of the most important positions in the Vatican. Until June, Cardinal Gerhard Müller was the head of doctrine at the Vatican, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Müller, who has never spoken out previously against the Pope, accused him of double standards. While the Pope is always careful to stand up for workers’ rights, Müller stated, he was not so careful to treat those around him with the consideration he urges on others. This has led to accusations of the Pope behaving like “a Latin American dictator”. One religious commentator writes that the Pope’s background as a Jesuit has contributed to his high-handed approach to his subordinates. Clearly the image portrayed in the media of a humble and approachable character is not in keeping with the reality of his dealings with those under him in the Vatican.
These reports show that the Roman Church is rent with division at its highest levels. Its much vaunted unity is a sham. May the whole system soon be submerged under the waves of Divine judgement, never to rise again. “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall the great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (Rev 18:21). AWM