Wednesday, April 06, 2005
INSIDE THE VATICAN NEWSFLASH
has arrived in email. Dr. Robert Moynihan has noted that rumors are flying around Rome including one about what will be in the Pope's will that is set to be read tomorrow, specifically that John Paul has named his successor.
The following portion of the Newsflash is probably of greatest concern:
This betting page gives the best odds to Milan's cardinal archbishop, Dionigi Tettamanzi, who is regarded as a conservative. But one of our colleagues has compiled this special report entitled "Two Italian Cardinals":
"Gentlemen: It has come to my attention that there are two Italian cardinals in the running to become our next Pope -- one excellent, the other exceedingly bad.
"First, the bad news:
"1.One of the men being heavily promoted to become our next pope is the notorious Dionigi Tettamanzi, the Cardinal-archbishop of Milan. This has caused great apprehension among orthodox Catholics concerned about the future of the Church. Tettamanzi is frequently described in the media as a 'conservative,' but in reality, from what I have been told, there is nothing conservative about him. He is -- I quote trusted sources -- a 'wolf-in-sheep's clothing,' a dangerous innovator, who, if given a chance, might make John XXIII and Paul VI look like Hard-Right Traditionalists -- I kid you not -- Tettamanzi's detractors believe he would usher in ANOTHER REVOLUTION were he to become pope.
"What is the evidence for this? Well, for starters -- and even the Encyclopedia Britannica might not be able to contain all of this man's antics, were it to chronicle them -- Tettamanzi is best known as the main contributor to a book of essays on 'Christian Anthropology and Homosexuality,' in Italian: Antropologia cristina e omossessualita -- now in its THIRD PRINTING. The essays caused a sensation when they first appeared, and have now been immortalized in a book -- popular among liberal psychologists and 'forward-thinking progressives' -- but Tettamanzi's book has flown beneath the radar screens of most Americans, and certainly the media. It is an overt attempt to 'understand' the homosexual ethos, from a 'new' Christian perspective -- the same perspective which has led to so much
permissiveness in our seminaries and beyond.
"Tettamanzi has successfully fooled certain Catholics into
believing he is a 'conservative' because he uses traditional, even pious language, even mentioning the influence of Satan, in a transparent effort to inoculate himself from any suspicion. He apparently even has the support of some in Opus Dei. Also, he has an innocent, roly-poly look which leads some to believe he is a jovial, harmless prelate, not at all looking to rock the boat. But if you get beyond the 'conservative' reputation, and his disarming appearance -- if you read him carefully, and you talk to people in the know, they will tell you that Tettamanzi, were he to become Pope, would be the worst disaster to befall the Church in many a century. In fact, one colleague admitted to me privately: 'If the new Pope walks out onto the papal balcony, and I see Dionigi Tettamanzi's smiling face, I think I'm going to collapse. I'll be curled up into a fetal position, and it will take several weeks for friends to rouse me. The Church, as we know it, will be over.'
"Over and above his sympathy toward the homosexual ethos is Tettamanzi's ambition, which is looked down upon in Rome. Indeed, if there is one thing which may prevent Tettamanzi from becoming Pope -- perhaps our best hope -- it is this unbridled ambition -- in today's Church, ambition is less forgivable than adopting a 'new' perspective on sexual immorality. Among the orthodox, a cry has gone out to the faithful Cardinals gathering for the Conclave: 'No to Tettamanzi!' and even 'Anybody but Tettamanzi!' (Well, almost anybody -- we wouldn't want anybody from the Netherlands, for example).
"2. In contrast to Tettamanzi, is my choice for Pope, a man I am praying and even predicting will be our next Pope -- a cardinal who has not gotten too much media attention but is a favorite among the orthodox, and very much in the mold of our best popes like Pius XII -- a pastor, a diplomat, and intellectual -- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, now the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
"He is known to be quite faithful, severe when he needs to be, but also open to change and reform that would strengthen the faithful (he has been in the forefront of fighting the evils of homosexual priestly child abuse, unlike many other Church officials), and immensely compassionate, intelligent and aware of the Church's -- and the world's -- most serious problems.
"He is a man of peace and conciliation whose reach is not limited to Europe -- he has very close connections to the Third World -- but he is not naive about real dangers in our age of Terror, and has a very realistic appreciation of the contemporary world. He is not afraid to preach the Gospel and/or the truths of the Church to anyone, and has an excellent relationship with the world's bishops. Everything else I have been told about Cardinal Re, who attends confession frequently -- so sensitive he is to
sin -- leads me to believe that 'he will be a magnificent Pope' -- as Pius XI said of Cardinal Pacelli, before the latter became Pius XII -- who would lead the Church into the twenty-first century, picking up and extending the great legacy of John Paul II, while also -- if I can say so respectfully -- clean up some of John Paul II's underreported messes.
"Here is a very telling comment, on Cardinal Tettamanzi, from Time magazine's cover story (April 11th) on the passing of John Paul II, and who is hustling to take his place: 'The former Archbishop of Genoa who has succeeded Martini (the very liberal Jesuit and one-time Great Hope of the liberals) in Milan. His [Tettamanzi's] philosophical approach is sufficiently unclear that neither the progressive Cardinals nor the doctrinaire are likely to oppose him.' A perfect -- and chilling -- description of Tettamanzi's elusive, deceptive, oh-so-seductive thinking: he is like the German philosopher Heidegger, or the impenetrable Immanual Kant: his philosophical novelties are like little time bombs; but they are so dense and incomprehensible that nobody understands them at first... but Tettamanzi's got that smile, and he reminds people of John XXIII, so people think he must be great. But wait: ecclesiastical in-fighting to the rescue: Time indicates that the liberal Cardinal Martini--whom the ambitious Tettamanzi replaced in a bitter transition -- is still upset with the way he was unceremoniously forced to retire, and Time indicates that Martini may enact revenge at the Conclave: 'Martini, the man who might have been Pope, could work to derail Tettamanzi's candidacy.'
"Yes, go Cardinal Martini! Martini is far too liberal to ever become Pope; but he can block Tettamanzi, so Cardinal Re can score a theological touchdown and become Pope.
"Note: the following article, on who may be the next Pope, from the Chicago Tribune, says the odds-on favorite is the
'conservative' Tettamanzi, but Cardinal Re is closing in on him as a rival -- of course, the Italians could cancel each other out, and we could usher in a Third World Pope; but if not, Re could emerge from the conclave as...Pope John Paul III.
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0504030438apr03,1,3559361.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true)
(Editor: You must register with the Chicago Tribune to access this article.)
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
