In the post, “What’s in an emptychair?“, The Motley Monk wondered what could have happened at the last minute that prevented Pope Francis from attending the Sunday, June 22 performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony to celebrate the Year of Faith. Announcing the last minute change in plans, a papal spokesman cited “other commitments,” specifically, “commitments that could not be postponed.”
In “Double Storm for the IOR” (Institute for Religious Works, or “Papal Bank”), Sandro Magister suggests that revelations about the new “prelate” Pope Francis had appointed to clean house at the IOR kept the Holy Father from attending the concert.
According to Magister’s report, the “new prelate” is Monsignor Battista Ricca who apparently won the Pope’s trust “above all through the familiar relations he established with him as director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae—where Francis chose to reside—and of two other residences for priests and bishops passing through Rome, including the one on Via della Scrofa at which Bergoglio used to stay as a cardinal.”
Appointing Ricca “prelate” of the IOR, Pope Francis thought he was placing a highly trustworthy person in a key IOR role, one giving Ricca statutory power to access the proceedings and documents as well as to participate in the meetings both of the cardinalate commission of oversight and of the supervisory board of the Vatican bank.
As the media reports described the appointment, Pope Francis personally appointed a man possessing an “incorruptible” reputation, well-suited to “clean house.” This was to be a “signature” appointment, one demonstrating the Pope’s commitment to reform the Vatican bureaucracy, in general, and the IOR, in particular.
What Pope Francis did not know when he made the appointment, Ricca had previously served in the Vatican’s diplomatic corps and, after one year in Montevideo, Uruguay, Ricca was suddenly transferred. Magister reports the transfer can be summarized in two phrases used by those who confidentially examined the case: “pink power” and “conducta escandalosa.”
With all the papal nuncios convened in Rome to meet with Pope Francis, it was at the time of the concert in his honor that the Pope became convinced, Magister reports, “thanks to not one but several incontrovertible sources, that he had put his trust in the wrong person.” The Pope’s response? According to Magister:
Sadness, gratitude to those who had opened his eyes, the desire to make remedy: these are the sentiments gathered from the sound of the pope’s voice during these conversations.
Informed about what was being discussed, Ricca asked for and obtained a meeting with Francis to defend himself and make his own accusations.
Who’d believe it? The Pope may have been absent from the concert because the IOR scandal he was attempting to clean up was now blowing up right in front of him with his handpicked man as the potential source of a “Double Storm.”
Unfortunately, this story possesses the elements of a high-intrigue soap opera that will draw the media’s attention—like moths to a lightbulb—to it: power…sex…and money.
Hopefully, the Holy Father sent notes of apology to all of those who had spent hours preparing for the concert in his honor. But, if what Sandro Magister is reporting is correct, the Holy Father needs the prayers of the faithful. This “housecleaning” isn’t going to be easy.
To read the “What’s in an empty chair?” post, click on the following link:
https://the-american-catholic.com/2013/06/25/whats-in-an-empty-chair/
To read Sandro Magister’s post concerning the IOR’s double scandal, click on the following link:
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1350551?eng=y
Sadly, Pope Francis is no Gregory VII.
By blowing off the event, the Holy Father attracted scrutiny and speculation over
possible reasons for his absence. If he was attempting to handle events quietly
before they became a public scandal, then he did it in such a way that it drew the
curiosity of the media, and defeated his purpose.
It’s always easy to play armchair pontiff, and gas on about what should be done.
I suspect it’s much, much more difficult to ‘Pope’ effectively than people think.
If Sandro Magister’s story is correct, and Pope Francis was betrayed by
a man unworthy of his confidence, then the Holy Father must now be wondering
if he can turn to anyone, anywhere.
I keep recalling the words of our beloved Benedict XVI when he became Pope:
“pray for me that I do not flee for fear of the wolves”. I imagine that if
Benedict XVI chose to abdicate rather than have to trust the people around him
to faithfully execute his will as his own infirmities increased, then there are
still wolves in Rome.
The thing about church gossip is that it’s hardly ever about how good people are. There’s an ugliness about it. The pope is accused of bad manners, then a cleric’s reputation is smeared. There’s room for frivolity in the world – not everything has to be edifying – but this kind of thing is only destructive.