Veteran Vaticanista John Allen interviewed Cardinal Dolan of New York about his views of Pope Francis.
Here are salient points.
- The pope's simplicity, humility and closeness to the people are no surprise, since all cardinals knew it before the conclave, the only surprise is how well he seems to be pulling it off.
- The cardinals thought they elected a dynamic manager, and so far the pace of change has been slower than some expected. What the change they were expecting is not clear.
- Dolan fears for Francis' safety and said he may have to learn to allow himself to be "handled" a bit more since he is a bit of a free spirit.
- Francis has boosted the "reputation and credibility" of the church, mainly from the side of the Western media, probably, making it easier for bishops to move the ball on many fronts. I agree in some sense here. The gay lobby pushing for the scandalous Ricca, the money laundering monsignor of the IOR...imagine that happening at the time of Benedict! Imagine WHAT the media will say about it. Headline would have been "Pope leaves scandal ridden Vatican to mingle with the youth." Oh boy....
- Dolan conceded he's resentful of praise heaped on Francis at the expense of Benedict XVI, saying it's both "hurtful" to the former pope and also "inaccurate." So true!
- Dolan said Francis is pushing him to a personal examination of conscience especially in the aspect of living simply.
Dolan is one of those media-charmers but a dismal failure in management. His handling of the sex abuse cases in Milwaukee is one. And oh, this one too.
If you have cardinals who cannot even tell someone straight to their faces what is wrong, then by God, why do we have cardinals in the first place?
Nuff said.
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