Vatican Rescue

At lunch the other day, one of my colleagues – a Psychology professor! – was saying that he finds the reality show  “Bar Rescue” irresistible- to the amazement of his wife.  This is a show where they take a really badly run, and run-down bar, and completely fix it up.

I thought to myself: in the light of an article I read yesterday in the Washington Post, it sounds like the Vatican could use something like that.  Just a week ago, Pope Benedict announced that he is resigning at the end of February, that basically he doesn’t have the health or stamina to do the job anymore.  I thought at the time that it might be his way of forcing the College of Cardinals to vote in a new pope now, instead of having him ( Benedict) stay on, getting less and less able, and having some Vatican cleric running the Church behind the scenes.  I think it’s a clear message from the Holy Spirit -  time to clean house, Vatican!  I don’t mean the Pope – I mean some of those unspiritual behind the scenes politicos and schemers in the Curia.  The Post article said that both John Paul II and Benedict were poor managers -  hey, that’s not really the Pope’s job!  But that they entrusted the management  of , for example, the finances, to clerics not nearly scrupulous and detached enough to prevent corruption .   I would tend to believe that.  I wish the college of cardinals would get together and fire everybody in the curia and replace them with more of the pure of heart.  That’s an idealist’s dream, I know.  But this is my church, and it does sicken me to think that the Pope would be undermined by the very people he entrusted to manage things for him.