What Francis Is Up To

Francis is either foolish or cunning, is the basic division among Catholics bothered by things he’s said, particularly those things he’s said as reported by the atheist leftist Eugenio Scalfari. Here are two arguments for the second:

From the Irish Independent, the opinion of John Waters (a writer whose books I heartily commend) suggests that perhaps Francis,

painfully aware of the manner in which virtually every intervention of his predecessor was manipulated and distorted . . . elects to play the liberal media on their own turf, leaving faint, ambiguous tracks which can be revisited later on — thus inveigling journalists to change their attitudes and agendas while in reality offering little but seductive pieces of bait.

Francis’ statements on moral issues, Waters thinks, and illustrates with quotes, “are intended less as a manifesto for changing the Church’s teachings than a call for a restoration of perspective with regard to the core meanings and concerns of Christianity.”

From The Spectator‘s weblog, the Daily Telegraph‘s Damian Thompson has a somewhat different take:

[W]hy did Francis go back to Scalfari? I reckon the uncheckability of the quotes suits him fine. He can express his views that the Vatican is crawling with fawning backstabbers and that sexual perverts are over-represented among the clergy right up to the level of cardinal – yet leave himself diplomatic legroom by allowing for the possibility that he’s been misquoted. He is a Jesuit, after all. . . .

The background to this is the Pope’s war on the Vatican. I think he hates the place. And it’s interesting that he’s placed enormous power in the hands of Cardinal George Pell, who is also full of contempt for its greedy placemen. My guess is that the reforms, when they come, will be savage.

My thanks to my friend Mark Barrett, proprietor of The Snug of the Pub, for the link to the first.