American and Canadian bishops head up high-powered visitation team.
By Michael Kelly
Anyone who thought the Vatican’s inquiry into the state of the Catholic Church in Ireland was going to be a mere formality got a rude awakening with the announcement May 31 of the high-powered team that will lead the apostolic visitation.
In his pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland on the issue of clerical abuse in March, Pope Benedict XVI announced that some Irish dioceses, seminaries, and religious congregations would be subject to an apostolic visitation. Few could have expected that such an A-team of prelates would be assembled to conduct the inquiry.
Any one of the appointees—Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the retired archbishop of Westminster, Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto, and Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Canada—would have been an impressive choice to lead a visitation. The fact that five such influential men have been appointed is a clear sign that the Vatican means business. A signal too, perhaps, that the Holy See appreciates just how dramatic an effect the abuse scandals have had on the Church in Ireland.
Did Cardinal Schönborn “launch an attack” against Cardinal Sodano? Did he call for a change in Church teaching or discipline?
By Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.
Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.is founder and editor of Ignatius Press, which has published several books by Cardinal Schönborn. He is also publisher of CWR.
Did Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna "attack" Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican secretary of state? If The Tablet weekly in London were your only source of information, you’d think so, because that’s what the headline screamed.
What happened?
Cardinal Schönborn, who like his mentor Pope Benedict is a model of openness and transparency, invited the editors of Austria’s dozen or so major newspapers to a meeting at his residence in Vienna. How many bishops can you name who have extended such an invitation to the press?
The journalists agreed that this would be an “off the record” meeting so that everyone could take part freely and frankly. Was this to impose silence on the press? To cover up once again the misdeeds of clerics? No, it was an attempt by Cardinal Schönborn to be as open as possible and to make himself available to answer any question that was asked. It was an attempt to help educate the press on matters that the press often finds difficult to grasp—such as the essential foundations of the hierarchical and sacramental structure of the Church, and the intricacies of moral theology.
Cardinal Schönborn is a Dominican and a professor. Which means that he has a serious scholar’s grasp of the foundations as well as the conclusions of moral theology, particularly as expounded by St. Thomas Aquinas.
Perhaps Cardinal Schönborn overestimated the capacity of the invited journalists for a serious academic discussion. Just what did the cardinal do?
On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, becoming the 266th Roman pontiff and taking the name Benedict XVI.
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of this historic event for the Catholic Church, CWR asked its contributors to reflect on these first years of Pope Benedict's pontificate.
Priest, Prophet, King Three ways Benedict has exemplified these three roles By Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.
Reform within Continuity A proper understanding of Vatican II has been paramount in Benedict’s pontificate. By Father Matthew Lamb
Why Do the Media Rage? Pope Benedict’s pontificate has caught the media and dissidents alike by surprise. By Philip F. Lawler
Three ways Benedict has exemplified these three roles
By Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.
The Holy Father has in the highest degree the roles of Priest, Prophet, and King. Of the many things he has done and said, three stand out in my mind as having a lasting influence on the Church.
A proper understanding of Vatican II has been paramount in Benedict’s pontificate.
By Father Matthew Lamb
From the very beginning of his pontificate Pope Benedict XVI has emphasized the importance of living out our Catholic faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Magisterium of the Church in union with Christ Jesus. In his acceptance of the burden of the office, Pope Benedict stressed the fact that, as a successor of St. Peter, he is charged with fostering the unity of the Church.
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On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, becoming the 266th Roman pontiff and taking the name Benedict XVI.