Thursday, March 7, 2013

And American Cardinals Are Transparent?

You know the Church has a credibility problem when you've got this:
Under pressure from Vatican-based cardinals, their American counterparts canceled their daily briefings that drew hundreds of news-starved journalists.
The clampdown was part of what is shaping up as a major confrontation over the future of the church between Vatican insiders and cardinals from the rest of the world.
Just an hour before the scheduled American briefing, an email announced it had been canceled.
In a terse statement later, the spokeswoman for the American delegation, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, said "the U.S. cardinals are committed to transparency," but due to leaks in the Italian media that breached the cardinals' oath of secrecy, she said, cardinals would not be giving interviews.
Father Thomas Reese of the National Catholic Reporter says this is a perfect example of a clash of cultures.
"The American cardinals are just more used to being open and talking to the press and answering questions in public," Reese says. "Rome just doesn't like to operate this way."
At the official briefing, Holy See spokesman Father Federico Lombardi was asked if the Vatican had put pressure on the American cardinals.
His reply, in translation: "This is a journey that is going on. The cardinals, as they get more into it, realize the importance of keeping things among themselves, out of respect for one another, the seriousness of their discussions, and perhaps came to the decision in that way. That is all we can say."
Okay, even crazier than the U.S. cardinals being a model of transparency is the idea that even though they won't give women religious any other responsibilities in the Church, they will make one their official spokesperson.  She is probably also their maid while in Rome.

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