Related: The Return of Jesus Christ
Just got confirmation.
"On sex and money, Pope Francis sets his course" by John L. Allen Jr. | Globe Staff July 12, 2014
As anyone who paid attention in history class knows, when Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés landed in what’s now Mexico in 1519, he promptly scuttled his ships, thereby leaving his men no choice but to press on in conquest of the Aztec empire. For centuries, that rash act has loomed as an object lesson in total commitment.
This week Pope Francis scuttled some ships of his own, on two fronts which have been sources of scandal and heartache for the Catholic Church: sex and money.
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On finances, the Vatican unveiled changes on Wednesday that include tapping French businessman Jean-Baptiste de Franssu as the new president of the Vatican bank, creating an “Asset Management” office to coordinate several billion dollars in investments currently spread across several departments, launching study panels for pensions and media operations, and assigning the new Secretariat for the Economy control over purchasing and human resources.
Several aspects of the strategy seem clear, including breaking the Italian monopoly on money management by bringing in international experts, and injecting a healthy dose of laity into what has heretofore been a mostly clerical governance structure.
In political terms, however, the clear take-away is that the Secretariat for the Economy under Australian Cardinal George Pell is the Vatican’s new 800-pound gorilla....
Meet the old 800-lb gorilla.
The Vatican’s anti-money-laundering watchdog unit under Swiss lawyer Renè Bruelhart also remains independent. Its new board includes a former Bush administration official named Juan Zarate who literally wrote the book on combatting financial crime, a 2013 volume titled “Treasury’s War,” and such figures probably won’t be inclined to gamble with their reputations.
That said, there’s also no doubt about who’s in command, and his name is George Pell.
As one proof of the point, in an interview with the Globe, Pell said the aim of the cleanup operation is to get the Vatican “off the gossip pages” due to financial scandals, making it “boringly successful.”
Partly because European and Wall Street banks are deeply involved with the money laundering.
Time will tell if that happens, as it will as to whether the pope cracks episcopal heads over the abuse scandals. What’s no longer up for grabs is whether those are the correct standards for evaluating success, because the pope has set the bar himself.
Like Cortés and his men five centuries ago, after this week, Francis has left himself no exit strategy.
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I'm a good Catholic so I made quick work of the prayers to prepare for the chalice.
Related: A pastor, his son, and the test of gay marriage
Time to defrock this post.
