Progressive Church historian: New Pope must release all files of his predecessors

What tasks await the new Pope, and what should he do immediately? Church historian Hubert Wolf shares his thoughts on this. He also says when he expects the new Pontiff to be elected – and criticizes the old one.

The new Pope's primary responsibility must be to ensure that the Vatican does not go bankrupt: This is what Münster church historian Hubert Wolf says. The cardinals are well aware that Francis' successor must get the Vatican's financial crisis under control, he told the "Neue Züricher Zeitung" on Tuesday. Therefore, a Curia expert with administrative experience is sought.

In Wolf's view, today "more than ever" we need a pope as an "anchor in a world that is falling apart." While the pope has no divisions, he does have tremendous moral authority. However, he can only bring the latter into play if he and the Catholic Church regain the credibility that was lost through abuse.

Wolf explained that, as a first step, the new Pope must release all the files of his last five predecessors on this topic in the Vatican archives. Because: "Anyone who proclaims faith needs credibility. And the supreme guarantor of faith, the supreme witness of faith, is the pope. And if he isn't credible, no one will believe him."

Wolf: Francis is not a reform pope

The church historian expects a new pope by Friday evening. He must enable "unity in reconciled diversity." Specifically, according to Wolf, this would mean: "Then, for example, in Switzerland, we would have married priests and ordained women as deacons. And in certain patriarchal cultures in Africa or Asia, this would not yet be the case. And yet the Church as a whole would be united by faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Cathcon:  Catholic truth is indivisible and transcends cultures.  Not yet!  He is just waiting for an opportunity to coerce.

Wolf criticized Pope Francis for not being a true reformer because he did not delegate or relinquish power. While he did bring issues to the table, he ultimately refused to draw the necessary conclusions: "In the Amazon Synod, the bishops voted by a four-fifths majority to allow married priests. Francis simply ignored that. He can, of course, do that. But it has nothing to do with reform." What Francis experienced as a pastor, he did not implement as Pope. "And he should have done that, because he was Pope. He has tremendous authority. And once you have authority, you have to use it at some point," Wolf said.

Source

Cathcon: The top imperative is to release the Francis files on the way he handled sexual abuse cases.    This