I am scratching my head this morning.
Pope Francis has moved the former Secretary of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei“, who was eventually consecrated bishop and became the Papal Almoner, back to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei“… as Secretary… again.
From the Bolletino:
RINUNCE E NOMINE
NOMINA DEL SEGRETARIO DELLA PONTIFICIA COMMISSIONE «ECCLESIA DEI»Il Santo Padre Francesco ha nominato Segretario della Pontificia Commissione «Ecclesia Dei» S.E. Mons. Guido Pozzo, Arcivescovo titolare di Bagnoregio, finora Elemosiniere di Sua Santità.
“But Father! But Father!”, people will ask, “What does this mean? Wasn’t Archbp. Pozzo involved somehow with the degeneration of the talks with the SSPX?”
He was around, yes, when things started to become more difficult, yes. But I suspect that there would have been complications no matter who was there.
There is little doubt that Pozzo knows the material and terrain. He is arguably one of the better informed men in the Curia when it comes to dealings with the SSPX.
Will that make any difference?
I have a few less-optimistic interpretations, but I will keep them to myself.
My initial guess is that in this move the PCED, which is now under the CDF, has been “beefed up” a little. Now the PCED has not only a Vice-President in the person of Archbp. Di Noia, it also has a Secretary who is a bishop. This does give the PCED a little more “weight”, in a sense.
However, with a Prefect who seems not to want to have anything to do with the SSPX and now the return of Archbp. Pozzo to the PCED, one wonders how Archbp. Di Noia and Pozzo will “tag team” this complicated mess to a positive conclusion.
Color me puzzled.
In the meantime, everyone, surge forward!
Use the provisions of Summorum Ponticum.
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Whether these moves by the Vatican are meant to restart stalled talks or send a signal the talks are dead probably doesn’t matter. The SSPX is not going to reconcile with Rome while Francis is Pope. On the key issues, they are diametrically opposed. Maybe things will change in another twenty years when there’s likely a new Pope, but not right now.
Robbie says:
The SSPX is not going to reconcile with Rome while Francis is Pope. On the key issues, they are diametrically opposed.
What issues are those?
The double High Roman Noon announcement included Msgr. Konrad Kajewski. I first noted him as the cross bearer who led the newly elected BXVI onto the balcony. Besides his lack of follicle impairment, I know nothing. Fr. Z , can you enlighten us?
My guess, along the lines of Fr Z’s, is that this will mean that Abp Mueller is outnumbered.
Another guess is that Mueller will not be created a Cardinal without moving to another Congregation, e.g., Saints.
I cannot imagine any Roman Pontiff being as generous with the SSPX as Benedict XVI was. He was their chance.
Here is one story about Arbishop Pozzo:
It seems to be encouraging:
“Two of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, an order with the Redemptorist charism inspired by St Alphonsus Ligouri, based on Papa Stronsay in the Orkneys, were ordained in Rome on Saturday 22nd June, by Archbishop Pozzo, an official of the Roman Curia. The ordinations took place in the Traditional Rite, and the order is exclusively devoted to this rite”.
http://www.lmschairman.org/2013/08/ordinations-of-sons-of-holy-redeemer.html
“Another guess is that Mueller will not be created a Cardinal without moving to another Congregation, e.g., Saints.”
RobtBrown,
Why wouldn’t Mueller be made a cardinal while still Prefect of the CDF? At most I could see the Pope waiting until Cardinal Levada turns 80 in 2016, but other than that delay I can’t see any other reason why Francis would withhold the red hat.
Can you elaborate further?
I see this as a positive. Many of us are fearing the worst with these kinds of appointments, and from what Ive been able to find online, trads seem to saying this is “mildly positive”. Since I feared a terrible appointment, I am very happy to take one thats even mildly positive.
@Sieber: Fr Krajewski is the priest of my home diocese. He has been considered for episcopal title in the past, especially that a significant number of Polish bishops had been, and still are, close to retirement age. There was talk of him becoming archbishop of the Polish military, as well as auxiliary bishop of a number of dioceses. My guess is:
Fr Krajewski has been one of the papal MC for a good number of years now, and probably somebody up there thought it wasn’t a post appropriate for the man of this experience and age. Makes sense when you consider he was born in 1963 and has been a one of the papal MCs for good 15 years now.
It is worth noting that Mgsr Krajewski will be taking the post vacated by Msgr. Guido Pozzo, thus becoming the new Almoner and, to the best of my knowledge, a member of the papal household.
Apart from these bits of ‘technical’ info, I don’t have too much to say about the man, having never met him. Curiously enough, it has just transpired that back in his school days he was a very good friend of my high school tutor and, more surprisingly, my Mother.
* a priest, not the priest, of course.
>>>I cannot imagine any Roman Pontiff being as generous with the SSPX as Benedict XVI was. He was their chance.<<<
Aw, fer Pete's sake! What is wrong with my BFF's here!
SSPX's chances for full reconciliation just took a giant step forward with this appointment.
Mueller, Papa B's appointment, was pretty much thru with SSPX.
OTOH Pozzo, Francis' appointment to talk directly with the SSPX, is:
1. a lover of the E F
2. an SSPX sympathizer. In his you-tube interview, he said there are no insurmountable objects preventing its reconciliation.
where's all this jaundice coming from??
jlmorrell says:
“Another guess is that Mueller will not be created a Cardinal without moving to another Congregation, e.g., Saints.
Why wouldn’t Mueller be made a cardinal while still Prefect of the CDF? At most I could see the Pope waiting until Cardinal Levada turns 80 in 2016, but other than that delay I can’t see any other reason why Francis would withhold the red hat.
There is question whether Mueller is the right man at the SCDF, regardless of the SSPX negotiations.
Re the SSPX situation:
1. Right now there are 2 Abps (Di Noia and Pozzo) who favor SSPX reconciliation vs 1 Abp (Mueller) who doesn’t. Mueller has no use for the SSPX, and his temperament is not given to negotation.
2. If he becomes a Cardinal at the SCDF, his power is increased, and the likelihood of reconciliation is decreased.
Sol,
Thank you for the update on Msgr. Konrad. What is your mutual home town?
The only reason why Arbp Mueller hasn’t been made a cardinal yet is because there has been no consistory since his appointment. At the next consistory, he will be the first to be made cardinal, considering his eminent position as Prefect of the CDF.
Why wouldn’t we admire Arbp Mueller for being unafraid in defending orthodoxy…as an eminent commentator put it not too long ago, ‘one can fall off in the ditch on the right or the left’…
PS: I am no admirer of liberation theology, and I consider Arbp Mueller’s take on this to be his personal opinion on this, being more of a political nature than theological…however, Arbp Mueller’s unrelenting defence of the moral law is to be admired and part of the ordinary magisterium.
I think Guido Pozzo may turn out to be a good choice.
I remember that in October (2011 or 2012-don’t remember the year) Card. Levada had written a paper that the SSPX did not accept. Mons. Guido Pozzo wrote a corrected one which PB16 had approved. It was sent back to Levada and he changed it to read to the original and the SSPX turned that one down.
What I should have finished explaining is that Guido Pozzo had written a more conciliatory preamble, which Pope Benedict thought the SSPX would accept. When Cardinal Levada finished with it, it read as the original preamble the SSPX had already turned down.
I wonder if that’s why Mons. Guido Pozzo left the Ecclesia Dei as secretary the first time around or if Cardinal Levada had him removed because Mons. Pozzo was usurping the Cardinal’s aim (what I conjecture, was his aim) to not bring about the reconciliation. So many “lobbies” in Rome, I’m sure there’s one to usurp the reconciliation.