New voices

“The world, my brother, isn’t like that.” That retort to critics who’d stonewall reforms sweeping the Catholic Church came from the cardinal that Pope Francis handpicked to lead mint-new counselors: Oscar Maradiaga of Honduras.

How will such reforms affect the Philippines? Here, new voices increasingly resound within a conservative hierarchy. One is Cardinal LuisAntonio Tagle, 56. Another is the new president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Socrates Villegas, 54. Add Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, 75. Along with 18 others worldwide, Quevedo will be elevated to the College of Cardinals on Feb. 21.

Quevedo has expressed preference to continue working in Mindanao, sapped by decades of armed clashes which, recalled the New York Times, “killed tens of thousands and helped nurture Islamic extremism in Southeast Asia.” Quevedo is respected as a voice for social justice, Muslim leaders say.

No one among the new cardinals comes from Italy or the United States. “That’s a reminder to traditional Western powerhouses … where they stand in the Catholic footprint early 21st century,” wrote John Allen, former Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter.

By happenstance, new hopes for turning swords into plowshares came last week when the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front completed a peace accord. “The agreement provides an unprecedented opportunity to end one of the world’s longest-running intrastate conflicts,” wrote  Ateneo de Manila University’s Richard Javad Heydarian.

Halfway around the world, Cardinal Maradiaga told Germany’s Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger: “We are at the dawn of a new era.” Reforms launched by Francis—just 10 months leading a 2,000-year-old institution—recall John XXIII’s  call for the Second Vatican Council. “Open the window and let in fresh air.”

Come October, a synod of bishops will tackle “social issues not even visible on the horizon” at the 1980 conference. These include surrogate parenthood, childless marriages, same-sex partnerships.

Tagle and the other cardinals who elected Francis in March knew that “much had to change.” These include transforming the synod from a coffee clutch that met in Rome every three years into a “tool of collegial leadership.” Laymen “constitute the vast majority of God’s people.” Now, a new Congregation for the Laity  responds to that reality.

Francis’ priority is to “show compassion through a different kind of care, especially the needy,” Maradiaga said. Traditional teaching continues, but it can’t any longer come from authoritarianism and moralism.

That is reflected in Francis’ candid taking on of Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. A Benedict XVI appointee, he was also named cardinal by Francis on Jan. 12.

Muller can be “less absolute in his defense of authority in the Church,” Maradiaga said. “[But] I understand it. He’s German, and a German professor of theology on top of it. In his mentality, there is only right or wrong, that’s it. The world, my brother, isn’t like that.

“You should be flexible when you hear other voices, instead of just saying, ‘No, here, this is the wall.’ He’ll get there, and understand others. But for now, he’s just beginning.”

“Francis wants to lead the Church in the direction that he himself moves. This is closer to people, not enthroned above them, but alive in them,” Maradiaga said. Francis favors “a simpler life and leadership” for priests and bishops in line with the “sometimes forgotten message of Jesus.” They should go out to people, rather than sit in offices and wait for people to come.

A completely new constitution for the severely criticized Curia is being drafted. It will replace—not just modify or adapt—“Pastor Bonus,” John Paul II’s 1988 apostolic constitution. “The Curia is by no means a monolithic bloc,” he said. “There are many in the Curia who agree it cannot stay as it is.” They’ve come forward with  their proposals.

The Commonweal asks: “Can Francis Cure the Curia?” Its basic form was established in the late 16th century to help the pope apply the Council of Trent decisions. The Curia has never been well-loved.

“The Curia allows expression of many opinions,” a French ambassador to the Holy See once said. But it is unified behind one once it is made. “Although it has limited means, it serves a worldwide Church of 1.2 billion believers,” said Norman Tanner of Gregorian University.

So, how did such a well-regarded bureaucracy reproduce the murkiest aspects of Italian politics? The Curia suffered financial scandals and blunders in the past, but received less media attention. Before Vatican II, the Curia had real powers. John XXIII changed the game when he brought the world’s bishops to Rome, then backed them against the Curia’s agenda.

To a large extent, John Paul II left the Curia to its own devices while he focused on world issues. “And so the Curia did as it pleased during his long decline from Parkinson’s disease.” Before his election as Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger served in the Curia for a quarter of a century. “But he was never of it.”

For Benedict, the Church is the search for beauty and truth. He focused on his books and picked Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as secretary of state. “Bertone had been promoted beyond his competence, yet he threw his weight around.”

Benedict grappled with reforms. For example, he instituted external controls on the Institute for the “Works of Religion”—the so-called Vatican Bank. But his reforms failed to go far enough. “And his successor Francis  inherited the mess.”

We chafe at what the next 10 months can  bring. And if Francis visits “Yolanda” survivors this year, as some speculate, how would it affect the Church here with emerging leaders who, in their own way, reflect him?