"...the significance of his comments should not be restricted to criticism of the Curia or to a commentary on the politics of the Vatican. The Pope’s message has implications for human conduct everywhere."
It wasn't a "have yourself a merry little Christmas" greeting
The Christmas greeting that Pope
Francis delivered to members of the Roman Curia was anything but “have your
self a merry little Christmas.”
Described in the press as a “blistering attack”, a “public rebuke”, and
a “scathing critique” of the Curia, Francis called his brother bishops to
account for fifteen “curial diseases”.
While the Curia was the target audience
for the pontiff’s address, the rest of us might think twice before we applaud
this public dressing down of the “princes of the church” and shake our fingers
at them; the Pope’s message is applicable to all.
Francis catalogues fifteen "curial diseases"
Using the image of the Church as
the mystical body of Christ, Francis warned that the Curia, like any body, is
exposed to diseases. “A Curia which is not self-critical, which does not keep
up with things, which does not seek to be more fit, is a sick body,” the
pontiff said in describing “the disease of thinking we are immortal, immune or
downright indispensable”. This was the first in the pontiff’s list of “the more
common diseases” that affect the life of the Curia, which, he said is
constantly called to “improve and grow in communion, holiness and wisdom”.
Francis named another fourteen
sinful attitudes and behaviors. Other “curial diseases” include “the Martha
complex of excessive busyness”, “mental and spiritual petrification”,
“excessive planning and functionalism”,
“poor coordination”, “spiritual Alzheimer’s”, “rivalry and vainglory”,
“existential schizophrenia”, “gossiping, grumbling and back-biting”, “idolizing
superiors”, “indifference to others”, “a funereal face”, “hoarding”, “closed
circles” and “worldly profit (and)
forms of self-exhibition”.
While the pontiff’s frank and
unflattering appraisal of the state of the Curia will not endear him to his detractors, Francis
remains committed to reforming the culture of the Vatican. He has been leading
by example, chipping away at clericalism, with its culture of superiority and
privilege. With his catalogue of “curial diseases”, Francis continues to
challenge the members of the Curia to reform their hearts and minds, saying
that his reflections were to be “for all of us a help and a stimulus to a true
examination of conscience” in preparation for the holy feast of the nativity.
While many see this as an attack
that will draw the battle lines between the Pope and his opponents, it is also
an invitation to conversion coming from a man who takes the need for his own
conversion seriously, and who despite the title of “his holiness” refers to
himself as “chief of sinners”. Francis is not asking any more of these
cardinals than he asks of himself.
Individually and as a body, these men are to be exemplary
servant-leaders.
After addressing the Curia,
Francis met with the employees of the Vatican and their families. He is,
incidentally, the first pope to do so. In his remarks to them, he referred to
his speech to the Curia; he encouraged them to use it as a starting point for
their own examination of conscience in preparation for Christmas and the New
Year.
An invitation to reform our hearts and minds
In my view, through the public
nature of these two events held on the same day, Francis invites all of us to
reflect upon his comments in light of our own lives, our communities of
worship, and our places of work. While the Curia was the primary audience for
the Pope’s rather unusual Christmas greeting, the significance of his comments should
not be restricted to criticism of the Curia or to a commentary on the politics
of the Vatican. The Pope’s message has implications for human conduct everywhere.
The “curial diseases” that
Francis describes are linked to self-absorption and to a preoccupation with
advancing one’s self in the eyes of the world, frequently at the expense of
others. They are linked to a false sense of autonomy, to forgetting that we
live, move and have our being in the context of our relationships with others
and with God. None of us are immune to these diseases. I know that I recognized
myself in some of them.
With a New Year upon us, we might
think about the ways these “curial diseases” find a home in us, and formulate
our New Year’s resolutions accordingly. We may find ourselves feeling uncomfortable
and exposed along with the members of the Roman Curia.
Link to the full text of Francis's speech
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