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PDF versionFormer doctrinal aides shape Pope Benedict's papacy
Apr. 19, 2009
Bishop Zygmunt Zimowski (CNS photo)
During the John Paul years, Vatican insiders talked about a “Polish mafia” in Rome, meaning a cluster of Poles who wielded influence on the late pope. Four years into the reign of Benedict XVI, there’s no analogous gang of Germans, but the pope has quietly assembled another sort of posse: Former aides from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ran the show for 24 years.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, one might say that instead of a Polish mafia, Benedict is now surrounded by his “Holy Office homeboys.”
(The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s top doctrinal agency, was once called the “Holy Office, and around Rome it’s still a common shorthand.)
On April 18, Benedict XVI named Bishop Zygmunt Zimowski of Radom, Poland, to succeed Mexcian Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán as President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers. Zimowski worked in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1983 to 2002; when he went home to become a bishop, Ratzinger travelled to Poland for the consecration ceremony.
Zimowski’s appointment brings to four the number of important Vatican offices run by former Ratzinger aides:
- The Secretariat of State, headed by Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who served as Ratzinger’s deputy from 1995 to 2002;
- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by American Cardinal William Levada, who worked under Ratzinger in the early 1980s and later became a bishop member of the congregation;
- The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, led by Archbishop Angelo Amato, who served as a consultor to the CDF before replacing Bertone as Ratzinger’s deputy from 2002 until 2008;
- The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, how presided over by Zimowski.
The number rises to five if one also includes the Pontifical Council for the Laity, where Ratzinger’s former private secretary and close friend, Bishop Josef Clemens, is the number two official.
As for Zimowski, the pope’s affection has long been clear. The two men took a helicopter together from Warsaw to Radom for the consecration in 2002, where the future pope said in his homily, “You know how much we in Rome awaited this day. We were all convinced that this was the will of God, to confer on you such a responsibility in the church.” In turn, one of Zimowski’s first acts as bishop was to establish a center for doctoral and post-graduate study of Ratzinger’s theology at a local university.
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It is also thanks to Zimowski that the world learned of the pope’s fondness for pancakes with marmalade, an insight Zimowski gleaned while travelling with Ratzinger in the Tyrol, and which he revealed in an interview with Polish journalists shortly after his mentor’s election to the papacy.
At first blush, Benedict’s preference to entrust important posts to people he knows might seem like little more than common sense. Moreover, at 82, the pope is probably disinclined to spend time adjusting to the personalities and rhythms of complete unknowns.
Yet in the culture of the Vatican, all this does have broader significance.
Traditionally, the Roman Curia has been a blend of two kinds of personalities, symbolized by two ultra-powerful departments: the Secretariat of State, composed of diplomats; and the Holy Office, populated by the guardians of orthodoxy. The former tend to prize flexibility, pragmatism, and moderation; the latter put a premium on clarity and solid roots in traditional Catholic identity. The default question of the diplomats tends to be how the church can explain itself to the outside world, while the Holy Office’s main concern is generally that the church stays true to itself.
Since the era of Pope Paul VI, the consensus has been that the Secretariat of State held the upper hand in the corridors of power. Admirers believe that arrangement afforded the Vatican a realistic view of the world, and a capacity to adapt to changing circumstances. Critics say it sometimes fudged core matters of Catholic identity.
However one slices it, the reality is that Pope Benedict’s “Holy Office homeboys” are now in the ascendant. On balance, that implies a Vatican team more focused on ensuring that the church follows her own logic and speaks her own language, rather than adapting to the psychology and argot of secular modernity.
One consequence is that, at times, Vatican decisions and statements may be more opaque to people who aren’t steeped in the thought-world of the church – an insight that may go a long way towards explaining the Vatican’s recent difficulties in explaining papal moves such as reviving the old Latin Mass, or lifting the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops, including one who is a Holocaust denier.
Zimowski takes over the Vatican’s top job for health at a moment in which relations with secular circles seem especially tense, especially in the wake of a European furor related to Benedict XVI’s comments on condoms and AIDS en route to his recent swing in Africa. Three days before Zimowski’s appointment was announced, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s foreign minister, received the ambassador to the Holy See from Belgium, who delivered an official protest against the pope’s comments adopted by the Belgian parliament.
A testy note released later that day by the Secretariat of State complained of an “unprecedented media campaign” against the pope in Europe, based upon selective quotations that it called “truncated, isolated and lifted out of context.” The statement said that the full version of the pope’s comments indicate a two-pronged approach to AIDS: first, the “humanization of sexuality,” and second, “friendship and presence for suffering people.” That position, the statement asserted, has been “appreciated by Africans and by true friends of Africa.”
Among other challenges, Zimowski thus inherits the task of defending Catholic teaching on reproductive health in a European context marked by increasing skepticism and, at times, overt opposition. His success may depend on how well he’s able to blend his training and experience in the Holy Office with a little bit of diplomacy too.
John L. Allen Jr. is NCR’s Senior Correspondent.
Looks as if the "good old
Looks as if the "good old boys" are firmly entrenched. I cannot believe this is the movement of the Holy Spirit who will blow where She will. Sounds more like political manipulation to me.
Everyone needs friends, and
Everyone needs friends, and Pope Benedict may need a few reliable supporters now and again!
Pot calling the Kettle
Pot calling the Kettle black
"Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s foreign minister, received the ambassador to the Holy See from Belgium, who delivered an official protest against the pope’s comments adopted by the Belgian parliament."
The Belgians ought to know better after their fiasco in their Congo..
When Pope Benedict chose to avoid visiting the troubled spots in the Congo and Rwanda during his African trip, he also forfeited the opportunity to address "Hotel Rwanda".
The Pope ought to be aware that the "Ostrich" policy of the Catholic Church throughout its history had enabled:"das weiss ich nicht" in his own homeland too.
Moses
To be honest, John Allen, who
To be honest, John Allen, who cares anymore?
Well, that is great! If John
Well, that is great!
If John Paul Magnus was that successful with his co-patriots surrounding him, how incredibly helpful could the best doctrinal minds in the church be for a pope very concerned about insisting that we never compromise truth?!
what we finites define as the
what we finites define as the truth. When we have bishops that allows clerics to attack and rape our children, and then after hiding the facts refuse to ilucidate the problem and refuse to confess to doing a poor job, one that would require them to be jailed as would a rapist, when we have this poor quality of leadership, how can they be called holy? How can our church be a holy church. So since two of the marks of what we call a true church are no longer present, where are the resignations of these Bishops, including the one in Rome?
The current power structure in the vatican has adapted this authoritarian approach. It has nothing to do with truth but everything to do with control over an inferior group of people-the laity. Well the People of God have grown up now. They are not at all inferior to the clerics. The worst problem in our church as shown by the Bishops extremely poor response to the sexual crisis, to monetary fiascos, failures to listen to their own theologians, failure to listen to scientists working in the field, the worst problem in the Church is indeed not secularism but clericalism. Until the Bishops clean up their own house and learn that in order to lead they must be humble shephards, that care for our little children, honest shephards of Catholic resources and allow themselves to learn from theiologians, scientists, and philosophers, until then they will continue down the path of delusion and irelavency that they have chosen since the death of Pope John Paul I. I think they are terribly misbehaving by fearing to listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit in their own time.
I only wish that the Holy
I only wish that the Holy Spirit had been listened to when we had all that Post Vatican II nonsense. Maybe a little orthedoxy is in order after the masses I have seen where people dance and wave banners or "act" out their emotions. I can't wait until we get to the point where Vatican II is nothing but forgotten history.
"I can't wait until we get to
"I can't wait until we get to the point where Vatican II is nothing but forgotten history?" What other councils do you want to forget? How about Nicea and all of that "creed" nonsense?
Vatican II was a council of bishops. It deserves the same respect we give to all other councils of bishops, including Trent, Chalcedon, Nicea and Vatican I.
Trying to ignore Vatican II is the latest form of cafeteria Catholicism.
How ironic, in the Year of
How ironic, in the Year of Africa he proclaimed, that there are no longer any Africans as head of dicasteries. He inherited Cards. Gantin and Arinze. I guess the globalization of church government has enemies in high places.
That is, unless, perhaps, the
That is, unless, perhaps, the Church has such a long and vibrant history of not caring where you come from or what color you are, that she feels comfortable picking officials based solely on merit and not on race. The Church just doesn't feel the need to prove it is diverse by adding a few token minorities to the curia.
THANX for the inside glimpse
THANX for the inside glimpse of an anachronistic organism (CURIA) that becomes more and more irrelevant on an almost daily basis - kind of like taking the back cover off my great-grandfather's vest pocket watch. Momentarily fascinating, but who really cares how it works now that the world has gone digital?
LOL - it's genuinely funny
LOL - it's genuinely funny that the commonweal grandmas and grandpas here at the National anti-Catholic Reporter who still remember when VCII was new and cool still keep thinking they have some place in the future of the Church. With their feminist and anti-institutional idolatries. Try going out of your pathetic little preserves here and at commonweal and search the was blogosphere of young Catholics, or talk to young people who actually care about the Church and are it's future. Then wake up to the fact that you are the past a brief, sad and unfortunate blip in the milleniums long history of the Church. The future Church will no doubt be smaller, but the future is more fervent and more Orthodox. You all, VCII fanatics, are a literally dying breed, along with the mainline Protestants you so ardently seek to emulate.
I completely agree with the
I completely agree with the substance of what you say, Tom, but let's not descend to the level of hatred and contempt of these tired old liberals. Their day is over and they need our prayers.
And to be fair, John L. Allen's less snide and gossipy--and more serious-- columns, like his key to reading the new encyclical, are about the only thing (sometimes) worth reading in NCR.
Note: NCR has not had a
Note: NCR has not had a single article on celebrating the election of His Holiness and the good work he has done in such a short time for the Church...
I know the armchair theologian crew is probably going to come out smacking me for saying this but the pure hatred directed against the pope is a disgrace.
I am not a great fan of this
I am not a great fan of this Pope or a number of the American bishops. However you have a point. There is too much contempt expressed. We need to distinguish between the office and its holder. The office deserves respect. Additionally, we should have enough love for our religion that we do not go for the jugular when the office holder is not a ray of sunlight in our eyes. This is true even as we may judiciously distrust his understanding of truth or appointed officials.
Cardinals are counselors to the Holy See. They are free to point in the direction they favor.
We pray the former advisor, who is now Pope, will find greater wisdom in dealing with the entirety of our Church than he required when he was only a member of the staff.
I am certain that these
I am certain that these appointments were only made after much prayer
Thank you for a very
Thank you for a very informative article about Benedict's "homeboys". One can only hope that the next pope will send all the "homeboys" packing and place at least one woman (more prefereed) in the "next" inner circle.
I think we all should care
I think we all should care about who is making decisions that will not only affect us, but impact our faith for generations to come.
Thank you, John Allen for the insights.
Thanks John Allen for the
Thanks John Allen for the informative article. With the homeboys in place, intelligent, sincere, thoughtful theologians like Roger Haight, Jon Sobrino, and, for that matter, women do not have a chance.
Pope Benedict: Happy Birthday
Pope Benedict:
Happy Birthday & many more to come!!!!!
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
The full name of the Office
The full name of the Office of the Doctrine of the Faith used to be the Holy Office of the Inquisition
The present Congregation for
The present Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (so named by Paul VI in 1965) was known as the Congregation of the Holy Office of the Roman and Universal Inquisition till 1908, when Pope St. Pius X renamed it Congregation of the Holy Office.
Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops
Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, behaving badly. Embarrassing and quite pathetic. Who really listens to them anymore? A small band of fundamentalists who follow these fools in a cult-like fashion, that's who. Yes, there are a few genuine and decent men in their ranks but they have to keep their mouths shut. This too, is unhealthy. The institutional church is a relic that is in its' final death throes. Come Holy Spirit and breathe life back into your Church. Give us another Pope John the 23rd and do some serious house cleaning.
With friends like Chris Smith
With friends like Chris Smith and the other anti-Catholic Catholics who fill these columns with their contempt for the Church, the pope, and the bishops, the Church doesn't really need enemies...although it has plenty anyway!
I am down with Pope B and the
I am down with Pope B and the Homeboys. Nobody can spit pure Truth from a position of AUTHORITY like they can. Love it. I kind of like the whole Apostolic Succession thing they got goin' on with that sweet promise Christ spoke of in da Word.
You know what, why don't all you haters who don't like the ROMAN Catholic Church, join the Ecumenical Catholic Church and stop with ignorant articles like this supposedly 'Vatican Insider' inspired column of gossip and garbage. I bet the 'Vatican Insiders' we are all so lucky to have informing John Allen on this truth filled piece are real close to the Pope which includes women wanna-be priests lobbying in Rome, crystal-wielding priests who can't live up to their vow of celibacy, and those Call To Action folks that I know the Pope keeps in his pocket at all times.
The novel idea behind leaving the Church is that you won't be unhappy anymore and can quit disrespecting it but you might feel the pinch of inferiority....all in all it's a good move for the Roman Catholic Church and a good move for you because that millstone tied around your neck might not be required wear for your Age of Aquarius theology you will get a lot of in your new digs.
And as for all you who are infatuated with the sex abuse scandal, satan always throws up in the face of the condemned their wrongdoings after they have corrected their ways. Well, outside of paying YOU to shut up too, the Church is doing what she can. So satan, get thee behind because I bet you are just some torqued off dissident theologian who got their wings clipped for not being allowed to teach the beauty of homosexual marriages.
Church Militant- this is a call to arms. Grab your rosaries and mark off Fridays as days of fasting. We need some serious combat training to expel the entrenched spirituality of materialistic relativism.
My questions are: How much
My questions are: How much time have any of these cardinals/archbishops spent actually doing parish work,(pastoral)? And what political expertise do they have in affairs of the state?
1) The Secretariat of State, headed by Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who served as Ratzinger’s deputy from 1995 to 2002;
2) The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by American Cardinal William Levada, who worked under Ratzinger in the early 1980s and later became a bishop member of the congregation;
3) The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, led by Archbishop Angelo Amato, who served as a consultor to the CDF before replacing Bertone as Ratzinger’s deputy from 2002 until 2008;
4) The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, how presided over by Zimowski.
They have really spent only a minimal amount of time working with the laity. They haven't been out in parishes or in social/educational facilities---for years.
They really don't understand the world that the vast multitides of the laity come from. "PSchlachter" brings up an excellent point. There is nobody from Africa in these dicasteries. There is nobody from South America either---yet the majority of Catholics come from nations south of the equator. This is definitely an European (one American) cast---that doesn't reflect the complexion of the Church today.
I also wonder if Cardinal Bertone, the Secretary of State, advised Pope Benedict well enough about the UN's "Anti-Racist Conference" which turned ugly the other day. The United States and some other nations boycotted the Conference---in anticipation that this conference would be a fiasco.
Are these "homeboys" really savy about negotiating around the land-mines in today's politically charged world? Or are they just there to be pacifiers for the Pope? And what do they know about really being shepherds to God's people? Are they just Vatican ladder-climbers?
Religious sects do not have
Religious sects do not have to speak the language or exercize the psychology of the secular world and modernity. Neither does the religious cult the Roman Catholic Church is becoming.
All excellent appointments
All excellent appointments made by an outstanding Pope!
Thank you, Holy Father and ad multos annos!
with all due and proper
with all due and proper respect to our Holy Father does he not releaize that One higher than he himself the One called LORD was critizled. Holy Father surely you as a human being want to share in the suffering of the One you yourself worship and adore as Lord and Master. You who represent Christ on earth must willing share in His critizism as He was wont to endure. I look to your example for us all mere christians believers. THANK you HOLY FATHER
In an addicted and addictive
In an addicted and addictive institution, preservation of the structure is more important than the original function of that structure. The hierarchy as a whole, supposedly the 'servants of the servants of God,' has made its own authority ascendant to that of God. What was a means has become an end. Such is the observance of the First Commandment.
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI and many more years of life to him.
I undoubtedly believe that if we Catholics do not take the lead in attempting to alter the path in which our society is on, then we surely will find destruction at the end of the course. We as Catholics must unite and stop criticising our Pope. If we are not ready to endorse the Pope's teachings on the family, homosexuality, abortion and any other concern then we must stop identifying ourselves as Catholics, isn't the Pope after all our principal pastor? We as baptized Catholics have the responsibility to evangelize all nonbelievers and proclaim the good news.
If I remember correctly when Jesus was on this earth one day He told Peter "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18), therefore if we are prepared to declare that we are Catholics
Then let not the gates of hell prevail.
Angelo Polcaro
With all due respect and
With all due respect and love, I wonder how readily our Pators, our bishops and Cardinals, would hang on the Cross, wounded and naked, helpless without Divine Providence, a choice many of the Faithful do not have but rather and more a fact of life they witness. Jesus offered unconditional love from our Father, fulfilled by the Holy Spirit. This love is challenging and innovative. This is a unique and one time offer for all and for ever. Thomas the Doubter accepteed this challenge and answered, "My Lord and My God", a first-time acknowledgement by a human being of the truth that God is Love and Love is Godly. In humility we can only say "Lord, I am not worthy". But in, with and through this one and only True Love, we respond, "Into your hands I commend my spirit". Pax et Bonum.
Why is it that the old loony
Why is it that the old loony left sounds more and more like the voice of pure reason and sober second thought and the loony right sounds pretty much hysterical ALWAYS TALKING IN CAPS SO THEY CAN BE HEARD- often not knowing their Anselm from their Eusebius when it comes to the two thousand years of church history of which they are so ignorant and yet so sure. And not to mention how nasty and mean (I'm talking to you "whowheresahabit" - probably not you unless its in a closet with garters too boot! You are such a bore/boor albeit sometime amusing). It is VERY discouraging some days to live in interesting times...
Loda Braida Brilliant and
Loda Braida Brilliant and very funny response. Good point out to that strange angry ranter, whowearswheresahabit. Priceless, and very funny what you wrote, L. Braida . The meaness and ignorance shown by some to others, like mr. whowearswheresahabit, is shameful and not Catholic or kind or what Jesus asks us to be like. Missing the point of Jesus's teachings does not reflect well on posters like whowearswheresahabit.
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