In his last Christmas message, Pope Francis bluntly stated that he wants to sweep through the corrupt clerical system, the Curia, with a broom. The meager applause that followed showed nicely what the cardinals present thought of this. I think it wise for the Pope to learn from the past. History does not only consist of beautiful stories:it teaches you to look critically at the present and can be a warning for the future. Popes have died under suspicious circumstances for fewer reasons.
Pope Francis is putting action into action in the new year. He has appointed twenty new cardinals, five of them specifically for their charity. The new cardinals come from all parts of the world and not specifically from the main dioceses.
Another recent act from the Vatican along the same lines:as of January 1, 2015, souvenir shops are no longer allowed to sell parchments with personal blessings from the Pope. You already had a print of this for a tenner and they went like hot sandwiches. Although the sale is still reserved for the Vatican for charity, this message reminded me of protests against the abuse of indulgences some five hundred years ago. With this you could buy off your sins, if you paid enough. I wonder if history will repeat itself and Francis will be able to abolish the whole practice of selling his blessing on paper.
Pope Francis made the biggest indictment during his last Christmas message. This humble pope of the people gave the clergy within his governing body, the Curia, a huge blow. Selfish gossips and vainglorious people who are mainly concerned with amassing more power. They should mend their lives and be men of God, for now they suffer from "spiritual poverty." Gosh, that sounds familiar.
Repeated protest
Famous reformers like Luther and Calvin detested in the 16 e century also all kinds of abuses by the Catholic clergy:indulgences, high clergy in pursuit of power, disregard for the vow of chastity, poorly trained priests, and so on. But not all high clergy and popes misbehaved. Among others, the only Dutch Pope Adrian VI (pope in 1522 and 1523) wanted to do something about the excesses within the church. He just didn't have the time for this. After less than one and a half papacy, he died. Rumors of poisoning immediately circulated, but have never been proven. It is quite certain that his predecessor Leo X died from poisoning. He had become the victim of a power struggle.
The new Pope Adrian VI found an empty treasury on his arrival in Rome. His predecessors had lived happily ever after, surrounded themselves with art and opulence and wallowed in the finest fabrics, most delicious wines and exclusive dishes. Adrian turned things around and soon complaints were made that the Vatican had turned into a monastery, where the Pope and his housekeeper kept to cod and beer. Food for the poor.
The many works of art, such as the ceiling paintings in the Sistine chapel or the glorification of early popes, were an eyesore for Adrian. There were no new assignments and the Pope would have preferred to have everything whitewashed. Bad times for the Roman economy, which had to rely on the expenses of the papal court. Adrianus did not make himself very popular because of this.
A striking similarity is that the current Pope Francis also does not like the luxury with which some clerics surround themselves. He does not live in the papal chambers, but in a simpler guest house.
The helm has to change
Back to Adrian for a moment. When Luther hammered his charges against the Catholic Church on the chapel door in Wittenberg in 1517, it caused a great deal of commotion. There had been charges of abuse before, but the Church could always have suppressed that. With the advent of the printing press and with it the spread of these indictments, they reached many more people and reformers gained more adherents. Adrian agrees with Luther about the abuses within the Curia, as is apparent from his proclamation during the Diet of 1522 in Nuremberg. (The Imperial Diet was a governing meeting of hundreds of princes and high clergy within the Holy Roman Empire.) The year before, Luther had been declared a heretic by his predecessor Leo X.
The proclamation of Adrianus was unique. For the first time, a pope recognized the abuses within the church and promised improvement. It would last until the 20 e century before a pope would do that again. First John Paul II on the attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Jews and then Benedict XVI. This penultimate pope recognized for the first time the sexual abuse within the church and apologized for it. This pope emeritus is still alive, but has resigned and is therefore no longer pulling the highest spiritual strings.
Dangerous times for Pope
So having a different opinion as Pope can be dangerous, history shows. And not all murders are swept under the rug as rumor. Take Pope Pius XI, who was at odds with Mussolini and fascism. He died the night before the Pope was due to give a speech about race-based persecutions by the Nazis and the German threat of war. Officially from a heart attack, but in 1972 Cardinal Tisserand declared that Pius XI had been murdered on the orders of Mussolini.
Fortunately, there is now no fascist regime in power in Italy that eliminates everyone with a different sound. But if Pope Francis continues on this path and pushes through his reforms, I think it would be wise for him to learn from the past and hire a taster.