Pope: the silent treatment

The pope is still silent on accusations made against him of covering up sex abuse. In his homily today Pope Francis recommended “silence and prayer” when one is confronted “with people lacking good will, with people who only seek scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction, even within the family: silence, prayer.” (America magazine).

An article in The Chicago Tribune touches on this. Here's a bit of it ...

Column: The silence of Pope Francis and the pain of a church

[...] The hearts of the faithful aren’t broken as much as they are torn. A torn heart makes no sound and the body dies in silence.

And through this Pope Francis — revered as a humble and good man — also remains silent. His silence is devastating.

[...]

The pope said nothing in response to Vigano’s allegation.

“I must tell you sincerely that, I must say this, to you and all those who are interested: Read the statement carefully and make your own judgment. I will not say a single word on this,” Pope Francis said.

Not a word?

Is it that he really has nothing to say? Or is it that he can’t say anything without knowing what other information Vigano may possess?

Vigano represents the conservative wing of the church. Pope Francis represents the liberal wing, and his allies have cast this as a political fight. It is obvious that Vigano timed the release of his letter to damage the pope.

But his claims should be investigated, publicly.

“He won’t say a word? Then I won’t give a dime. I’m through,” said a friend of mine, a devout Chicago Irish Catholic who has spent his life donating heavily to two institutions: the Democratic Party and the Catholic Church.

“But I would still like to send the church something,” he said. “A movie they should watch: ‘Spotlight.’ They should see it again.” ....

Actually, the Pope wouldn't attend a screening of Spotlight when invited by his sex abuse commission to view it with them, so he'd get to see it for the first time.

Hey, Pope Francis, refusing to answer your own people's questions doesn't mean you're spiritually superior, it means you're arrogant. In the US, not even the president can ignore allegations against him because here no one is above the law. But I guess if you are the dictator of your own tiny country, you can just shine it on.