Pope says he won’t be naming women cardinals

The idea that Pope Francis might appoint women cardinals was always a long shot, and now it’s officially dead in the water. In an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa, the pope was asked about the possibility and responded:

“I don’t know where this idea sprang from. Women in the Church must be valued not ‘clericalized’. Whoever thinks of women as cardinals suffers a bit from clericalism.”

That would appear to rule out lay cardinals altogether.

Evidently the pope is eager to take aim at clericalism in the church at some levels, but is not willing to upend tradition when it comes to the College of Cardinals. I still think he may make other significant changes when he names new cardinals in coming weeks, like expanding the College and choosing more non-Curial members.

This interview is not as interesting as previous journalistic give-and-takes with Pope Francis. In some of his responses, the pope almost seems defensive, trying to explain some of his previous statements and deflating some expectations.

On the issue of economic justice, he explains his critique of the current global economy in his recent document on evangelization:

There is nothing in the Exhortation that cannot be found in the social Doctrine of the Church. I wasn’t speaking from a technical point of view, what I was trying to do was to give a picture of what is going on. The only specific quote I used was the one regarding the “trickle-down theories” which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and social inclusiveness in the world. The promise was that when the glass was full, it would overflow, benefitting the poor. But what happens instead, is that when the glass is full, it magically gets bigger nothing ever comes out for the poor. This was the only reference to a specific theory. I was not, I repeat, speaking from a technical point of view but according to the Church’s social doctrine. This does not mean being a Marxist.

Why Pope Francis is Time’s "Person of the Year"

Today Time magazine named Pope Francis “Person of the Year” for 2013.

Why I’m not surprised:

Francis is a truly global figure, not just because he’s the head of a global religion but because of his radically different vision of the church and the papacy. As he put it, he sees the church first of all as a “field hospital” that has the primary task of healing people’s wounds. He favors dialogue over doctrine, closeness to the people over clericalism, mercy over judgment and joyful witness over cultural warfare. All this has struck a chord among contemporary Christians and non-Christians.

Catholics, to their surprise, have watched the pope take up the Vatican II agenda again, breathing new life into concepts of collegiality and lay participation. He’s even willing to survey Catholics when it comes to next big Vatican powwow on family issues.

From the standpoint of the news media, Francis is a perfect “person of the year” – a great communicator, combining plain-spoken preaching with gestures that communicate volumes, whether it be washing the tattooed foot of a young woman on Holy Thursday or embracing a man with a severe facial disfigurement at his general audience.

The pope’s attention to the world’s poor and marginalized is both personal and political. He’s visited with immigrants, refugees, prisoners and unemployed youths, and beefed up the Vatican’s own charity office, while denouncing the excesses of capitalism as a “new tyranny.” When a pope tells the world that “the culture of prosperity deadens us,” it is rightly seen as a challenge to the global economic system.

On issues of justice and peace, Francis wants to draw renewed attention to the Catholic Church’s impressive body of social teaching. True, he is not recommending a detailed political program. But he is proposing ethical principles that have political consequences. At the same time, he’s underlined the power of prayer, leading prayer initiatives for the cessation of fighting in Syria and for an end to world hunger.

Clearly, the pope wants to reclaim the church’s moral influence on the world stage. To do this, he knows he has to rebuild church credibility, and he’s taken that task on with energy. His council of cardinals to reform the Roman Curia, his various commissions to clean up Vatican finances and, most recently, his Vatican-level commission on clerical sexual abuse are all part of a serious effort to address chronic problems that have undermined the church’s moral voice.

These are huge undertakings, in response to equally huge challenges.

Finally, a big part of what makes Francis such a good choice for “person of the year” is his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The first papal resignation in modern history set the stage for a conclave that surprised everyone – well, just about everyone – by electing someone who has set the church on a new course.

At this point, Francis is being recognized more for the hopes he’s engendered than his accomplishments. But as the cover of Time confirms, he has definitely set important changes in motion.

UPDATE: Here’s the official Vatican reaction today from spokesman Father Federico Lombardi:

This fact is unsurprising, considering the resonance and very widespread attention given to the election of Pope Francis and the beginning of his pontificate. It is a positive sign that one of the most prestigious acknowledgements in the field of the international press has been attributed to one who proclaims spiritual, religious and moral values in the world, and who speaks effectively in favour of peace and greater justice.

With regard to the Pope, for his part, he does not seek fame and success, since he carries out his service for the proclamation of the Gospel and the love of God for all. If this attracts men and women and gives them hope, the Pope is content. If this nomination as “Person of the Year” means that many have understood this message, at least implicitly, he will certainly be glad.

Pope Francis to create new advisory commission on sex abuse

Pope Francis, who to date has said little about clerical sex abuse, today took what could turn out to be a major step in responding to the problem: He has decided to establish a Vatican-level commission for the protection of minors.

According to Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who announced the move to reporters at the Vatican, the commission’s role will be to advise the pope on child-protection measures and pastoral care for victims of abuse.

More specifically, the cardinal said, the commission of international experts will formulate new initiatives for child-protection, in collaboration with bishops, bishops’ conferences and heads of religious orders.

The commission will be made up of lay experts as well as priests and religious, and its work will touch on a number of areas, including relations with victims, priestly formation programs, psychological testing, and cooperation by church officials with civil authorities on the reporting of abuse allegations. The idea is for the Vatican to identify “best practices” and model those practices for the universal church.

The cardinal said members of the commission would be announced shortly, and that a document from Pope Francis would explain the commission’s role. He noted that the pope was acting on a suggestion put to him by the 8-member advisory council of cardinals that is studying Roman Curia reform, of which Cardinal O’Malley is a member.

The commission appears to be another sign that the Vatican wants more coordination and uniformity in the church’s response to sex abuse. Two years ago, the Vatican asked all dioceses to draw up guidelines for handling allegations of child sex abuse by priests, and those guidelines are now being reviewed at the Vatican.

It was not yet clear whether the commission would tackle the issue of bishops’ accountability, which many people see as the weakest part of the Vatican response to the sex abuse scandal. Cardinal O’Malley said that while “that’s something the church needs to address,” he wasn’t sure if that task would fall to the new commission or to Vatican congregations that deal with doctrine and bishops.

Vatican Radio’s audio of Cardinal O’Malley is here.