Galway Priest Slams Conclave As 'Crazy'

By Conor Harrington
Galway Independent
March 13, 2013

http://galwayindependent.com/stories/item/6415/2013-11/Galway-priest-slams-conclave-as-%E2%80%98crazy%E2%80%99

The Vatican Conclave is a “crazy” way of selecting the new Pope, according to outspoken Esker Redemptorist priest, Fr Tony Flannery.

The renegade priest, who famously clashed with the Vatican hierarchy last year over his views on women priests, said it was “a total anomaly” that no women were involved in the election of the next Pope and described the Conclave as “a crazy way of doing things”. 

“Really what we’re dealing with here is a relic of the middle ages, in fact a relic of even earlier than that, a relic of the old Roman Empire,” he said. 

Fr Flannery said reform of the Vatican Curia, the central government of the Catholic Church, is the big challenge facing the next Pontiff, and will also define his own future within the Church.

He said that, while there is no ideal candidate for the Papacy, he was most impressed by the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Seán O’Malley.

Yet, despite an estimated 75 per cent of the world’s Catholics living outside Europe, the next Pope will likely come from a European country, he claimed.

However, regardless of who succeeds Pope Benedict XVI in the series of secret votes undertaken in the Sistine Chapel this week, Fr Flannery said reforming the Vatican Curia will define their Papacy.

“The question is ‘can it be done?’ and who might be capable of doing it?” he said. 

Fr Flannery said that the centralisation of the Church’s power in the Vatican was a problem the Curia would not relinquish power easily. 

“It will take a very strong individual to even attempt to clean out the Curia,” he said.

He said that if the new Pope re-appoints the same individuals chosen by Benedict to head up the various Dicasteries, or departments, of the Vatican Curia, then there is little prospect of reform. 

“If the new man just reappoints all of those, then we’ve got no change and we can forget about reform of the Curia, in which case we’re heading into very, very serious trouble for the Church,” said Fr Flannery.

“Personally, I’ll be particularly watching the Head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. If the current holder of that office, Archbishop Gerhard Müller, is re-appointed, I will know that there isn’t any future for me within the system,” he added.

The Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, Dr Martin Drennan said he hoped the new Pope would have a “message that will inspire the world” and noted that the two previous Popes had been surprise choices so speculation as to Benedict XVI’s successor was likely to be off the mark. 

Pope Benedict XVI caused widespread shock when he announced his retirement on 11 February and officially ceased to be Pope on 28 February.

The 115 Cardinals who are under 80 years of age and therefore eligible to vote for Benedict’s successor commenced the Vatican Conclave yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, with the initial vote producing black smoke from the specially-constructed Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating that no Pope has yet been chosen. 

Two votes will continue each morning and evening until white smoke comes from the chimney, indicating the election of a new Pontiff.