The College of DEI Hires

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Posted on 10/18/2024 9:25:59 AM PDT by ebb tide

With Marxist precision, the once noble College of Cardinals has been reduced to a disparate group of barely-qualified bishops chosen primarily for their contribution to the Pope's diversity targets.

One of the most demoralising aspects of this pontificate is neither the heresies nor the double-standards, although those are of course significantly depressing. Rather, it is witnessing the general lowering of standards - the attempts to remove all that is noble and sacred and seeing them replaced with all that is banal and subjective - which really takes its toll.

Consider the cringe-factor of 'Laudato 'Si - The Musical' [below] or the constant flow of transgender humans through the papal apartments.

These are offences to pious eyes, making one ashamed, rather than proud to be known as a Roman Catholic. From plastic water bottles on conference tables to breakfast with the homeless inside a church, our miserabilist pope is making a studied effort to desacralize and de-refine all the trappings of Catholicism.

Nowhere is this de-sacrilization clearer than in Francis' choices for the Cardinalate. With Marxist precision, the once noble College has been reduced to a disparate group of barely-qualified bishops chosen primarily for their contribution to the Pope's diversity targets. Think of the utter embarrassment with which faithful Catholics recall the exploits of Tucho Fernandez - a supposed 'Prince' of the Church who has more in common with the Marquis de Sade than with the Apostles.

Before the advent of victimhood quotas, the Church produced some remarkable Cardinals. One fine example is the sixteenth-century reformer, St. Charles Borromeo. St. Charles is famous for his work at the Council of Trent and for risking his own health to minister to his flock during the plague (no stranger to church closures, instead taking the Sacraments to the people).

The process of diversifying the College began when Paul VI allowed Oriental patriarchs to be appointed as Cardinals, but it is under Francis, the 'Pope of the Peripheries', that its diversity has become a fine art. Thanks to Pope Francis, the College has swelled to a massive 235 members, although half of those are ineligible to vote in the next conclave on grounds of their age. Of those who will be voting, more than than half are from outside Europe, increasing the chances of another non-European Pope in the future. Given their inexperience in the real-world running of a large diocese, Francis' appointees, who make up the majority of the College, may be unaware of the qualities required to elect the next Pope - another disaster in the making.

Before the advent of victimhood quotas, the Church produced some remarkable Cardinals. One fine example is the sixteenth-century reformer, St. Charles Borromeo, who epitomised the erudition and holiness which should mark a man as Cardinal material. Secretary of State to Pope Pius IV, St. Charles is famous for his work at the Council of Trent and for risking his own health to minister to his flock during the plague. No stranger to church closures, Charles insisted on taking the Sacraments to the people, and kept tens of thousands from starvation using money from his own purse.

St. Charles' tenacity and faith are among the virtues a pope should look for when elevating a man to the Cardinalate. According to Canon 351, the Pope should choose only ordained men who are "especially outstanding in doctrine, morals, piety, and prudence in action". While it may not be realistic to expect every man to be of Charles Borromeo's calibre, it is reasonable to expect that the Pope will appoint men in accordance with the Canon. Yet the most recent appointments exemplify the modern Popes' desire to make a political statement rather than to appoint competent and holy men as their advisors.

The specific political statement Francis is trying to make is not difficult to discern. According to Church historian, Albert Melloni, Pope Francis is trying to show, in no uncertain terms, that: "I have abolished the right of any diocese to have a cardinal as archbishop".

In other words, "I've got the power."

Yet, the trend of passing over experienced bishops in favour of DEI hires is not limited to Australia. The same phenomenon can be seen in Italy, for example, where the Archbishops of Genoa, Naples, Venice, and Milan have been passed over in favour of younger bishops who have caught the Pope's eye and who have risen rapidly through the ranks under his patronage.

That is certainly the way things must look to the Australian hierarchy. Those Sees which traditionally led to a red hat, such as the Archdiocese of Sydney, have been passed over for the tenth consecutive time. Mykola Bychok, the new Cardinal-elect from Melbourne, is not even Australian. Eparch of Sts Peter and Paul, Bychok's appointment seems calculated to appease the Ukrainian Church while insulting those factions of conservatism who support Russia. After all, Bychok has apparently referred to Vladimir Putin as a 'modern Herod.'

One wonders whether the baby-killers of the Democratic party are known as 'Herods' in these quarters. Considering the enormous amounts of money the Dems have sent to perpetuate the war in Ukraine, this is not very likely.

By all accounts, however, Cardinal-elect Bychok is a good man, not known for any liberal tendencies but appointed merely as part of the Peronist strategies of the Pope. After learning of his appointment, Bychok paid tribute to both Cardinals Slipyj and Pell, saying, “To fulfil this will of God will be a huge challenge for me, and a really difficult cross.”

That may be truer than he realises. Francis' actions have put Bychok in an awkward position with both the Australian hierarchy and the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy. Bychok will now rank higher than the current head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, who is neither a Cardinal, nor even a patriarch. He will also rank highest in the Australian Bishops' Conference and will have to deal with the ambitious men whose aspirations have been dashed yet again.

There doesn't appear to be a McCarrick, a Martini or a Fernandez among the group. Rather, it may be that the next Consistory will simply be another exercise in lowering the bar, and razing the hierarchy on Francis' royal road to an egalitarian utopia.

Yet, the trend of passing over experienced bishops in favour of DEI hires is not limited to Australia. The same phenomenon can be seen in Italy, for example, where the Archbishops of Genoa, Naples, Venice, and Milan have been passed over in favour of younger bishops who have caught the Pope's eye and who have risen rapidly through the ranks under his patronage.

Even living on the 'peripheries' is no guarantee of an appointment to the College. Although 18 nations are represented among the 21 new appointments, it would appear that to Pope Francis, not all peripheries are created equal. The only African bishop to receive the red hat this time is one who broke ranks with his brother bishops to endorse the blessings of same-sex couples. Thus the largely pro life and pro family African bishops will suffer the same fate as their western counterparts who, while far more liberal, are missing the elusive status of victimhood which only the pontiff can discern.

While some of the appointments, like that of Timothy Radcliffe, show an obvious pro-gay bias, others appear to be random favours bestowed by a capricious monarch: the Syro-Malabar travel agent; the environmental activist from Tehran; the Indonesian Moslem apologist; the elderly nuncio who will never vote in Conclave and who is so sick that he may not live to receive his red biretta.

Time will tell how disastrous these appointments will prove to be. After all, there doesn't appear to be a McCarrick, a Martini or a Fernandez among the group. Rather, it may be that the next Consistory will simply be another exercise in lowering the bar, and razing the hierarchy on Francis' royal road to an egalitarian utopia.

There was a time when the office of Cardinal really meant something to a Catholic. The Princes of the Church were honoured for the prestige of being ranked only second in line to the Pope. That has all changed under the pontificate of Pope Francis, whose gay banter has replaced the solemn, masculine proclamations of the past, and whose preoccupation with 'inclusion' has done nothing other than alienate the majority of faithful Catholics.

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There was a time when the office of Cardinal really meant something to a Catholic. The Princes of the Church were honoured for the prestige of being ranked only second in line to the Pope. That has all changed under the pontificate of Pope Francis, whose gay banter has replaced the solemn, masculine proclamations of the past, and whose preoccupation with 'inclusion' has done nothing other than alienate the majority of faithful Catholics.

1 posted on 10/18/2024 9:25:59 AM PDT by ebb tide

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