Pope Francis’s Haste: Preparing His Succession?

by Luiz Sérgio SolimeoAugust 3, 2023

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“The Consistory of a Pope in a Hurry”

As his pontificate draws to a close, Pope Francis, in his eagerness to completely change the Catholic Church before rendering accounts to the Creator, is speeding up reforms and appointing prelates consistent with his religious ideology.

Thus, the upcoming consistory to elevate twenty-one more cardinals from his lineup indicates the haste with which he is acting. As a religious commentator put it, the September 30 consistory is the “consistory of a pope in a hurry.”¹

A “Synod” to Transform the Church

The Synod of Synodality is accelerating the institutional, doctrinal, dogmatic, and moral changes he has implemented throughout his pontificate.

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Pope Francis himself has stated that, through the Synod, he intends to transform the monarchical Church, as Our Lord founded it, into a direct democracy in which the faithful decide instead of the hierarchy.²

“Synod on Sodomy”

Fr. James Martin’s appointment as a member of the Synod, as well as the presence of Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., at the head of the event as the relator general designated by the pope, has caused the event to be called the “Synod on Sodomy.”³

In an interview with the German Catholic news agency KNA, Cardinal Hollerich stated that Church teaching condemning this sin against nature is wrong and must be changed:

“I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer correct. . . . I think it is time for a fundamental revision of the doctrine.”⁴

Amoris Laetitia’s ghostwriter appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

In the same vein of revising Catholic doctrine, Pope Francis on July 1 appointed Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, regarded as his ghostwriter,⁵ to head the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. He is also the president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission.

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Upon appointing Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández to succeed Cardinal Ladaria, Pope Francis wrote Archbishop Fernández a letter presenting his conception of the Dicastery:

“The dicastery over which you will preside in other times came to use immoral methods. They were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were pursued. . . . What I expect from you is certainly something very different.”⁶

As Archbishop Fernández explains, the pontiff promised that July 1 letter to inform what he wanted him to do in the dicastery. He obviously agrees entirely with the letter’s content and believes the former Holy Office and Inquisition used immoral methods to persecute theologians.⁷

Commenting on the alleged “immoral methods” the former Holy Office employed, in an interview with an Argentine radio station, the archbishop mentions the reaction of a progressive theologian who made an act of revenge against the former Holy Office. Incidentally, that act was of a baseness more befitting a delinquent than a theologian. Says Archbishop Fernández:

“At the time of the Second Vatican Council, there were great theologians who this institution persecuted. And there is a famous case of a great theologian who urinated [on] the Holy Office’s door one night as a gesture of contempt in the face of this persecutory methodology.”⁸

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That progressive theologian was Fr. Yves Congar, O.P., one of the principal drafters of Vatican II texts.⁹Journalist Robert Blair Kaiser, a former Jesuit novice sent by Time magazine to cover the Council, narrates the episode,¹⁰ which Prof. Roberto de Mattei confirms, writing: “Congar himself, twice, in 1946 and 1954, urinated on the door of the Holy Office, as a sign of contempt toward the supreme institution of the Church.”¹¹

“Heal Me With Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing”

To get to know the new Prefect of the former Holy Office better, it is well to recall that as a young priest in 1995, Archbishop Fernández wrote an erotic-mystical book titled Sáname con tu boca. El arte de besar (Heal Me With Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing).¹²

The book is illustrated with pictures of sculptures of naked men and women kissing. On page 10 of the opening chapter, the sculpture shows a frontally and totally naked woman, with her head tilted to one side, being kissed by an also naked man. Page 18 displays another sculpture of apparently a couple, also naked, holding each other and kissing.

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Along with erotic-mystical considerations on kissing, he gives practical advice on how to kiss and lists obstacles that hinder this practice, such as bad breath (for which he offers advice to avoid), untrimmed mustaches, and so forth.

Carnal Kissing, a Mystical Act?

The author seems to give the sensual kiss between man and woman a mystical note, a fusion of personalities.

“Your whole being, and not just your lips, is committed in a kiss. . . . A kiss is a meeting of the two in a moment when nothing else exists, but them, and nothing else is worthwhile.”¹³

Further on, he writes:

“If those slow, leisurely, trembling kisses are missing, it may indicate that love has ceased to be an encounter of two who admire each other, contemplate each other, and adore each other.”¹⁴

“The kiss is the thermometer of love. That’s why, when things don’t work out between the two, you have to follow the paths that lead to the kiss rather than pretending to fix it in bed. What can those paths be? The most important are five: talk, look, touch, create, seek.”¹⁵

For him, the sensual kiss so merges personalities that “[b]ecause they understand this, many prostitutes lend themselves to all kinds of sexual games, but they don’t let themselves be kissed by just anyone.”¹⁶

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He takes the metaphorical kiss used in Scripture and by mystics to indicate the union of a soul with God, to be the carnal kiss between a man and a woman. He asks:

“What is that infinite kiss reflected from God in our kisses?”¹⁷

The book’s last chapter is titled: “The supermystical kiss.”¹⁸

A Poet?

Archbishop Fernández also considers himself a poet. However, some of his poems in the book leave us in doubt, like this excerpt:

“You don’t realize it / clueless [distracted] / Your murderous lips / And your eyes do not warn / The wandering eyes / That remain detained / before the divine meat / of your mouth. … How was God so ruthless/ To give you that mouth…/ There is no one who can resist/ witch/ hide it.”¹⁹

This is a unique book, even more so because—as the archbishop informs us—he wrote it for his pastoral work with young people. What effect did this “pastoral” work have on those young people, particularly in this age of religious ignorance and the deification of sexual pleasure? Nor did the archbishop explain the moral norms one must follow in this grave matter.

Negating Humanae Vitae

He has an erroneous notion of morality—a normative science that guides human acts, forbidding what is evil and allowing what is good—by considering it only as an expression of mercy.

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One deduces that from his article, “The Trinitarian Dimension of Morality II: Deepening the Ethical Aspect in the Light of ‘Deus caritas est.’”²⁰ In the name of mercy, he accepts contraceptives, contrary to the Church’s constant teaching, as recalled by the Encyclical Humanae Vitae.

Archbishop Fernández says that when a couple uses periodic abstention for birth control, and the wife figures that imposes a heavy burden on her husband, “[i]n that case, an uncompromising rejection of all condom use would make compliance with an external norm take precedence over the grave obligation to care for the loving communion and conjugal stability that charity more directly demands.”²¹

Now, Humanae Vitae categorically states:

“Therefore, We base Our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children.”²²

Same-sex “marriage”

Archbishop Fernández is also ambiguous concerning homosexual sin. On the blessing of homosexual unions, he says they cannot be equated with marriage.

“Now, if a blessing is given so as not to cause that confusion, one will have to analyze and confirm it. As you will see, there is a point where you move out of a properly theological discussion and into a rather prudential or disciplinary question.”²³

Is Pope Francis Designating His Successor?

One may wonder whether Pope Francis intends to make his protégé and ghostwriter, Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, his successor by appointing him as Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Does he expect that, just as Cardinal Ratzinger succeeded John Paul II after occupying that position, the same may happen with the Argentine archbishop who succeeds him in the Chair of Saint Peter? That would guarantee the continuity of his transformation of the Church.

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Footnotes:

1. John L Allen Jr/ Crux, “The consistory of a pope in a hurry,” Catholic Herald, July 10, 2023, https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-consistory-of-a-pope-in-a-hurry/, accessed Jul. 25, 2023. 
2. Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, “A Confused, Upside Down ‘Synodal Church,’” https://www.tfp.org/a-confused-upside-down-synodal-church/. 
3. The John-Henry Westen Show, “Cardinal Müller’s take on Pope Francis’ pick for the Synod: Fr. James Martin,” July 13, 2023, https://www.lifesitenews.com/episodes/cardinal-mullers-take-on-pope-francis-pick-for-the-synod-fr-james-martin/, accessed Jul. 25, 2023. 
4. Catholic News Service, “Cardinal Hollerich says church teaching on gays ‘no longer correct,’” Angelus, Feb. 2, 2022, https://angelusnews.com/news/world/cardinal-hollerich-says-church-teaching-on-gays-no-longer-correct/, accessed Jul. 25, 2023. 
5. Hannah Brockhaus, “Pope Francis appoints Argentine Archbishop Fernández as head of doctrine dicastery.” “Pope Francis has named Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, his longtime personal theologian and ghostwriter, to lead the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.” Catholic News Agency, Jul. 1, 2023, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254710/pope-francis-appoints-argentinas-archbishop-fernandez-as-prefect-for-church-doctrine; Edward Pentin, “Archbishop Fernández Defends ‘Amoris Laetitia’ From Its Critics.” “Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and the author who drafted Amoris Laetitia said the Pope wishes pastors to consider ‘the complexity of particular situations’ where he believes the terms ‘fornicator’ or ‘adulterer’ would be inappropriate.” National Catholic Register, Aug. 21, 2017, https://www.ncregister.com/blog/archbishop-fernandez-defends-amoris-laetitia-from-its-critics. 
6. Christopher White, “Pope appoints new head of Vatican doctrinal office to promote theologians,” National Catholic Reporter, Jul. 1, 2023, https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-appoints-new-head-vatican-doctrinal-office-promote-theologians, accessed Jul. 25, 2023. 
7. Víctor “Tucho” Fernández: “Me llegaron a decir que yo no fundamentaba la visión de la Iglesia sobre los homosexuales,” Radio Perfil, Jul. 3, 2023, https://www.perfil.com/noticias/modo-fontevecchia/victor-tucho-fernandez-me-llegaron-a-decir-que-yo-no-fundamentaba-la-vision-de-la-iglesia-sobre-los-homosexuales-modof.phtml, accessed Jul. 25, 2023. 
8. Idem, ibidem. 
9. Cfr. Yves Congar, O.P., My Journal of the Council, trans. Denis Minns O.P. (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2012), pp. 870-871. 
10. Robert Blair Kaiser, “Story Confirmed: Congar Did Pee on the Wall of the Holy Office” Kaiser’s Vatican II Journal, Sep. 26, 2012, https://web.archive.org/web/20140126035352/http://robertblairkaiser.com/blog/2012/09/story-confirmed-congar-did-pee-on-the-wall-of-the-holy-office/; Novus Ordo Watch, “Fr. Yves Congar urinated on Wall of Holy Office,” June 12, 2016, https://novusordowatch.org/2016/06/congar-urinated-on-holy-office-wall/. 
11. Journal d’un théologien (1946-1954), (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 2000), pp. 88, 293, in Roberto de Mattei, “Complessità e paradossi nella storia della Chiesa,” https://www.corrispondenzaromana.it/complessita-e-paradossi-nella-storia-della-chiesa/. 
12. Editorial Lumen, Buenos Ayres, Argentina, 1995. (Our translation and emphases from the Spanish original.) 
13. Sáname con tu boca. El arte de besar, p. 13. 
14. Sáname con tu boca. El arte de besar, p. 15. 
15. Idem, p. 21. 
16. Idem, p. 55. 
17. Idem, p. 69. 
18. Idem. p. 71ss. 
19. Idem, p. 40. In the Spanish original: “No te das conta/ despistada [distraída]/ Tus labios asesinos/ Y tus ojos no advierten/ Los ojos divagantes/ Que quedan detenidos/ ante la carne divina/ de bu boca. … Como fue Dios tan desapiadado/ Para darte esa boca…/ No hay quien resista/ bruja/ escóndela.” 
20. Revista Teología, Tomo XLIII, No. 89, 2006. 
21. Op. cit., p. 150. 
22. Humanae Vitae, No. 14, https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html. 
23. Javier Arias, “Víctor Manuel Fernández a InfoVaticana: ‘Lo que está mal, está mal y yo defiendo la moralidad objetiva,’” Infovaticana.com, Jul. 5, 2023, https://infovaticana.com/2023/07/05/victor-manuel-fernandez-a-infovaticana-lo-que-esta-mal-esta-mal-y-yo-defiendo-la-moralidad-objetiva/, accessed Jul. 25, 2023.Categories