THE NEW NORMAL AT THE VATICAN?

Once upon a time, the Church shook when prefects of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) spoke. 

The CDF was once renowned as being la suprema, the “supreme” department within the Vatican, because it had the final word on issues involving doctrine.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ran the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005 prior to becoming Pope Benedict XVI.  During that time, his comments were perceived to carry enormous weight. Theological careers could rise or fall based on a mention by Cardinal Ratzinger and the universal sense was that, when he spoke, the full weight of the Vatican and the Papacy stood behind his words.

Times have changed indeed!

Under Pope Francis, the CDF clearly no longer enjoys the role of being the primary touchstone for assessing the doctrinal implications of his decisions and policies.

When the Pope wants a theological assessment of something, it’s clear that relies more on informal advisers, such as Argentine Archbishop Victor Fernandez, than on Cardinal Müller, CDF’s Prefect.  

This appears to be just another indication of Francis’ general strategy of preferring to work around people who are not in sync with his agenda than to formally replace them.

As a result, seasoned Vatican-watchers no longer assume that, when the head of the CDF speaks, it is even a hint of the Papal mindset. Instead, Cardinal Müller appears to have become just another voice in the conversation, someone to be respected for his position and theological credentials, but certainly not conduit of the Pope’s understandings or viewpoints.

And so, one thing appears to be very clear:  looking at Vatican organizational charts will tell nothing of who is really in charge or has influence in a particular matter.  

One can only imagine the impact upon the seasoned bureaucrats within the walls and offices of the various Vatican Congregations!  Whether this reality will remain the “new normal” for Vatican administration will be determined by the Pope who succeeds Francis.  

And that is anyone’s guess, to be sure!