Several cardinals have spoken with an American media outlet to register their dissatisfaction with some of what has been said during the meetings of cardinals that are taking place prior to the conclave, known as general congregations.
Specifically, they are upset that certain cardinals have spoken out against some of Pope Francis’s decisions and called for a change of direction in the new pontificate.
“We have listened to many complaints against Francis’ papacy in these days,” one anonymous cardinal told America magazine Wednesday. The unnamed cardinal added that a speech by Italian Cardinal Beniamo Stella — in which Stella expressed opposition to Pope Francis’s appointment of laypeople to take part in the governance of the Church — was “the worst.” The cardinal told America that he felt Stella had “openly attacked Pope Francis.”
The anonymous cardinal’s complaints are strange because the general congregations are a time for cardinals to speak frankly with one another about how the pope can best serve the People of God. That means cardinals will assert where they feel the former pontiff’s reign fell short and how improvement can be sought.
An anonymous cardinal also complained to America that some cardinals are not respecting the limit placed on their speaking time. The cardinal named 93-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong among those who “do not respect this time limit.” In his speech, the cardinal said, Zen criticized the Synod on Synodality, which was one of the central initiatives of Pope Francis. (In 2022, the Chinese government arrested Cardinal Zen, who has long criticized it, on false charges.)
The anonymous cardinals also claimed that Cardinal Stella wishes to see Cardinal Pietro Parolin elected pope.
The cardinals spoke anonymously to America because they had taken an oath of secrecy. This oath states: “[A]ll matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff or those which, by their very nature, during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, call for the same secrecy.”
This oath is not as all-encompassing as the one the cardinal electors take regarding matters discussed during the conclave. For the conclave, cardinals pledge “absolute and perpetual secrecy,” with the penalty for revealing the secrets of the conclave being excommunication.
Several cardinals also spoke to the National Catholic Reporter on Wednesday about the general congregations. These cardinals are presumably of a progressive bent, given that the publication publishes articles openly calling for the ordination of women to the priesthood and supporting the use of contraceptives. One anonymous cardinal reported to the National Catholic Reporter that “younger cardinals” had offered some of the strongest statements in favor of Pope Francis’s emphasis on synodality.
Much attention has focused on the absence of a mention of synodality in both the pope’s funeral Mass, which was said by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, as well as the Novemdiales Mass presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is seen as one of the most likely successors to the Chair of Saint Peter. This absence upset some who view synodality as a defining feature of Pope Francis’s papacy and who perceive discomfort or opposition to it as a defiant rejection of a core part of the pope’s teaching.
Notably, one of those (presumably progressive) cardinals who spoke to National Catholic Reporter claimed that Parolin’s star had fallen as a result of his homily at that Novemdiales Mass. The National Catholic Reporter said that, according to this cardinal, “the Mass was a reminder of Francis’ charisma and communication gifts and that Parolin lacks both.”
The cardinals’ open complaints to America and National Catholic Reporter are an interesting view into the secretive general congregations and indicate that the meetings, far from being an environment of total agreement, are a place of spirited debate and discussion regarding the future of the Church.
READ MORE from Ellie Gardey Holmes:
Papabile Stresses Need for a Holy Pope
Early Indications of Cardinals’ Priorities Begin to Emerge
The Spectator P.M. Ep. 133: The Next Pope and the Future of the Church
