Gallagher is 72, born in 1954.

No clearer example of this dilemna occurs to me than to cite a phrase from the above article:

“It’s difficult to remove someone who has always behaved correctly, at least in personal relationships.”

So, we are now led to believe, a priest/ bishop/ cardinal, however vile his conduct, however wrong his theology, is exempt from scrutiny by Chicago-born, Peruvian-naturalised Pope Leo so long as said priest/ bishop/ cardinal smiles amiably at the lunch counter, indulges in knowledgeable banter about the White Sox and/or holds the door open for the Holy Father as he races to the lift?

With sadness, with incredulity, I rest my case.

a) He desires a Church with a hierarchy:

From the mouth of the Bishop of Rome!

b) Strong communion… a disarmed and disarming peace:

i) Meaningless Madison Avenue jargon.
ii) Eat your heart out Tony Blair.

c) Collegiality means everyone’s participation in governance, or at least in discussions:

What’s the point of current faux/ anti- Synodality [being given pride of place in all Vatican decisions, we learned in the last few hours, via the central role ascribed to and its Maltese cardinal-enforcer by Pope Leo] if not to participate in governance?

With the pontificate of Leo XIV now past the 16 month mark, it is beyond time for ‘judgement to be reserved’ yet again and for Catholics, including the author of this blog, to accept that postures such as the use of quotation marks in a sentence like

‘We await Leo’s “corrections” to some of Pope Francis’s reforms’

are no longer sufficient.

Aye, there’s the rub; ‘change.’

Based on what criteria?

Biblical, per force; given that we are all children of Vatican2 with its heavy emphasis on returning to our Biblical roots.

That in a context where very recently indeed, the Catholic Biblical Association of America saw fit to elect as its President a confessing Jew.

Not for the first time I must struggle with the choice of adjective to characterise our Church and our Pope.

Decadent:

*Focuses on extreme wealth, comfort, and sweet excess.
*Implies a soft, lazy decline from high standards.
*Relates to art or lifestyles that value style over strict morals.

Degenerate:

*Focuses on a harmful drop below a standard of normal behavior.
*Often used as a strong moral insult or medical/social decline.
*Implies corruption, perversion, or a state of ruin.
*Describes a breakdown of order or loss of original good qualities.

Possibly the best solution for an adjective to sum up the ‘church of Leo’ is a neologism: DEGENADENT?

I suspect that the CBAA would not approve of my characterisation.

Perhaps they could provide me with a suitable. alternative.