‘That book’, the Black Nazarene, and my grown-up marriage
Third, despite rumors to the contrary, I think it would be naive to expect that Cardinal Fernández will resign over this brouhaha, or over other recent controversies under his tenure.
In truth, I don t even think there really are Vatican rumors that Fernández will resign, as some news outlets have suggested. I think that whole idea is a fabrication, a bit of wishful thinking by his critics. I don t expect the cardinal will do any such thing.
But the short Fernández tenure in the DDF has thus far been rife with misunderstandings, as the cardinal has put it, especially as this incident comes shortly after the cardinal was forced to issue a 2,000-word press release clarifying Fiducia supplicans, the Dec. 18 declaration on same-sex blessings.
It seems clear that Fernández has had a rough month. His critics argue that the cardinal has failed to appreciate the difficulty of the office he possesses, and has been unprepared to deal with the controversy he s generated.
At this writing, Fernández is at something of a juncture. He ll either say damn the torpedoes, and continue as if his dicastery isn t facing new crises each week, or the challenges of the last month will impact his leadership approach and style, or the pace with which he addresses matters of global importance.
The Pillar is the thing to read if you want to keep up with what’s going on at the Vatican, assuming you can stand to. I ask myself, if I had a 15 year old daughter, would I allow the good Cardinal to babysit her for the evening. Ho ho. The question answers itself. And then, would you want such a man to be in charge of the doctrine of the faith? The office formerly known as the Inquisition? Another self-answering question. It gets worse, but that’s enough for now.