Vatican has scored epic own goal with McAleese ban
THERE’S a scene in the hit 2006 movie ‘The Queen’, starring Helen Mirren as the hapless Elizabeth II trying to respond to the death of Princess Diana.
As the royal family stumbles from one self-inflicted PR disaster to another, spectacularly tone deaf to the public mood, spin doctor Alastair Campbell in exasperation is portrayed as turning to Prime Minister Tony Blair asking: “Won’t somebody save these people from themselves? ”
I thought about it (not for the first time) at the latest example of the Vatican walking itself into another mess entirely of its own making. Irishman Cardinal Kevin Farrell is reported as having vetoed a speaking engagement by former President Mary McAleese at a Vatican-backed conference due to be held there next month.
Unperturbed, the organisers are now hosting the event at an alternative venue a stone’s throw from St Peter’s Basilica.
At one level, it’s no big deal: the conference will go ahead (with a priceless publicity boost) and Ms McAleese will still speak at the event marking International Women’s Day.
On the other hand, the Vatican has scored an epic own goal and has – again – been left appearing out of touch and anachronistic. The fact it is an event focusing on feminine issues will do little to dampen speculation that Rome just has a problem with women.
Ms McAleese is a formidable woman and has written to Pope Francis asking for an explanation. And she deserves an explanation from someone – if Cardinal Farrell has a problem with the former President he ought to tell her why he doesn’t think it appropriate for her to speak at the Vatican.
Clearly, she ruffles feathers in Rome. Some of the negative reaction to her outspoken criticism of the Church is likely sexist.
On the other hand, Roman officials will privately concede it is the belief that she uses her position as a former head of state to critique the Vatican that bothers them. Ms McAleese is a lay Catholic, but she could hardly be described as just another voice from the pews.
Massimo Faggioli is a reform- minded theologian and one of the keenest observers of Vatican affairs. He told me this week that some senior official in the Vatican might “perceive it as unfair for a powerful politician and stateswoman to use her political visibility in order to push an agenda in matters that are perceived as the internal affairs of the Church”.
Faggioli believes other prominent lay Catholic figures are welcome at the Vatican – whatever their views on the Church – because they don’t use their notoriety for ecclesiastical purposes. Take, for example, other Catholic political figures such as John Kerry in the United States or Romano Prodi in Italy.
According to Faggioli, both “have ideas about what is wrong in the Catholic Church – their Church – but they don’t use their political visibility to push a theological agenda”.
Ms McAleese would be the first to admit she has a theological agenda. She is candid about her belief that the Catholic Church needs to dramatically transform itself and embrace liberal reforms like many of the Protestant denominations, such as women priests.
But the fact is, the Catholic Church is not going to change its key beliefs – it can’t. Catholicism is built on what it calls a ‘deposit of faith’ which is believes it must foster and preserve rather than change to suit prevailing tastes.
The Church talks about inclusivity – and it says it is open to all. But the Church’s idea of inclusiveness is that everyone is free to embrace its teachings – not that one is free to believe what one wishes and expect invites to Vatican-backed conferences.
The mood music has changed under Pope Francis and the Argentine pontiff is evidently calling the Church to be more open in its approach. But the teaching doesn’t change. That is as true under Francis as it was his predecessors.
The Church is not a book club or a discussion group for interesting new ideas. It is also a voluntary organisation that no one is obliged to join or remain a member of if they find themselves in fundamental disagreement with it.
The Church can’t please everyone. Pope John Paul II didn’t, Benedict XVI certainly didn’t and
Officials will concede it is the belief she uses her position as a former head of state to critique the Vatican that bothers them. She is not just another voice from the pews
Pope Francis doesn’t either. The World Meeting of Families – at which the Pope is expected to preside in Dublin in August – is billed as an inclusive event.
BUT it too is inclusive within the bounds of the Church’s beliefs about families: sex is for marriage, marriage is between one man and one woman and for life and open to children.
That’s why images of same-sex couples that appeared in earlier drafts of material for the event have now been removed.
This will disappoint many people, but it’s a reflection of what Catholic teaching actually is about family life.
The Church’s job is to be supportive of families in all shapes and sizes, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Catholic belief is that the traditional model of mum, dad and children is the ideal family.
In the case of Ms McAleese, Cardinal Farrell is clearly holding to the ancient maxim ‘Roma locuta, causa finita est’ (Rome has spoken, the case is closed) and Pope Francis is unlikely to overturn the decision. That being said, the former President in justice certainly deserves an explanation.