Francis and the Curia

It's going to take some time to understand the man who now heads the Church of Rome, but this much seems certain -- one of the first and most important jobs that Pope Francis has is dealing with the Curia, the entrenched bureaucracy at the Vatican. Eric Reguly of the Globe and Mail explains why:

The Curia has about 2,000 employees, who work only six-hour days, and it is considered an Italian power base. In one form or another, it has existed for more than 1,500 years, initially employing the notaries that served the Pope, later expanding into a chancery that would advise the Pope on papal business. Mr. Reese said that in the medieval and Renaissance eras, it functioned essentially as a royal court, similar to the ones that served – and fed off – Europe’s most powerful monarchs.

The royal court era still twitches. Note that the cardinals are called “princes of the church” and are treated like noblemen. But acting like professional bureaucrats might be better suited to a global institution dealing with secular duties like ensuring that its bank meets international money-laundering standards; cracking down on bishops who covered up thousands of cases of sexual abuse by priests; preventing the torrent of leaks that erupted into the ongoing “Vatileaks” scandal.

It's quickly become apparent that Francis doesn't have much patience for the royal court idea. His own career in Buenos Aires suggests a very different model and one that I believe is needed. As Archbishop Bergoglio, Francis was known for his modesty, eschewing the official archbishop's residence, living instead in a small apartment. He cooked his own meals and was a regular rider of the city buses. While I'm sure we won't see Francis riding the buses in Rome, his example would be a good one.

The challenge with dealing with an entrenched bureaucracy is that bureaucrats are very canny about defending their positions and prerogatives. Francis will need some help on that front and he might have an intriguing lieutenant coming with him:

There is a “probability” that Manila Archbishop Luis Cardinal Tagle may serve in the Roman Curia under the papacy of newly elected Pope Francis, Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said Thursday.

“It is not only possible, it's probable,” Cruz said in an interview on GMA News TV's “News to Go.”

Tagle has made a name for himself in Church circles and was considered by many to be a papabile. He is significantly younger than Francis (only 55) and shares a similar worldview:

Both Pope Francis and Tagle are also known for their simple ways—Tagle used to take his cheap bike to go around villages when he was bishop of Imus in Cavite, while Cardinal Bergoglio was known as a modest man from a middle class family who rode the bus to work.

“(I)n a way, he resonates with the message of Cardinal Tagle that the Church needs to listen and should become simple,” [Fr. Joe] Quilongquilong added.

One of the primary reasons the Church falls short is that it fails to be simple. We all deal with myriad complexities in our lives and rather than confront things head on, there's an understandable tendency to job things out to the professionals in order to simplify things. But there's a difference between simplification and abdication of responsibility. When the Church relies on its administrative expertise, it can lose sight of the core role it has, which is to claim more souls for the Kingdom of God.