MSW Responds to Douthat | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: We read this in the links, right? Thought so. The press will saw what the press will say - Francis appears not to have changed. Of course, the fact that he is a post-Vatican II Jesuit does mean something - something the Trads won't like - even as he honors collegiality among the bishops in letting thems say it. I don't think the Finn affair changes that or matters that much - the scandal was that he was not removed a year ago. Nothing new here.
The Synod is new and yet I doubt there was space included for what were undoubtedly more radical changes. The Bark of the Church does move slowly, even and especially on downhill streams. It seemingly never goes up - unless it finds the right lock and dam. This is not to say, of course, that there are not some bishops looking for one - and because the Church is not a democracy - the Trad have gone to great pains that it not be - Francis could go with anything suggested. This is why the Trads worry - the believe in unilateral papal action. Now it is sure to bite them and they cannot do anything about it because of their belief in the system.
The Trads have a false hope that St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI ended the Vatican II energy. Looks like there is a generation of bishops who would disagree with that - the ones like Francis who were new priests then and those who were teens and inspired by the renewal of the Church. It is Francis, who is a parish priest and scripture scholar first last and always, but it is also those masses who want more from the Spirit of Vatican II. As for the biographies, Francis is the leader but he is also the vanguard and any biography of him has to include the "second wave" of Vatican II, which will simply, if nothing else, outlive the leading Trads.
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