Angelus News | May 31, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 20

Pope Francis leads the opening of the annual spring meeting of the Italian bishops’ conference at the Vatican May 20.
PAUL HARING/CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Italian problems,
US solutions?
In a recent speech, the pope raised eyebrows for what he said and didn’t say
BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR. / ANGELUS
ROME — Back in the St. Pope John Paul II years,
the Vatican once brought out a document on lay
ministry decreeing restrictions intended to drive
home the uniqueness of the ordained priesthood,
such as a ban on laity holding the title “chaplain.”
Since that was common practice in the U.S., many American
Catholic laity were alarmed, especially those who
worked in hospitals, prisons, and the armed forces.
Amid the hubbub, I asked an American cardinal about
it who told me not to worry, that the document would be
a dead letter. When I pressed as to where his confidence
came from, he told me he’d spoken to Cardinal Camillo
Ruini, at the time the president of the Italian bishops’ conference
and the pope’s powerful vicar of Rome.
Ruini apparently said the document was really intended
for Germany and the Netherlands, and the Italians had no
intention of applying it.
“I figure if that’s good enough for the Italians, then it’s
good enough for us,” the American cardinal laughed.
That’s by way of saying, the Italians matter. Because of
their proximity to the pope, pastoral practice and interpretations
of Vatican edicts worked out here set a tone all
across the Catholic map.
Moreover, senior leaders in the Church pretty much
everywhere probably have spent time here either studying
or working or both, most have friends here, and so they’re
influenced by the realities here in a special way.
The insight comes to mind in light of Pope Francis’ address
to the Italian bishops on Monday night, opening their
May 21-23 General Assembly. The speech raised eyebrows
both for what it contained, and what it didn’t.
In terms of the latter, it was striking that on the eve of European
elections when right-wing, anti-immigrant populist
forces appeared poised to make historic gains, including
within Italy itself, Francis didn’t say anything about the
importance of welcome and compassion for migrants and
24 • ANGELUS • May 31, 2019