Friday, January 20, 2006
Allen on Ecumenism, the Encyclical, ID, ... Heck, a Lot of Stuff
The always-informative John Allen touches on a number of topics this week. The usual St Bloggers have already weighed in with posts on select portions, so I'm going to zero in on one of my ecclesiological pet peeves. Especially since I haven't posted on it in a few months.
Quite often, there's relatively little drama in a consistory, since most choices are dictated by the job a particular candidate holds. Archbishop William Levada is sure to become a cardinal, for example, because he's now the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Archbishop André Armand Vingt-Trois will become a cardinal because he's the archbishop of Paris.
(Yawn) So it'll be no more surprising than waking up tomorrow and finding the Bible still has 150 Psalms.
So let me put in a public hope for some surprises. I can somewhat understand a bishop (like Levada) moving to an important Vatican post (like CDF head). Somewhat. If the situation demanded a particularly extraordinary person for a particularly extraordinary time. Or if a single-digit percentage of episcopal transfers (diocese to diocese, that is) were deemed extraordinarily necessary.
The red hat thing, though not as encrusted with the tradition of one bishop, one diocese, one life, would seem to be something akin. If Paris had an outstanding clergy corps, a great seminary, and a substantial faith witness, then an automatic red hat would make sense.
What would make more sense would be to name cardinals for the man (or woman, by the way) not for their favored domicile. Once ordained a bishop, the ordinand should stay put for life, except in the most extreme situations demanding pastoral need.
Any Vaticanistis in the audience think O'Malley's getting a red hat? Before that rumored move to DC, that is?
