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| -Great Cultural Revolution |
| Vatican 2023: blessing of 'non-standard couples' and Zelensky’s attack |
| 2024-01-04 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Stanislav Stremidlovsky [REGNUM] The year 2023 turned out to be a time of transformation for the Catholic Church of old challenges and the emergence of new ones. At the same time, internal problems worsened, becoming a bigger headache for the Holy See than international issues. The year began for Catholics with the passing of retired Pope Benedict XVI. As one of the Western publications noted on this occasion, the late pontiff represented “a decisive element of stabilization and detente.” And his death could cause two opposite effects - either to reconcile the radical circles of the church, or, more possibly, “to cause greater instability, both in the Vatican and in the universal Church.” Today we can already say that the negative forecast worked. The Holy See and Pope Francis tried to curb the so-called synodal process, simultaneously satisfying the demands of conservative circles and supporters of a revision of both church teaching and the administration of community life. However, this led to new conflicts. The Catholic Church is seeing off the year 2023 with fierce controversy caused by the publication in December of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of Faith of the Declaration Fiducia supplicans. It gives Catholic clergy the opportunity to bless "non-standard couples", which among others refers to same-sex unions. And although the dicastery specifically stipulated that the “ long-standing teaching ” of the Catholic Church about marriage as a union between a man and a woman does not change, many Catholics did not believe it. Opposition to the declaration arose almost immediately. The decision not to apply it was made by the conferences of the Catholic episcopate of Africa, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. The pontificate of Pope Francis is actually being challenged, because the head of the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, is considered a confidant of the pontiff. It is clear that divisions within the Catholic community, threatening to become schisms, will continue to escalate in 2024. VISION OF A "JUST WORLD" The start of a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 caused difficulties in the Vatican-Russian dialogue. Some statements last year by Pope Francis, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Secretary of State Relations Archbishop Paul Gallagher demonstrated an understanding of the underlying causes of the crisis. However, other statements caused bewilderment and poisoned the atmosphere of trust that had developed during the reign of the Argentine pope. These “fleas” also jumped into 2023, the first few months of which created the impression of the impotence of Vatican diplomacy and the narrowing of its maneuverability. The reluctance of the main players of the international “casino” to use the capital of an experienced impartial intermediary, accumulated by the Holy See, was evident everywhere. It seemed that the Vatican Secretariat of State was running idle and stalling. This feeling became especially noticeable on the anniversary of the special military operation. Then, during the Munich Security Conference, Archbishop Gallagher said that he “ does not see ” Russia being threatened before February 24, 2022. According to him, it would be a “ mistake ” to believe that the West was determined to destroy Russia, although now “ the situation is completely different.” And a “ just peace ,” according to the archbishop, “ will mean that the Russians will leave the territory of Ukraine.” CARDINAL PEACEMAKER In this situation, Pope Francis made an intriguing move. He appointed the President of the Conference of the Catholic Episcopate of Italy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, as his special envoy to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. Interestingly, in February of this year, Zuppi asked to take into account that the conflict did not begin on February 24, 2022. It was preceded by the failure of the Minsk agreements and the “ so-called low-intensity violence in Donbass ” that has lasted since 2014. He also called for thinking about the “ limit of military assistance ” - at what point does it develop from the “ right to self-defense ” into fueling escalation. During the year, Zuppi made trips to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington and Beijing. Thus, he made it clear that, firstly, the Vatican sees these capitals as key to the settlement process. And secondly, for the Holy See the crisis itself is not limited to the Ukrainian-Russian framework, being a problem of global international security. At first glance, Zuppi’s mission, the main goal of which was to stop armed clashes, was hopeless. However, there are certain nuances. Moscow generally welcomed the cardinal's activities, although it did not give him special advances. But the Kremlin did not discredit the initiatives and role of the Holy See. In contrast to the Kiev regime, when Vladimir Zelensky, after a visit to the Vatican in May and a meeting with Pope Francis, stated that “ with all due respect to His Holiness, we do not need mediators, this is not a question of the Vatican, Latin America or China.” Thus, Kyiv removed itself from the diplomatic equation that the Vatican was building, showing its lack of ability to play the long game and act independently. It became clear that the further fate of Zuppi’s mission would depend on the outcome of the “ counteroffensive ” announced by the Kiev regime. Apparently, this is what happened. Today it is obvious that the “counteroffensive” not only ran out of steam, but also significantly undermined the capabilities of the Kyiv regime. “ Something is moving ,” the cardinal said in December. — We need peace, if necessary a creative peace, as was the case in Mozambique, where different parties were involved. There are different solutions. In Korea, a parallel was defined as the dividing line." DIALOGUE WITH RUSSIA WILL CONTINUE Traditionally, Vatican-Russian relations were built along two lines - church and state. Most often they were closely intertwined, but sometimes they diverged to the sides. After the change in June of the chairman of the department for external church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, contacts between the Holy See and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church intensified. The new head of the DECR, Metropolitan Anthony, made trips to the Vatican. The Moscow Patriarchate ignored the comments of those dissatisfied with communication with Catholics, and pushed some critics who crossed a certain line aside. But after the publication of the declaration of Fiducia supplicans, opponents of dialogue with the Holy See received a second wind. After all, if even in the Catholic Church there are voices about “heresy,” then how can more conservative Orthodox Christians deal with the Vatican? This problem will cast its shadow on the attempts of the Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate to restore the previous level of relations. However, it does not matter for the dialogue between the Vatican and the Kremlin. As Maria Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted the other day, “this is an internal church issue.” Difficulties may arise for other reasons. Catholic publications periodically calculate the balance of power in the conclave of cardinals, finding out who currently has a great chance of becoming the new pontiff after Francis. But a new variable was added this year with speculation that the pontiff may not survive 2024. In the event of a serious deterioration in the health of the pope, especially his death, the Vatican will plunge into the process of electing a new one. In this situation, the role of the State Secretariat and Cardinal Parolin will significantly increase. Will he take advantage of the developments of Zuppi’s mission or disavow the work of his “competitor”? The answer to this question will determine how much Moscow can continue to count on the Holy See. |
| Posted by:badanov |