Change at the Vatican

Pope Francis continues to bring fresh breezes of change to the Vatican.   

His designated #3 official, Cardinal George Pell, recently testified before an Australian federal inquiry into child sex abuse in that country.    Cardinal Pell said that the Australian church had been far ahead of the Vatican in dealing with the child abuse scandal back in 1995.   They were generally skeptical of victims' claims, he said.    "The attitude of some people in the Vatican was that if accusations were being made against priests, they were made exclusively or at least predominantly by enemies of the church to make trouble."

And who was directly in charge of investigating child abuse claims against priests in 1995?   None other than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict from 2005 until his resignation last year.

Next week, Cardinal Pell joins the Vatican inner circle as the Secretariat of the Economy.  Investigating child abuse will not be his responsibility;  he will be the Minister of Finance.  Nevertheless, his appointment exemplifies the way Francis is opening up the unworldly place the Vatican had become and bringing in cardinals who are not afraid to criticize it's past failings.

Ralph