The Catholic Church as Italy Sees It
RECENT developments at the Vatican have caused a stir throughout the Catholic world. Priests and others closely connected with the hierarchy of the Church have been greatly shaken. What about the Italian people?
Italian Catholics were grieved by the death of Pope John Paul I (Luciani). Radio and television coverage of matters relative to his death on September 28, 1978, was exceptional. However, comments by the people seem to reveal that, in general, they are more interested in the nonreligious side of the news.
Many Italians complained about the cancellation of films and other favorite programs in order to make way for the almost constant news bulletins on the funeral, the election conclave, and so forth. With regard to the death of John Paul I, the periodical L’Espresso, of October 8, quoted the director of a national news program as saying: “We certainly would not show a great respect for the public if we continued to bombard them quantitatively and qualitatively as we did at the death of Paul VI.”
There was also a feeling that political rather than religious qualifications exercise a major force in papal elections. The press gave wide coverage to the “political maneuverings” behind the election of a successor to John Paul I. The newspaper Il Messaggero, in its October 3rd issue, carried a front-page headline asking: “A shepherd of souls like Luciani or a ‘politically minded’ Pope?” And on October 7th an article about “Benelli’s Game” considered the maneuvers of that influential cardinal in the election of a successor to the pope. Even before the election of Luciani, the newspaper La Nazione, in its issue of August 27, had stated: “During the last few days too much importance has been given to analyzing the various cardinals, their political position and geographical extraction, forgetting the crisis in which the Church finds herself today.”
Suspicions Regarding John Paul’s Death
The suspicion of political intrigue was heightened by the sudden death of John Paul I. “They have murdered him” and “They have killed him for political reasons” were remarks repeatedly heard. A sociologist quoted in Corriere della Sera, under date of October 2, commented: “It is very strange how the rumor spread that the Pope had been poisoned.” Panorama magazine of October 10 (in a brief article entitled “Why Do People Say He Has Been Murdered?”) remarked: “At Rome this doubt immediately began to insinuate itself into people’s minds, just as if the clock had been put back 500 years to the days of the Borgia intrigues fomented by Pope Alexander VI and his children Lucretia and Caesar. Taxi drivers and shopkeepers only had one subject of conversation in the last few days: that there was surely some kind of plot behind the Pope’s death.”
But not only did the public have suspicions. Several newspapers carried headlines calling the pope’s death a mystery and suggesting that an investigation be conducted. The secretary of “Civiltà Cristiana,” a Catholic traditionalist movement, stated: “The rumors, perplexities and doubts about certain circumstances and the causes of the Pope’s death are many and varied. For this reason we think it would be proper for the judicial authorities to give us an unequivocal answer.” The newspaper Corriere della Sera, which reported the secretary’s comment, said also that “Civiltà Cristiana” had presented to the Vatican authorities a written request for an inquest.
One reason for the public’s interest in the matter is that Pope John Paul I had gained much sympathy from the masses by his use of simple language, as some said, ‘similar to that of a country parish priest.’ Many were pleased that he decided to abolish the three-tiered crown at the installation ceremony that marks the opening of a new pope’s rule, and that he at first desired to eliminate the use of the portable throne on which the pope is carried so that he might be seen by the crowd, though he reconsidered and did accept this feature of his inauguration ceremony.
Was Rejection of the Tiara Significant?
F. Margiotta Broglio, writing in La Nazione (Sept. 3, 1978), indicated that greater significance was attached to Luciani’s rejection of the tiara than was warranted. “Here,” Broglio said, “we do not want to criticize this first decision taken by the Pope, but we wish to mention that once the decision to do without ‘symbols of sovereignty’ had been taken, then it should have been carried through to its logical conclusion, renouncing the presence of ex-colleagues of royalty, ceremonial sabres, the Toson d’Oro—a relic of Bourbonic rule—and other ‘secular’ trinkets associated with pontifical rule . . . Only by courageously going back to spiritual realities will the Church succeed in banishing all traces of Pope Montini’s [Paul VI’s] neo-temporalism.”
The writer of a letter to La Repubblica, a daily paper, spoke more strongly. Decrying the pomp, ceremony and riches surrounding the pope, he concluded: “I am not a worshiper of a bejeweled pope nor am I fascinated by a Vatican like something out of the Arabian Nights. The message I want to send to John Paul is contained in the Gospel. Open this book and read it thoroughly, my dear Pope. Then be consistent and put it into practice, stripping yourself of all those riches and giving them to others, live on the bare essentials, get down off your pedestal and talk to people!”
As to the new pope, John Paul II (Wojtyla), it remains to be seen whether he will bring about any significant changes in doctrine or Church structure. Before becoming pope, he declared himself to be in complete agreement with the contents of Paul VI’s encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, which included a stand against contraceptives and birth control. Corriere della Sera of October 18 refers to the pope’s veneration of the “Madonna,” commenting that her initial letter “M” is included in the papal coat of arms adopted by the present pope. These two facts are taken to indicate that future innovations will be of a superficial nature and will not bring any substantial change in the Church.
The Church Faces Problems
A barometer of how the Italian people feel about the Church may be found in the condition of the parishes. Il Messaggero of September 29 quoted the speech of Cardinal Poletti, of Rome, delivered to an assembly of diocesan clergy, in which he described the critical situation existing in the diocese of Rome itself. He declared:
“There are 68 parishes in Rome lacking a parish church or structure and which are carrying on an existence in temporary quarters in spiritually distressing conditions for population and priesthood alike.”
Poletti explained that there are numerous parishes of “monstrous dimensions” varying from 30,000 to 80,000 inhabitants, and that it was an achievement merely to administer the sacraments, to the neglect of any “authentic evangelization.” There are also many new residential areas, he said, that will house more than 150,000 people when they enter into full operation, but where “it is impossible to arrange for even a temporary place of worship,” and that these parts of the city “will be abandoned to themselves, to backslide into popular paganism—what evangelization!”
Other areas are likewise affected. Palermo, for example, is said to need at least 20 new parish churches. “But we are lacking the priests and the material means to establish them,” said one spokesman, as reported in Giornale di Sicilia. “What can be said about the parish churches?” this journal asks. “They have become like ‘petrol stations’ where people go only when they need something. None of the ecclesiastical structures run smoothly and some are not working at all. The priests pray less and less . . . Young priests sometimes have wrong ideas about what should be understood as progress, while the other priests remain entrenched behind out-of-date opinions. The result is that contrasts often explode between the two categories, and end up by paralyzing certain Church activities.”
Confusion and Disbelief
All these things have had a deteriorating effect on the priesthood, and this has naturally passed on to the people in the form of skepticism, indifference and even lack of belief and confidence in the Church. As far back as 1976, a priest wrote to the religious periodical Seminari decrying the fact that “some young priests talk about the Church, the Pope and the Bishops in a way that I am sure even the Church’s most deadly enemies do not, yet they are priests!”
So there is confusion among the Catholic laity of Italy. The changes, such as the abolition of Latin from the Mass and of the command not to eat meat on Fridays, have caused upset among some, while others consider the changes as being of minor importance. These latter ones desire to see more sweeping changes made—changes of a nature that have to do with the everyday lives of people.
That respect for the clergy is diminishing is revealed in a survey published in the book entitled “Enquiry into Vocations for the Ministry,” by Giuseppe Bove, which analyzes the critical remarks often made about priests. Of the people interviewed, 69 percent said that the priests are not consistent; they are lovers of money (52 percent); they are too aloof from ordinary people (33 percent); they do not understand this modern world (30 percent); they are not faithful to their vows of celibacy (25 percent); they are mixed up with politics (23 percent); they are useless (21 percent); they are not up-to-date (15 percent of those interviewed).
What, then, does the future hold for the Catholic Church in Italy? Only time will tell. But it is certain that Christ the Judge will bring into judgment all institutions, as well as all individuals, claiming to exercise faith in him and to follow him as God’s appointed King and High Priest. If their doctrines and Church structure do not measure up to the requirements of Christianity as set forth in God’s Word, any blessing from him will be impossible to obtain. Such institutions or individuals, therefore, cannot stand.—1 Pet. 4:17, 18; Heb. 4:12; compare Nahum 1:6.