Pope Francis faces ‘civil war’ at heart of Catholic Church

FROM his reforms to his foreign relations, criticism of Pope Francis has intensified since the death of his predecessor Benedict XVI, revealing a climate of “civil war” at a time when the Catholic Church is engaged in a global conversation about its future.

Benedict, a conservative German theologian who was pope for eight years before resigning in 2013, died on December 31 at the age of 95. Within days of his death, his closest aide, Georg Gaenswein, revealed Ben- edict’s concerns at some of the changes made by his successor Pope Francis, notably his decision to restrict the use of the Latin mass.

The criticism was not new. Many in the conservative wing of the Roman Curia, which governs the Church, have long complained the Argentine pontiff is authoritarian and too focused on pastoral matters at the expense of theological rigor.

But it was followed by the death of Australian cardinal George Pell, and the subsequent revelation that he had authored an anonymous note published last year that directly attacked Francis. The note had described the current papacy as a “catastrophe,” and among others criticized “heavy failures” of Vatican diplomacy under his watch.

Pell, a former close adviser to Francis, was jailed for child sexual abuse before being acquitted in 2020.