Pope Francis and the Curia, the President and his Cabinet

The last few days have brought me so many cheerful Christmas messages from friends, and also some troubled questions about our nation and the world. The questions are a mix of the political and the theological. They become more difficult as they move from one category to the next. Could I address them here? I have neither the stamina nor the space, but there is one question, which I don’t believe a serious Catholic could or should avoid.

It has to do with Pope Francis’s Christmas message to the Roman Curia. The Curia is equivalent of a president’s Cabinet. It is composed of dicasteries, or “congregations,”such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, through which the Pope administers the affairs of the universal Church. Each one of these is headed by a cardinal-prefect, who is supported by a bishop-secretary, and a staff usually made up of priests. As reported by the secular world press, the Pope’s traditional Christmas message turned into a “blistering attack”on many of the Curia’s “ailments.” He publicly faulted the members of the Curia for these.