Catholicism

  • A trillion dollar Papacy is a worldwide phenomenon

    The Papacy is something to behold for the spiritually or sympathetically inclined. This is how researchers know perception of religion versus a practice of it. The latter is a deeper study on inner reality and the meaning of our outer things.

    But, the whole experience is also expensive to maintain, and as research by a small MI6 unit suggests, it’s a whole lot. Judging by the journey of its most recent incumbent, Pope Leo XIV, it costs close to a trillion dollars to setup each time.

    This is based on costings that constitute a real spend on the taking of the seat itself. It’s believed to include meetings, worldwide media efforts, and extensive inner dialogue over years, not to mention the personal expenditure of supporters and activities of Cathedrals.

    Such a worldwide effort is a phenomenon that puts meaning at the heart of the human experience for many people. It cannot be dismissed for easy reasons or struck down for a few points in political power plays. It may not be cheap, but it’s not superficial, either.

  • Pope Francis had a whipping influence on us

    The late Pope Francis had a whipping influence on us, providing a thematic set of ‘fatherly’ advice points that had no remit but to take us to task on many matters. He was a stern but serious figure who talked about all things. He gave us a direction to take in our thinking.

    So the question is what Pope Leo will say to us, the same people as before. Even as the wheels of the Catholic Church turned, we are still those too that are reached out to – Catholic or not – with messages of hope and redemption by him.

    It’s unlikely he will make any meaningful progress because most of the issues are already considered. It’s also true that his ‘staff’ need help modernising their approach, particularly in regard to begging off people in one-stop shots.

    Their worldwide approach is also flawed, because it turns over all crime every year, or so it’s said. This freakish ‘happening’ is now way too threatening to allow anymore. It falls far short of any sort of clerical conduct. We’re shocked.

  • New Archbishop of Westminster chosen

    Bishop Richard Moth is to become the new Archbishop of Westminster, replacing Cardinal Vincent Nichols after 16 years.

    His position is at the centre of English and Welsh Catholicism, and is a prominent pastoral role and ecclesiastical office in the UK.