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POPE FRANCIS and REFORMING the VATICAN Rev The National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management A CALL TO COMMUNION: CO-RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH 2013 Annual Meeting | Santa Clara University | June 25-27, 2013 www.TheLeadershipRoundtable.org/AnnualMeeting POPE FRANCIS AND REFORMING THE VATICAN Rev. Thomas Reese, SJ Columnist, National Catholic Reporter and former editor-in-chief, America of documents from the Pope’s apartment, others. As far as I know, not one cardinal Fr. Tom Reese financial corruption, sexual misconduct, has an MBA. The conservative theological and internal bickering among the various training of these men makes them fearful cardinals in the curia. There were also calls that some of these reforms would actually for efficiency and better management. undermine the very character of the Church. Since Vatican II, there has been extensive I’m going to focus on what we mean by discussion about reforming the curia, reforming the Vatican. I would distinguish but nothing ever happened. The lack of between two types of reform: better progress in reform is due to institutional management and comprehensive reform. inertia, disagreements over what reform Many of the recent scandals in the curia means, and fears that reform can lead are simple management problems that I’ve been asked to talk about the to changes in power relationships. Does can be dealt with by following best impossible topic of reforming the Vatican. that sound familiar to any organization practices of business and government. In It’s a very interesting topic because this you’ve ever been involved in? This is not other words, this is not rocket science, nor is an institution that’s been around for a unique to the Catholic Church. There are, is it theology. It is simply the application long time. So as a social scientist and as however, some barriers to reform that the of good management practices that a priest and theologian, it’s a fascinating Church faces in addition to what would be government and corporations have used. topic to explore. in any other institution. For example, they have dealt with financial This was one of the issues the cardinals First of all, they have the problem that corruption for centuries. The solutions discussed prior to the conclave. their leadership has absolutely no training involve things like proper accounting Everybody was talking about reforming in management. They learn administration systems, rules about conflicts of interest, the Vatican curia, and a lot of the by working in Church bureaucracies and competitive bidding, transparency in discussion focused on various Vatican by watching others. So they learn both finances, and internal and external scandals, including the theft and leaking the mistakes and the good things from auditors. But part of the problem is 1 cultural. The Vatican is in Italy, where countries, which means that it had to What we are talking about here is financial corruption is not uncommon, and observe the international standards set human resource management. The who you know is often more important than up by Moneyval. His decision means that Vatican is a human resource nightmare what you know and what you can do. And every year, outsiders will check up on for a few reasons. part of the problem is that the leadership what the Vatican is doing and give a public team – cardinals, bishops and priests – have report. It is in the Vatican city-state and in First, the Vatican follows Italian labor no understanding or training in financial the Vatican bank where financial reform practices, which means it’s almost management. They have to depend on makes most sense. These are entities impossible to fire anyone. Thousands others. But the problem also results from that have secular counterparts, museums, of people want jobs in the Vatican, and the arrogance of thinking that the Church is stores, office buildings, post offices, no one ever quits. It’s a great job. The somehow so different that it cannot learn security forces, etc., for which best current economic crisis is forcing Italians from government or business practices. practices are easily available in managing to reexamine their labor practices and, contracts, purchases, and other financial hopefully, this might help the Vatican. On the other hand, some actions transactions. There is no excuse for not The Vatican needs HR expertise. When have been taken in terms of financial following best practices when it comes to I wrote my book on the Vatican, the HR management. Early in his papacy, financial administration in the Vatican. It is officer was a nice young Dominican with John Paul II removed the Italians from in this area that the business community a degree in canon law and absolutely no all leadership positions dealing with can be most helpful in reform. training in human resource management. finances in the Vatican, and brought in Cardinal Edmund Szoka to modernize A second area of scandal was alleged Second, many of the Vatican employees and computerize the Vatican accounting sexual impropriety. There was a lot of talk are clerics. In theory, they can be fired system. One of the reasons Cardinal Szoka about a gay lobby in the Vatican. Well, if by sending them back to their dioceses. was so successful was that he didn’t really there is a gay lobby in the Vatican pushing But in reality, they often have cardinal care what the other people in the curia a gay agenda, it is the most unsuccessful patrons whom no one wants to cross. thought of him, whether they liked him or lobby in the history of the world! Sexual The sexual abuse crisis showed how not. But once Cardinal Szoka left, there impropriety occurs not just in the Catholic poorly the Church deals with HR when it was a lot of backsliding. Detailed financial Church, but in governments, businesses comes to clerics. Pope Francis’ attacks reports were no longer issued. Systems and militaries. That is why there are rules on clericalism and careerism should help can be put into place, but it takes people to against sexual harassment, sex between here, but human resource management make them work properly. employees and supervisors, and against is another place where the business advancement in exchange for sexual community can help the Vatican. By the end of John Paul’s papacy, the favors. Sexual impropriety can also lead Italians were once again in charge of to blackmail. My personal opinion is that a Third, there were also complaints about all the financial offices. In 2011, Pope lot of these leaks are a result of journalists petty infighting in the curia. I’m not one Benedict took a huge step in financial blackmailing. The journalists are all writing who thinks that everyone in the Vatican reform by insisting that the Vatican follow about how these Vatican officials are subject should think with one mind. It is useful for the standards set by the international to blackmail. Well, who do you think is an executive to have subordinates who agency Moneyval. Although he could blackmailing them? I think it’s the journalists argue with each other so that he gets probably not balance his own checkbook that get all this leaked information. In any a variety of advice. Frankly, one of the – if he even had a checkbook—Benedict case, this is another area where business problems with the papacies of John Paul realized that the Vatican would not reform and government have some experience. II and Benedict was their unwillingness itself unless it was held accountable by And again, rules are not enough. There to listen to a variety of voices. But when outsiders. In the past, the Vatican always have to be compliance officers investigating the fighting is about power and prestige, argued that it was unique and could not allegations and enforcing rules. And if these it becomes dysfunction, and a strong be judged by anybody else’s standards. offenses are job related, the Vatican should hand is needed to get people back in line. But Benedict insisted that the Vatican treat them as causes for termination, not Archbishop Giovanni Benelli played this get on Moneyval’s white list of good simply as sins. role in the papacy of Pope Paul VI, where 2 he was the sustituto, a position similar to churches. So you’ve got a bunch of relationship here.” So, do you alienate the that of the White House Chief of Staff. congregations and offices that deal with Jews for organizational purity? Of course He was Paul VI’s alderman. Cardinals those, and other offices that deal with not. So they’re still dealt with in the trembled in his presence and he got issues like ecumenism, interreligious Council for Christian Unity. So this is the things done and kept people on message. dialogue, doctrine, and liturgy. Then there kind of problems you have to deal with in Subsequent sustitutos did not play as are some offices that are divided by the management and where the organizational strong a role as Benelli because the people that are affected, bishops, clergy, boxes are on the chart. sustitutos did not want to make enemies religious, laity, even health workers. This among the cardinals. Many felt that Benelli means you’ve got all sorts of overlapping But when you get to comprehensive never became pope because he made so jurisdiction that demands coordination, reform, what is involved there? Everyone many enemies in the College of Cardinals which does not always happen. in the Church seems to be in favor of while he was sustituto. reform. Even members of the Roman The other problem is that often, the Curia will say, “I’m for reforming the The other key position for coordinating issues assigned to a particular dicastery curia.” But what does that mean? To a the curia is the secretary of state, a have more to do with history than any curial cardinal, that means he gets more position more like a prime minister than theoretical scheme.
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