As described by veteran Vatican analyst Andrea Gagliarducci in his VaticanMonday  blog:

Pope Francis’ communication is centered on himself. The Pope’s interviews are about what the Pope thinks, and what he corroborates with pieces of Church history. The other popes’ starting point was the Church, always taking a step back from the role they held. Even with John Paul II, despite his evident charisma gathering crowds.

Pope Francis’ was, therefore, a change of epoch. In addition to [how he has] kept his distance from problems, there are some contradictions . . .

Vatican expert Sandro Magister has noted a disparity of treatment, for example, in three particular circumstances: the question of the Order of Malta; how the Community of Sant’Egidio is treated; and the expulsion from the community of Bose of his founder, Brother Enzo Bianchi, who was also considered a friend of Pope Francis, and whom the Pope had wanted at the Synods on the family.

These . . .  examples show that there are no people whom the Pope always considers friends. Even the personal secretaries of Pope Francis have changed throughout the pontificate. This is because Pope Francis wants to manage everything personally. His strategy is to take power away from others. And so, no one has control.

The particular secretaries do not have it, destined to be replaced and in any case unaware of the Pope’s many appointments. The dicastery heads do not have it, uncertain about the Pope’s decisions, and destined not to remain for more than two five-year terms. Not even the local bishops have it, forced to navigate precariously, hoping not to make serious mistakes.

See more here . . . 

 

In case you missed this. Nothing in Trib or Sun-Times, however.

Bagpipes sounded on State Street, and a truck with flashing images of the Mass of the Ages rolled by. We stood shoulder to shoulder or knelt on the sidewalk and prayed the Rosary with Holy Name Cathedral looming large behind us. Men held signs aloft for the traffic to read: “Cardinal Cupich: Why are you punishing faithful Catholics?” It was the First Sunday of February.

And the citizens were restless.

Over two hundred of us gathered there. Men, women, even a few children (bundled up well against the cold). There were Chicago’s quintessential old Polish ladies in fur coats, and old men too, but the majority were millennials and gen-Zers. A mom in her third trimester walked about with an iPhone filming the livestream. A thirty-something dad led us through fifteen decades of the Rosary, interspersing the mysteries with hymns and other traditional devotions.

Indeed.

Some car horns honked, but whether friendly or hostile I couldn’t tell. Shouts rang from a passing driver or two, but they were lost in the Chicago wind. When the Cathedral’s 10:30 a.m. Mass ended and its participants picked their way through our ranks, looking embarrassed and saying nothing, I realized with a pang how Traditiones Custodes has already begun to rip apart the flock.

Not to mention the dutiful concurrence of His Eminence the archbishop.

But despite this sorrow, a spirit of joyful calm prevailed over us—joyful because we recognized the honor that was ours in taking up this cause, and calm because, well, perhaps many of us are getting rather used to this kind of thing. We have prayed in the same way in front of abortion facilities, in front of businesses with draconian mandates, in front of statues of saints threatened by raving mobs, and in front of our own churches with doors locked and barred. [In a previous assignment, then-Bishop Cupich did literally lock a church’s doors to prevent Traditional Latin services.] Now the doors are open but in a strange conditional way. All are welcome but those who love the Mass of the Ages. Hence the question—purely rhetorical—for His Eminence Cardinal Cupich.

more more more here . . . including:

The next Rosary Rally will take place Sunday, March 6th at 11AM once again outside of Holy Name Cathedral. See you there! For more details, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Cat kettle black, watch your back, Don Winslow is looking at you.

Caught!

Tut, tut:

Vaccine passports do little to stop coronavirus transmission at festivals, but should still be considered anyway to increase vaccine uptake in young people, scientists advising the Government have said. It’s the first time advisers have admitted the vaccines do not prevent transmission but have argued the illiberal policy should be adopted purely to coerce people to do something for their own benefit. The Telegraph has the story.

So. Cat’s out of bag. The little foolers.