Holy Father Puts Limits on Audiences for Political Leaders
Vatican, May. 08 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he plans to cut down sharply on the number of private audiences he holds with political leaders, meeting only with heads of state and heads of government.
The Italian news agency ANSA has reported that a mailing to apostolic nuncios, sent out late in April, set out new procedures to be followed by politicians seeking to meet with the Pope. The 174 nuncios were informed that the Pontiff will no longer meet privately with cabinet ministers or other political figures short of the top rank.
In order to allow for proper planning, and minimized the demands on the 79-year-old Pontiff, the new rules ask for at least one month's advance notice before a visit from a government leaders. The nuncios are instructed that the Pope would prefer to hold such meetings on Fridays and Saturdays, late in the morning; Wednesdays are ordinarily off limits because of the Pope's regular weekly public audience.
The instructions go on to say that after meeting with the Pope, a visiting head of state will also meet privately with the Vatican Secretary of State, for a more detailed discussion. That practice continues the current Vatican policy. When several heads of state are in Rome at the same time for an international conference, the Pope will meet them as a group, and arrange for a brief personal greeting for the heads of state.
The new rules codify practices which, for the most part, have already been put into place; Pope Benedict has cut down significantly on the number of his private audiences. In January, Cardinal Angelo Sodano informed the papal nuncios that the Holy Father would no longer meet routinely with them when they visit Rome, but would schedule audiences every 2 or 3 years to hear reports on their activities.
This is great news! It sickened me to see people like John Kerry and Ted Kennedy at Pope John Paul II's funeral when they voted for nearly everything the Pope and the Catholic Church were against.
Dom comments on this, too. It’s not that John Paul was wrong for holding such audiences, but that Benedict has different priorities. I think we’re going to see him less active in general political areas and more active with regard to governance of the Church and in areas where the life of the Church intersects with the state, e.g. religious freedom in China.
The Italian news agency ANSA has reported that a mailing to apostolic nuncios, sent out late in April, set out new procedures to be followed by politicians seeking to meet with the Pope. The 174 nuncios were informed that the Pontiff will no longer meet privately with cabinet ministers or other political figures short of the top rank.
In order to allow for proper planning, and minimized the demands on the 79-year-old Pontiff, the new rules ask for at least one month's advance notice before a visit from a government leaders. The nuncios are instructed that the Pope would prefer to hold such meetings on Fridays and Saturdays, late in the morning; Wednesdays are ordinarily off limits because of the Pope's regular weekly public audience.
The instructions go on to say that after meeting with the Pope, a visiting head of state will also meet privately with the Vatican Secretary of State, for a more detailed discussion. That practice continues the current Vatican policy. When several heads of state are in Rome at the same time for an international conference, the Pope will meet them as a group, and arrange for a brief personal greeting for the heads of state.
The new rules codify practices which, for the most part, have already been put into place; Pope Benedict has cut down significantly on the number of his private audiences. In January, Cardinal Angelo Sodano informed the papal nuncios that the Holy Father would no longer meet routinely with them when they visit Rome, but would schedule audiences every 2 or 3 years to hear reports on their activities.
This is great news! It sickened me to see people like John Kerry and Ted Kennedy at Pope John Paul II's funeral when they voted for nearly everything the Pope and the Catholic Church were against.
Dom comments on this, too. It’s not that John Paul was wrong for holding such audiences, but that Benedict has different priorities. I think we’re going to see him less active in general political areas and more active with regard to governance of the Church and in areas where the life of the Church intersects with the state, e.g. religious freedom in China.
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