Icon of Christ Crucified, chapel of San Damiano, near Assisi
God, through the Byzantine icon of Christ Crucified at the chapel of San Damiano, said to St Francis of Assisi, “Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins”
So, what needs repair? In the order I thought of them:
- The division between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
- Cafeteria Catholicism and moral relativism
- The sex abuse scandal – the damage from the abuse and the damage from the scandal
- The Roman Curia (should this be #1?)
- The relationship between the Society of St Pius X and the Church
- The Church’s interaction with western post-Christian society (not that we should give in, but rather that the Church will need a pastor to help her in the battle)
- Liturgical abuses
- …
Update #1, 15 March
Curia not yet reappointed. The meaning of this is unclear.
Pope Yet To Re-Appoint Curia
Update #2, 15 March
For the first time since the Great Schism, Ecumenical Patriarch to attend pope’s inaugural Mass
Update #3, 17 March
Pope Francis was mentored at school by Father Stefan Czmil, a Ukrainian Catholic priest, and “concelebrated” (sounds like he was an altar server) in the Ukranian Byzantine Divine Liturgy.
Update #4, 17 March
“Pope Francis, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, was assigned as ordinary for Eastern Catholics, specifically those who at the time did not have members of their own hierarchy. Our Eparchy in Argentina is, let’s say, suffragan to the Archbishop’s seat of Buenos Aires.” — Patriarch [Major Archbishop] Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This is a very good sign for a) the traditional Latin Mass and b) unity with the Orthodox Churches.
