A letter sent to our friends in the Argentine blog Caminante Wanderer:
Dear Wanderer,
As I know you and your readers are interested, I am sending you a brief chronicle of my trip to Rome.
I expected, as did the [Italian] government and the merchants of the city, that by this time Rome would be full of pilgrims who had come for the Jubilee, and would join the usual crowds of tourists. Well, neither the one nor the other. Rome is empty and, above all, empty of pilgrims. Everyone agrees that last year at this time there were many, many more people lining up to enter St. Peter's Basilica or to visit the other churches.
It is sad and even pathetic to see in St. Peter's Square an endless series of snaking fences that were put up to sort out the mass of pilgrims that would be approaching. And believe me, even when I was in Rome for ten days and residing within walking distance of the basilica, I never but never saw anyone in that line. As for myself, the times I entered the basilica, I either didn't have to wait in line, or it was only a few minutes. Last year, on the other hand, it was never less than 40 or 50 minutes. And I never had to wait in line to go through the Holy Door, either at St. Peter's or Santa Maria Maggiore, and the Vatican organizers pretended to require registrations and QR codes for that procedure!
On the odd day or two in which I saw groups of pilgrims - all from Italian dioceses - approaching the basilica with devotion, they were far less than a crowd. I recognize that we are in the low season and that it is likely that this desolate panorama will be reversed when the spring and summer months begin. But I'm not sure. There is just no reason for the faithful devoted to the hierarchy to flock to Rome for the Jubilee. If the Church has decided that its role is to protect migrants, safeguard the planet, and shelter those with sexual identities in tension, as you said in the previous post, there's not much point in going to Rome to gain the jubilee indulgence. Indulgence? That must be a medieval matter given that, as Pope Francis has indicated, hell is empty and purgatory, for a good part of the bishops, does not even exist. The Jubilee has lost all meaning. And the image that the Romans took with them during the ceremony of the opening of the Holy Door was just that: Francis opened only two of the holy doors, St. Peter's and, as an innovation, another in a prison, sending delegates to open the other three: in St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and in his own cathedral, St. John Lateran.
At St. Peter's, he remained in a wheelchair, without a miter or a pluvial cloak, limiting himself to knocking on the door that opened from the inside. However, during those same days he consecrated one of his protégés as bishop, and there he was seen to be energetic and mobile. For observers it is clear that the Jubilee is, for the Holy Father, a nuisance.
It also made a negative impression that the second anniversary of Pope Benedict's death was not officially celebrated. A Mass was celebrated in St. Peter's, officiated by Cardinal Müller, but it was a private initiative, and was obstructed by the authorities of the basilica. On the first anniversary it was celebrated with a certain solemnity, and was accompanied by members of the Sistine Chapel choir, who provided their services free of charge, but this time they refused to do so because of the criticism they had received.
One of the most talked about topics in traditionalist circles is the apostolic visitation that is underway in the Fraternity of St. Peter, about which nothing is known and which does not bode well. The Fathers of the FSSP are not known for their shrewdness and neither are they known for their chivalry. I will throw a mantle of pity over all the betrayals and miserable acts they have carried out in the last months towards their friends with the naive purpose of ingratiating themselves with Francis, something that certainly will not happen. The prognosis is that priests will be obliged to concelebrate with the diocesan bishop on Holy Thursday and that the Mass of Paul VI will have to be celebrated periodically in their seminaries. We will see; for now these are just comments.
Another of the topics that inevitably appear in the conversations of the reserved circles, or not so much, is the next conclave that is unfailingly approaching but nobody knows when it will happen. Some celebrate the fact that Pope Francis has such a long life because it has allowed, in the first place, to bring to the surface all the filth that was hidden in the Church and to show the fruits of the Council as they are, no longer ripe but rotten. Secondly, because it has given time to the shift to the right that the world is experiencing and that will undoubtedly have an effect on the criteria for the election of the next pontiff. In fact, Cardinal Burke is being viewed with interest by his fellow cardinals, not so much as a possible choice, but as an advisor considering his closeness to American conservative circles.
On the other hand, and as you have sometimes explained in your blog, certain analysts consider that it is a mistake to attribute to Pope Francis perfectly calculated decisions with ideological justification. He himself has said in his last autobiography that one of his shortcomings is to make decisions inopportunely and without much thought. And this applies to the selection of cardinals. It is a mistake to think that he chooses only Bergoglians. He chooses, fundamentally, those he likes, or those whose choice annoys others, without caring too much about the concentration of Bergoglianism they have in their blood. And there are many examples; I cite just one: he created as cardinal the priest who worked in the Secretariat of States - an Indian of Syrian-Malabar rite - and was in charge of organizing his trips: George Jacob Koovakad. He knew him, saw him often, liked him and made him a cardinal, even though he was a simple minister and, moreover, young. A very medieval thing indeed. And this priest is rather conservative and a man of faith. And there are many cases like this. Therefore, and beyond the fact that Bergoglianism will cease to exist at the very moment Francis breathes his last breath, we may have some good surprises in the next conclave.
Anyway, to kill the dead hours of waiting in Fiumicino airport, I started to write this freehand chronicle, which I hope will be of interest to you.
Yours,
Guido della Rovere [Source, in Spanish]
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Rorate Note: We surely do not believe Burke has any chance -- but he is the best advisor to be sought.
As for the flop, that was to be expected. This godforsaken Pontificate has been a failure from start to finish. No sane Catholic can actually believe this is the way forward.
