Cardinal Pell’s Delusions of Grandeur

After Cardinal Pell passed away, I happened to watch a 1993 debate between Pell and Father Uren SJ. Also participating in the debate were Catholic lay people and priests on both sides of the debate. (The two sides sat in separate groups.) The debate was published by Church Militant Australia. Judging by the comments, this organization expected viewers to be sympathetic to Pell and his group. I thought it demonstrated Cardinal Pell’s delusions of grandeur.

Fighting Vatican II and the Jesuits

As a non-CatholicI knew nothing about the debates taking place in the decades following Vatican II, so I didn’t realize that Pell was part of a faction that has been fighting Vatican II since the beginning. Nor did I know that this faction is fighting the Jesuits in particular.

Pope John Paul’s Encyclical on Contraception

The debate centered on an encyclical letter from Pope John Paul, which contains his teachings on contraception. It became clear that Pell thought it was his job to bring members in line with this encyclical, even though it contradicted previous teachings. His response to objections from other participants, was to act as thought his word should be final. Many of the participants seemed insulted by this approach.

Father Uren Explains That an Encyclical Can Be Debated

Father Uren explained that an encyclical letter is not supposed to be above debate. But Pell argued that it should not be debated at all, at least not on television. He stopped short of demanding obedience.

Why Did This Video Shock Me?

I am not going to argue any of these points because I am aware that this Pell faction still exists today. What I hope to do is explain what shocked me about this video.  I was shocked because I realized that the insults Cardinal Pell has given to Pope Francis were part of this old debate. Even though this debate is now more than 30 years old, this faction is still determined to keep the Church captive to its own idea of what the Church should be. It wouldn’t matter to me if not for the fact that these people have been successful.

Hubris is not a strong enough word. Arrogance is better. This is one of the most outrageous things I have ever witnessed. And it may even explain Pell’s support of Donald Trump.

I thought highly of Cardinal Pell when I saw how he conducted his debate with a well-known atheist, so it pained me when he publicly supported Donald Trump’s bad behavior and criticized Pope Francis.

There was more than one occasion when he was publicly disrespectful to Pope Francis. Now we know that he was also disrespectful in private. It has come out since his death that he was the author of an anonymous letter criticizing Pope Francis.

Pell Tries to Influence a Our Election

Pell’s insults to Francis were hurtful to me when I first heard them. Now that I understand what was going on I can hardly believe this man would carry his fight into the Vatican and rail against a sitting pope. And it wasn’t just Pope Francis who he opposed. He opposed the Jesuits as a group. The conservative Catholics seem to blame the Jesuits for Vatican II.

You could say that when Pell tried to influence our election It was as if the rest of us didn’t exist. Regardless of Pope Francis’s contributions to the world, all Pell cared about was this obscure debate. Pell lost touch with everything but his own delusions of grandeur. It’s embarrassing.