The General Congregation of Cardinals first met on April 22 in preparation for Conclave 2025, which opens on Wednesday. The meetings have continued on a near-daily basis ever since, with one final meeting, the eleventh, set to take place tomorrow.
Over the course of these past two weeks, Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, has issued a limited number of statements regarding the General Congregations. According to these reports, starting with the third such meeting on April 24, and continuing through tomorrow, the floor was opened for individual cardinals to deliver interventions (speeches) to the assembly.
Though the cardinals each swear an oath to maintain “rigorous secrecy” regarding the proceedings, it is well understood that the interventions mainly focus on the state of the Church and the most pressing issues facing her in our day. These interventions presumably give the cardinals a certain amount of insight into the worldview of the cardinal who is speaking, which seems useful given the fact that many of these men hardly know anything about one another.
Taken together, the sum total of the interventions might arguably serve to weave a profile concerning the most desirable qualifications of the man who would be the next pope, something the cardinals may want to keep in mind as they proceed to the conclave.
About those press briefings…
Initially, the General Congregation briefings issued by Matteo Bruni mostly included procedural information, e.g., details concerning the funeral, who was scheduled to celebrate Mass on certain days during the Novemdiales (nine days of mourning), the date set for the conclave, etc.
Starting with ninth General Congregation, however, something changed as Bruni began briefing reporters on the topics that were addressed in the interventions that were given. On Saturday, he revealed:
There were 26 speeches made during the Congregation. They discussed subjects including:
– A dual task: communion within the Church and fraternity in the world
– Gratitude was expressed for Pope Francis, often citing his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, and the processes he initiated, which must be carried forward
– Collaboration and solidarity among Churches
– The role of the Roman Curia in relation to the Pope
– The service of the Church and the Pope in promoting peace
– The value of education
– The hope that the next Pope will be prophetic, that the Church will not shut itself in the upper room, but go out and bring light to a world desperately in need of hope (citing this year’s Jubilee)
The written report for the ninth General Congregation as posted on the Vatican News website states:
Among the recurring themes that have emerged in recent days, Mr. Bruni mentioned synodality and collegiality, as well as:
– The Jubilee and the theme of hope
– A look at the world, and the thirst and interest it shows toward the Church
– A Church that lives in the world, not in its own world, to avoid becoming insignificant
– Ecumenical dialogue and mission
This quasi-fly-on-the-wall style reporting continued today as Bruni told reporters:
There were 26 interventions at the [tenth] Congregation on Monday morning that touched on the following topics:
– Canon law and the role of the Vatican City State;
– The missionary nature of the Church;
– The role of Caritas in defending the poor;
– The presence of so many journalists was highlighted, seen as a sign that the Gospel has meaning for the world today—as a call to responsibility;
– The prayer during the COVID pandemic was recalled, as an open door of hope in a time of fear;
– Regarding the new Pope: many hope for a shepherd close to the people, a gateway to communion, gathering everyone in the blood of Christ, in a world where the global order is in crisis;
– The challenges of transmitting the faith, caring for creation, war, and a fragmented world were discussed;
– Concern was expressed over divisions within the Church;
– The role of women in the Church, in the context of synodality;
– Vocations, family, and the education of children were addressed;
– Reference was made to the documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially Dei Verbum, on how the Word of God is nourishment for the people of God.
Two takeaways:
First, the last two press briefings given by Bruni concerning the content of the interventions, while not a genuine violation of the “strict confidence” in which the proceedings are supposed to be held, strikes me as, at the very least, a violation in principle.
Then again, no one ever said that the Unholy See, its various dicasteries and offices, are principled.
More importantly, the Press Office does not exist for the purpose of providing transparency, rather, it is the official delivery system for the occupied Vatican’s Public Relations apparatus.
In other words, I don’t believe for a moment that Matteo Bruni woke up on Saturday morning and decided that the faithful deserve more information regarding the General Congregations than he’s been delivering thus far.
My suspicion, based on years of observation (e.g., the ever-present humblecam, the video trickery used to cover up for Francis’ refusal to genuflect, the use of children as papal props, etc.), is that these last two press briefings were deliberately crafted for a very specific purpose, namely, to prepare the world – believers and non-believers alike – to meet Bergoglio 2.0.
Below is a snapshot of the above topics placed in their appropriate category, either Bergoglian or Catholic, and the latter only “possibly.” I erred on the side of optimism when choosing which ones belonged on the Catholic side. Even so, every single one of those topics are bona fide nightmares in the hands of a Bergoglian.
[NOTE: Michael Hitchborn of the Lepanto Institute has reported that Caritas has a seat on the governing body of the World Social Forum, a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, pro-communist group.]
Bottom line, folks: It looks to me as if the Vatican PR machine is doing its part to prepare the masses for Franciscus II, whether knowingly as a true insider, or at the service of certain men-in-red who feed them information.
As for when we will hear those famous words, habemus papam, I tend to think that the successor to Francis was handpicked long before Bergoglio died. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the conclave went into day three or four. If it does, I don’t think it will be because the cardinals are engaged in a meaningful act of discernment, but rather because those pulling the strings favor those optics.
Cynical? Who me?
