Preparing His Departure, The Pope Confirms What We All Knew

As Rorate has already provided a full report on this topic, I'm just going to comment. Basically, the Pope addressed the Roman clergy and laid out why Vatican II has been so problematic. In a nutshell:

The media saw the Council as a political struggle, a struggle for power between different currents within the Church. It was obvious that the media would take the side of whatever faction best suited their world. There were those who sought a decentralization of the Church, power for the bishops and then, through the Word for the “people of God”, the power of the people, the laity. There was this triple issue: the power of the Pope, then transferred to the power of the bishops and then the power of all … popular sovereignty. Naturally they saw this as the part to be approved, to promulgate, to help.

Make sure you read the whole thing at the link.

He hedges a bit on the "factions" involved, choosing instead to focus on the media's role, but it's still there. The good news is that there is a papal recognition that the Council was, in fact, hijacked. Our readers here should know this story well, as it's been covered in our prior postings on the matter. The hijacking was possible by a media presence who hyped the fact that there was a group advocating for heterodox positions to the detriment of those supporting the Catholic position.

This is a striking statement considering our theory on why the Pope is resigning and all the media speculation (and obvious preferences) on who the next Vicar of Christ will be. Moreover, it brings the Council back to the forefront on the eve of the conclave and not as a good thing, but rather as something that must be overcome. At least in terms of the operative Council, which is the "virtual" one he refers to in the speech.

Let's hope the clergy, not to mention the cardinals, were listening attentively.