The Pope Francis Problem

Problems with Pope Francis... or perhaps just Pope Francis' STYLE (?) are popping up every where.  An excellent (in my opinion) article on the 'Francis Problem' was written by Hilary White, a Rome Correspondent for LifeSiteNews.com. I am highlighting a few parts that jumped out at me, but please go read the FULL article, it's worth it.

Hilary White starts with:

"ROME, October 3, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – I don’t know if I’m the only one to have noticed, but there seems to be something strange going on in the Vatican. No, I’m not talking about all that, at least not directly. I’m talking about the strange, long, almost awkward and, dare I say it, embarrassed silence, that has reigned from the Vatican’s press office on all of Pope Francis’s extraordinary statements and actions since his election."[clip]

They (Vatican Press Office) seem to me to be as stumped as the rest of us over Pope Francis's comments.
White then mentions:

"In the nearly ten years I’ve been covering Vatican and Catholic-related news, through three papacies now, I don’t remember a time when the uproar caused by things a pope is saying and doing has reached so deeply into the minds of orthodox believers. These are the people who adhere to and defend all the teaching of the Catholic religion as a coherent and indivisible whole, and who have always relied on clarity and vigorous defence of the faith from Rome."[clip]

Me neither. :(
And she goes on with:

"But in recent months, around the world, with either dismay and anxiety, or with triumphant whoops, this pope’s statements – first to the Jesuit magazine La Civilta Cattolica and now to the Italian atheist celebrity Eugenio Scalfari – have been interpreted as nearly a declaration that the Church will change to suit the tastes of the “progressivists,” liberals and secularists. And for weeks, there was nothing; no clarification, no corrections or denials at all from inside the Vatican’s walls. The Catholic world outside was starting to wonder just what is going on in there. Nothing, that is, until last Thursday, when, after a Sala Stampa (Holy See Press Office) press conference about the first meeting of Pope Francis’ new council of cardinals, Fr. Federico Lombardi stammered out a few words in response to a deluge of reporters’ questions.Despite the fact that they certainly must have known what was coming, we had nothing but the Holy See’s press officer and the de facto papal spokesman metaphorically dropping his gaze and shuffling his feet. The pope, Fr. Lombardi said, was speaking in a “conversational” or “colloquial” manner, and his statements were not “a magisterial document”…Not only was there no comment or clarifications in the prepared remarks at that press conference, Fr. Lombardi had nothing prepared for what he must have known would be the main point of interest for journalists. He seemed, simply, to be caught off guard."[clip]

Again I say, everyone at the Vatican seems as perplexed and confused by Francis as the rest of the world.  What will they do is the question?

White points out confusion reigns everywhere:

"But many of us Vatican-watchers are also left wondering what is going on inside the Press Office. The brevity and off-the-cuff, essentially reactive character of their very few responses to date do indicate one thing that they were probably not intended to convey. That is, it seems the usual paths of communication within the Vatican, and their “control over the message” have broken down.One local Rome reporter told me, “I think they must be embarrassed that the interview went ahead as it did. I asked Fr. Lombardi if anyone else sat in on the interview. No reply. It raises an ominous question: if there is this much confusion and bewilderment out here, is it possible that the same confusion reigns in there?"[clip]

See!  Nearly everyone seems to be baffled by Francis.
White then finishes with:

"But the evidence is mounting that that system has broken down or simply been rendered moot. If pope Francis is now just calling up journalists himself (if that story is to be believed) and bypassing the process by which papal statements were vetted, clarified and perfected, then what can we expect next?We also know that the same system that kept ambiguity or confusion from causing problems among the faithful, also restrained those members of the hierarchy who were inclined, for whatever reason, to back away from the Church’s teachings. It will not have failed to cross the minds of a certain kind of prelate and priest that there now appears to be no one minding the store and that some things may now be said and done with less fear of corrective action."[clip]

Someone at the Vatican - (ANYONE PLEASE)- needs to step in and get control of this problem.  How long can things continue like this?
Please read the FULL article at LifeSiteNews.com (direct link below).

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

link: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/has-vatican-press-office-lost-control-of-the-message-under-pope-francis/