CDW rumours

Several people have asked me recently what I think about the rumours of Archbishop Ranjith being lined up to be Archbishop of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Fr Z has a helpful post on the whole business, with a translation of a recent article by Andrea Tornielli (“La riforma di Benedetto XVI”, i cambiamenti al Culto Divino)

Cardinal Arinze is now 75 and therefore likely to retire from his office as President of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Archbishop Ranjith, the Secretary of the CDW (second in command) is well-known for his support for Pope Benedict's liturgical project and for his outspoken statements and interviews on various liturgical matters, including criticism of the practice of communion in the hand.

As I mentioned some time ago, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, the "Little Ratzinger" is one of the names rumoured as a possible successor to Cardinal Arinze.

For the Bugninista tendency in the Curia, it would be a great problem to have two solid supporters of Pope Benedict's liturgical project in the top two positions at the CDW and therefore some would be pushing for "balance" which, as Fr Z points out, is code for undermining Pope Benedict's "extreme" project.

None of this necessarily has any bearing on what will actually happen. Rumour is used in these situations to push for particular outcomes since there cannot be any direct "campaigning". I would certainly hope that Archbishop Ranjith remains in the Curia or, if he is posted to Sri Lanka, that he is recalled after the briefest decent interval. Personally, I would be happy to see him in charge of any of the Congregations. (Imagine if he were the Cardinal prefect of the Congregation for Bishops!)

But don't ask me to make predictions. The Roman Curia fits Churchill's description of the action of Russia: "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."

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