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| Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto |
(Rome) The Italian Episcopal Conference has elected a new Vice President. The president of the Italian Episcopal Conference is the Pope himself, but he does not exercise this office; the new strong man is the new Vice President, Bishop Nunzio Galatino.
The Vice President is elected by the General Assembly of the Bishops' Conference. Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto (a pupil of Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini) whom Pope Francis had designated to the Special Secretary of the Synod of Bishops on the family, was front-runner. Archbishop Forte had been the author of the controversial Relatio post disceptationem, around which there has been heated controversy within and outside the Synod Hall. He had also infamously resisted Benedict XVI 's corrected translation of the words of consecration "pro multis" to "for many" instead of "for all".
The "duel" in the Bishops' Conference
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| Bishop Nunzio Galatino |
Besides Forte, Bishop Meini of Fiesole ran for the office of Vice President. For the more famous Forte, the "duel" should have been a walk in the park, especially since he is Pope Francis "blue eyed boy": no bishop could seriously doubt what Forte had written in the interim and final report of the Synod, had not been approved by the Pope. Nevertheless, in the first ballot Forte failed to reach the necessary quorum. In the runoff, the fact that Forte had fallen from favour became abundantly clear. Only 60 votes were cast for him, but 140 votes were cast for Bishop Mario Meini of Fiesole: 30 per cent for Forte, 70 percent for his challenger! The electoral defeat makes Forte papal appointment as chairman of the Bishops' Conference almost impossible .
It is too soon to acclaim this as good news for the Church; it's almost certainly not, because so little that comes out of Rome at the moment is. However, genuine Catholics can surely be allowed to celebrate the defeat of one more worldly, faithless liberal.
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