Dr. Deirdre Good blogging at Not Being a Sausage looks at the English and Italian versions of the Pope’s words to the Curia (administration of the Roman Catholic Church) and finds he really did issue a “blistering critique:”
Did the Pope issue a “blistering critique” of the Curia? Yes says RNS writer Josephine McKenna. But Dawn Eden of “Get Religion” doesn’t think so. She cites a read of the Papal statement in Zenit and another by Rocco Palmo who notes that the Pope began by a call for forgiveness and concludes with a statement that the critique could be aimed at all Catholics.
You be the judge. We need the Italian text from the Vatican first. Here is the English version also from the Vatican….
Since the body of the address identifies the 15 spiritual conditions, it is important to know how to designate the Italian “malatia or malattie.” The English text uses “ailment” or “illness” except in four cases: Spiritual Alzheimer’s disease; the disease of indifference, accumulation, worldly profit and exhibitionism. The Italian uses the same word all the way through. My judgement is that the English has weakened the Italian.
Read it all here.
Watch the reaction of the assembly here.
Dr. Deirdre Good is professor of New Testament at The General Theological Seminary, specializing in the Synoptic Gospels, Christian Origins, Noncanonical writings and biblical languages.
Posted by Ann Fontaine