Pope Francis: Confusion and Hypocrisy to the Last Minute
A few days ago, the law was published that converts Decree No. DCCX of the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (SCV) on illegal entry into the territory of the SCV.
Badilla notes that certain passages of the law (10 articles) are difficult to read "because they are either incomprehensible or confusing when common sense is applied".
It seems like a text that was improvised and written while reading the daily news and imagining that what is happening in Paris, Rome or London in terms of illegal occupations could happen tomorrow morning in the Vatican.
The law was promulgated on 15 March 2025, with some important changes. It had been approved for promulgation on 19 December 2024. During this waiting period the decree was amended again.
One was to take account of the fact that Sister Raffaella Petrini, the President of the Governorate, is not a Cardinal, although all current Vatican legislation on the matter requires her to be. The amended article 9, paragraph 3 now states that where the text reads 'Cardinal President of the Governorate' it should instead read 'President of the Governorate'.
However, Francis did not change the Fundamental Law and the Laws on the Governorate, both of which require the President of the Governorate to be a Cardinal.
Instead, "he chose the path of confusion and chaos, to the point of making this amendment to article 9 of this new law, which frankly surprises anyone's intelligence," writes Badilla.
He asks whether the amendment applies only to this law: "Or can it be extended to all Vatican legislation that refers to the 'Cardinal President of the Governorate'?"
Regarding this law, some independent media have focused on the serious contradiction between Francis' many words in favour of illegal mass immigration and his actions in the Vatican to the contrary.
Badilla also notes that from day one, Francis has had "an almost obsessive concern about how housing is used and distributed within the Vatican". He used the ability and right to live in the Vatican as a "tool of government".
If a person lost this right, Francis was strict about having them removed from their home as quickly as possible: "There are many orders from the gendarmerie to speed up the evacuation of apartments once the right to use them for professional reasons has expired."
As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio, during an illegal occupation of a property belonging to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, managed to have the occupation quickly cleared by the police by appealing to the Minister of the Interior.
"His firm and uncompromising stance against squatting has been a hallmark of his relationship with the Argentine capital in the past," writes Badilla.
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