St Mary Major: Francis Is Looking for Money
• Francis named Monsignor Rolandas Makrickas as commissioner of St Mary Major in December 2021 to look after the financial management of the basilica’s chapter.
• Makrickas manages the basilica like a CEO and has stripped the chapter of its rights and duties.
• He intruded into the private life of the canons asking them how much money they received from the Vatican (pension, remunerations etc) and even how much money they had in their bank accounts.
• Francis wants to save on the canons by providing for a five-years-canonry after which the elderly canons will be kicked out and must take care for themselves while at the same time Francis calls the elderly “a gift for the future of humanity,” and “teachers of tenderness.”
• Cardinal Ryłko, the Basilica’s archpriest is only seen at bureaucratic matters, never at prayers in the basilica.
• The contempt for the canons is shared by Francis, who rejects the presence of the canons when he visits the basilica.
Picture: © Lawrence Lew OP, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsAabndvbpzk
