In French law, there exists a legal device called donation-partage, which makes it possible to transmit and distribute the assets of a person’s estate during his lifetime. Pope Francis appears to be using a similar device, the legacy-appointment, which consists in appointing bishops in his image, in order to secure his heritage and to perpetuate his reforms.
The following have just been appointed: on May 26, Jorge Ignacio Garcia Cuerva, 55, Archbishop of Buenos Aires; on June 12, José Cobo Cano, 56, Archbishop of Madrid; and on June 22, Luc Terlinden, 54, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.
They are not 60 years old. They will outlive Francis and will be able to continue his work for 20 years. They are in favor of a “Church that goes forth,” open to the “peripheries.”
His latest appointment is that of the Argentinian Gabriel Antonio Mestre, 54, Archbishop of La Plata. On July 28, he succeeded Bishop Victor Manuel Fernández, recently appointed head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who will be created cardinal at the September 30 consistory.
In this regard, some Roman Vaticanists consider cum grano salis that the word “creation” is perfectly suited to the case of Bishop Fernández, since it is effectively a creation ex nihilo from philosophical and theological nothingness.
To come back to Bishop Mestre, he is resolutely in favor of a “Church that goes forth,” but to the beach, to the seaside “peripheries.” His aquatic apostolate has been clearly visible on the Internet. In January 2019, then-Bishop of Mar del Plata, he appeared on a busy beach, where he traded in his pectoral cross and pastoral ring for a bathing suit and swimming goggles.
This minimalist outfit allows the discovery of a lifeguard’s physique, but not the build of an athlete of the Faith or a soldier of Christ. He apparently put the ante-conciliar accessories in storage: the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Maybe they have been replaced by a layer of sunscreen?
According to a Mar del Plata daily, La Capital, Bishop Mestre is a faithful reflection of Pope Francis’s theology and his main pastoral priorities, especially through his apostolate to the poor by emphasizing the need to reach out to peripheries, as well as through his efforts to promote ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. This means that the Pope’s heritage is in good hands.
But it escapes no one that these episcopal appointments are made with a certain haste, as if the months were numbered. Is the Pope pressed for time, oppressed by the fear of seeing his ultra-conciliar reforms not succeed and ultimately sink? In this case, it is really necessary and urgent to appoint bishops who know how to swim.
The following is a commentary by Fr. Alain Lorans, SSPX.