The Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III were back on Boston Public Radio with another installment of their ongoing segment "Pope Watch." Every week, the two evaluate the latest moves by Pope Francis.
This week, Revs. Monroe and Price looked at the Pope's move to demote a conservative American Cardinal — Raymond Burke — who has been an outspoken critic of the Pope's new policies. Burke opposed the way Pope Francis extended an olive branch to LGBT and divorced Catholics at the recent bishops' synod at the Vatican.
In light of the always-churning Vatican news beat, the Rev. Irene Monroe developed a rating system for the weekly Pope Watch. Here's how Monroe broke down the one-to-five scale, with five being the best:
1. Pope Francis maintains status quo, meaning, "Don't let worry kill you — let the church help."
2. Pope employs a limited degree of Divine Intervention: "There are some questions and concerns that can't be answered by Google."
3. Pope's Divine Intervention begins to recognize women: "You ain't what you ought to be, but thank God you ain't what you used to be."
4. Pope's Divine Intervention includes women: "Half of the world population is praying for the things others take for granted."
5. Pope's Divine Intervention is just right, meaning, "Walmart is not the only saving place on earth."
Last week, Monroe gave the Pope a 2.0, a relatively low score. This week? "Where he fell down to a 2.0 — guess what? He got that two-and-a-quarter," Monroe said.
Monroe quoted an interview with Pope Francis as evidence his ideas on gender still needed updating. "I am wary of a solution that can be reduced to a kind of 'female machismo,'" the Pope said, in reference to giving women a more prominent role in the church. "Interestingly enough, there's been a decline in the number of women" becoming nuns, Monroe said.
The Rev. Emmett G. Price III was more taken with Pope Francis' progress. "This was a huge deal, because it's the notion of the Pope standing by what he said he was going to do. He's cleaning house, and change takes time," Price said. "The fact is, you can't sweep through and change everything in three days."
Monroe said her rating of the Pope will rise when he begins "to recognize the inequity in the church."
Price responded: "But isn't he getting rid of the people who are against the things that he's concerned about?"
They'll take up the question on next week's All Revved Up.
>> To hear the entire interview with Revs. Monroe and Price, click the audio above. Stay tuned for next week's Pope Watch.
