“I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas, on the part of all authorities and individuals, for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth: this is demanded by all the many victims hidden in families and in the various settings of our societies."
–
Pope Francis I, from his concluding address at the Feb. 21-24th Meeting
for the Protection of Minors in the Church.
Optimism is so easily twisted into
cynicism these days, but despite the reservations of many, I welcomed the
Vatican’s recent special “Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church”
(February 21-24) as a sign that the Catholic church is finally starting to take
serious responsibility for the sexual abuse of minors by its clergy members.
Some encouraging signs also exist that this
time, the church is committed to rooting out this problem and working with
civil legal authorities to banish the predators from its ranks. Hope springs
eternal--maybe.
Many are rightly impatient or
frustrated that Pope Francis didn’t immediately defrock the individual priests
and bishops accused of this behavior and turn them over to civil authorities,
but again, signs exist that things are moving in that direction. Between July and
now, the Pope first accepted Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s resignation, banned
him into seclusion, examined the evidence against him, and then—just before
this week’s historical meeting—did defrock
him (expel him from the clergy). Those who want to see McCarrick prosecuted
may have a better chance at it now.
On the other hand, maybe McCarrick
was just a “token”—he was on the verge of retirement, anyway…so goes the cynical response, but then word is out today
(Feb. 25) that the Pope’s former top financial advisor, Cardinal George Pell,
was just convicted by
Australian authorities of molesting two choir boys some 20 years ago, when
he was Archbishop of Melbourne. Inch by inch…one case at a time.
The fact is, Pope Francis is
presiding over an existential crisis in the Roman church, and as with all
institutions, the outcome is far from certain. I’m an outsider in this
discussion, but as an astrologer, I’ve been following the evolution of this
papacy. I was happy to see Pope Francis support the effort to combat climate
change and to address its causes in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, and I’ve been impressed with his advocacy for the
world’s poor—including those who have been landing on Europe’s shores as
migrants and refugees.
 |
| Pope Francis welcoming Al-Azhar imam of Egypt to the Vatican. |
I give him credit for reaching out
to other churches and faiths, most notably Muslims: he’s the first pope to
visit a Arab
Muslim country. He’s apologized on behalf of the church for a host of
historical oppressions—noble gestures, all—but now he’s faced with an issue
that defies these kinds of solutions.
As so many victims of gun violence
have lost patience with receiving “prayers and condolences” in the wake of mass
shootings instead of real solutions, victims of sexual abuse have grown
impatient with great talking points that go nowhere, and are demanding
substantive change, now. Can we blame
them?
 |
| A grim-faced pontiff presides over his church's existential crisis. |
So at this juncture it appears that
the long insidious history of sexual abuse in the church threatens to upend and
overshadow anything else this Pope might want to accomplish. When he speaks about
sexual abuse in the church, the Pope’s demeanor turns understandably weary,
like he’s stuck in some toxic spiritual quicksand. My astrologer’s eye sees Neptune
and Pluto in that muck, and it’s quite possible that Francis’s
papacy, if not the church itself, will be sucked under if satisfactory,
credible change isn’t forthcoming.
We’ll
consider ahead how these two planetary forces, among others, are in play, and
we’ll also examine some astrological “echoes” from another critical moment in
the Roman church’s history.
Before we do that, however, let’s quickly
frame what’s at stake here: sexual abuse is a primal, soul-destroying assault on the very dignity of humanity. It
invalidates the victim’s Being and autonomy, and casts them in the role of
less-than-human plaything. This is
especially pernicious in a religious setting, where the faithful are told to
think of themselves as beloved “children of God.” And how are these children
supposed to respond when the so-called representatives of God on this earth steal their innocence and destroy any
sense of self-worth in them?
 |
| The Pope convenes the Feb. 21-24th Vatican meeting with a prayer. |
In his final speech to the Vatican special
meeting this past week, the Pope minced no words about the evil he sees in the
sexual abuse of minors—again, as a growing global phenomenon that takes
numerous forms, but most painfully, within
the church:
“The brutality of this worldwide phenomenon becomes all the
more grave and scandalous in the Church, for it is utterly incompatible with
her moral authority and ethical credibility. Consecrated persons, chosen by God
to guide souls to salvation, let themselves be dominated by their human frailty
or sickness and thus become tools of Satan…We need to recognize with humility
and courage that we stand face to face with the mystery of evil, which strikes
most violently against the most vulnerable…”
To victims, sexual abuse is a
devastating personal assault, and a
consulting astrologer would no doubt be able to see evidence of a victim’s
trauma in his or her astrological profile, in transits, progressions and so on.
Here, however, we’re examining the collective
dimension of this issue, especially in relationship to the Roman Catholic
church as an institution that’s allowed this corruption to fester for so long
that it now threatens its “moral authority and ethical credibility.” In other
words, its very raison d’être.
To represent the precarious moment
the church finds itself in now, I’ve cast a 9 a.m. chart for the February 21st,
the first day of the “Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church.” This
is speculative—a reasonable, but unconfirmed time to launch a big conference of
this type—so we won’t be considering angles, houses, or precise Moon placement.
Thankfully, we have a timed chart
for Pope Francis, rated AA for birth record in hand, so we’ll be considering
that chart against some interesting charts from critical moments in church
history. The most ancient one harks back to the Catholic church’s own “origin
story,” to the beginning of the “Christian Era,” or January 1, 0001, 12:00:01
am in Jerusalem, Israel (source shown below).
Whether this chart is
historically accurate or not is beyond my scope here, but it certainly
represents the beginnings of Christianity as a cultural force, and from what
Pope Francis has said above, it sounds as though the church’s responsibility
for being a positive cultural force
weighs heavily on him today.
Let’s begin our exploration by
setting these two charts against each other in Biwheel #1 below.
Biwheel
#1: (inner wheel) Christian Era,
January 1, 0001 AD, 12:00:01 a.m. LMT, Jerusalem, Israel (Source: Chart 464, p.
483, Book of World Horoscopes[1]; (outer wheel) Pope Francis I (nee
Jorge Mario Bergoglio) December 17, 1936, 9:00 p.m. DST, Buenos Aires,
Argentina. Tropical Equal Houses,
True Node.
The Christian Era (Era)
chart is significant here because it establishes a beginning point for the
Roman church’s 2000+ year lineage of leadership and moral authority, as church historians and the faithful see
it. As Pope, Francis supposedly embodies and carries on that authority—and the
responsibility that goes along with it, so these charts together will hopefully
give us some idea of how the “Fisherman’s shoe” fits.
Interchart
Grand Mutable Square: Pope Sun conjoins
No. Node (Sagittarius) and opposes So. Node-Chiron (Gemini); Pope nodal axis
conjoins Era nodal axis (Sagittarius-Gemini); this axis squares Era Uranus
(Pisces) opposite Era Pluto (Virgo). This amazing configuration
suggests a deep-rooted resonance between the Pope and the original philosophy
and ideas (Sagittarius-Gemini) of the Christian church, especially when it
comes to manifesting those ideas and carrying on the original mission of
culture-building (Era Uranus-Pluto).
But this is a difficult task,
fraught with potential chaos, making the constructive management of change a
major part of the job. There’s a particular degree of difficulty in it for this
Pope (Pope Chiron also t-squares Pope Saturn in Pisces opposite his Neptune
in Virgo), who could be challenged to heal some personal wounds inflicted by authority figures (Chiron-Saturn)
in the process. Whether from experience or from his empathetic nature (Neptune),
Pope Francis may be uniquely qualified to shepherd the healing of his
church.
Those who believe in a Christian
form of Creation spirituality (the “Cosmic
Christ”) may like the fact that the Pope’s Sun and both Nodal
axes also conjoin the Galactic Center (26°-27° Sagittarius) and very widely square the Pope’s
natal Neptune. The ancient spiritual ideals represented in the Era chart
appear to resonate deeply with this Pope, but his Chiron probably reflects
his naysayers—not everyone has been happy with the non-materialistic,
anti-consumerist culture shift he brought into the Vatican.
All of this signals that the destinies and public mandates contained in both these charts
are linked across the millennia as well: time will tell, but it seems that he could be the one to drive a true renewal
of church culture—including on the sexual abuse issue.
It’s interesting that the Pope’s
natal angles (not shown here) span Cancer-Capricorn (ASC-DSC)
and 0°+Taurus-Scorpio (MC-IC),
with natal Uranus conjunct his MC in Taurus. It seems that he is natally
equipped to handle the “descent into the underworld” (Scorpio IC)
that his present challenges demand. Will he shepherd the revolutionary change (Uranus-MC
conjunction) that so many are hoping for?
His nurturing ASC-DSC
axis suggests that he possesses the nurturing impulse and the ability
to hold others accountable (Cancer-Capricorn), but Uranus seems to play a
key role here, as well. In fact there is a tight dispositor relationship
between his natal Uranus (Taurus), Moon and Venus (conjunct in Aquarius): it’s no
wonder that he is naturally inclined to think scientifically (his Laudato Si encyclical made that clear,
as does his educational background), and to see protecting the Earth as an
important personal, social and spiritual quest.
When we consider the transits for
February 21st (the meeting) against the Pope’s chart, we’ll see that
Uranus
is also playing a key role in his current challenges.
 |
| "Icthys" - an ancient symbol denoting the Christian mission to be "fishers of men." |
Interchart
Grand Square: Pope Jupiter-Ceres-Mercury
(Capricorn) widely conjoins Christian Era Sun (Capricorn and squares ) and
opposes Era MC-Pope Vesta (Cancer); this axis squares Pope Mars-Era
Jupiter-Juno (Libra) opposite Era Mars (Aries). Christianity is often
associated with Pisces because Neptune evokes Christ’s sacrifice and
compassion—yet here we see its more institutional Saturnian roots
(Capricorn), and its public mission of shepherding (Cancer MC)
souls.
As mentioned earlier, the Pope’s ASC-DSC axis falls across this
cardinal axis as well—in fact, his ASC exactly conjoins Era
MC, putting his DSC conjunct Era IC. Taken all
together, this grand square is another signal that Pope Francis is closely
aligned with Christianity’s original mission.
It’s interesting to see how the
asteroids Ceres, Vesta and Juno are woven into this complex
configuration. Asteroids experts Demetra George and Douglas Bloch note that
these three “goddesses” are the sisters of
Jupiter,
and that along with Pallas, they represent “aspects of
the feminine principle that are now emerging into mass consciousness….now
demanding power, recognition, justice, and equality in our society.”[2]
Clearly, the Pope is called upon to listen to these compelling yin voices (abuse victims, nuns and the
“faithful”) in his present challenge—note that his Moon (Aquarius) exactly
conjoins Era Pallas (Aquarius), as well. It appears that he is
emotionally equipped to see that cosmic justice wins out.
 |
| At the February 21-24 Vatican "Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church" |
The
Meeting
The fact that the February 21-24 “Meeting
on the Protection of Minors in the Church” happened under intense media
scrutiny was hopeful, yet cynics might also wonder if it was all for “show,” a
public relations stunt designed for effect. Will anything real come of it? Okay, two high profile cardinals have been
ignominiously deposed in one short week: are we seeing the start of something
big, or were those two simply sacrificial lambs turned over for media slaughter?
This question would depend upon the seriousness of Pope Francis’s intent, his
long-term commitment to change, and perhaps even the way in which he frames the
issue.
In this sense, the meeting was
significant because he apparently framed the issue of rooting out sexual abuse
from church culture as a project that the entire church hierarchy must tackle
collaboratively—not just a top-down
sort of imperative. This is probably wise; to succeed, such a monumental effort
requires a rallying of the “troops”—without cooperation, very little will
happen.
It’s also interesting to me that the
Pope is framing his (and therefore the church’s) approach to all this in very
broad terms—as a global problem, as
opposed to one that’s limited to clergy behavior. To this point, the church
seems to have amassed an impressive body of research that should help going
forward. The Pope referenced this in yesterday’s speech:
“Our work has made us realize once
again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and
historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies.
Only in relatively recent times has it become the subject of systematic
research, thanks to changes in public opinion regarding a problem that was
previously considered taboo; everyone knew of its presence yet no one spoke of
it. I am reminded too of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in
certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan
rites. Yet even today, the statistics available on the sexual abuse of minors drawn
up by various national and international organizations and agencies (the WHO,
UNICEF, INTERPOL, EUROPOL and others) do not represent the real extent of the
phenomenon, which is often underestimated, mainly because many cases of the
sexual abuse of minors go unreported, particularly the great number committed
within families.
Rarely, in fact, do victims speak out and seek help. Behind this
reluctance there can be shame, confusion, fear of reprisal, various forms of
guilt, distrust of institutions, forms of cultural and social conditioning, but
also lack of information about services and facilities that can help. Anguish
tragically leads to bitterness, even suicide, or at times to seek revenge by
doing the same thing. The one thing certain is that millions of children in the
world are victims of exploitation and of sexual abuse.”
By addressing the worldwide nature
of the phenomenon and pointing out several persistent obstacles victims
confront (inability to speak, lack of helpful service and facilities, etc.),
the Pope broadened his focus beyond the wrongdoers in the church’s ranks. This
focus upset many observers, who just want to see those clergy members behind
bars. Again, who can blame them?
Even so, it appears that the Pope is offering a big-picture action plan for working with international
agencies (UNICEF, INTERPOL, EUROPOL, etc…) to tackle the root causes of the
“scourge” of child sexual abuse, and this may
be the only way that sustainable change can finally take hold. For
instance, cultural and social taboos surrounding this issue run deep, but perhaps
no deeper than the same taboos were regarding the AIDS epidemic years ago, and
through a concerted public health campaign, those have been addressed in many
areas. Over time this has helped to prevent further spread of the disease.
Perhaps
Pope Francis has something similar in mind for the challenge of child sexual
abuse?
 |
| Protestors in Australia. |
Not everyone cares about the
international scope of this challenge, however: they want a list of specific accused clerics to be put behind bars, full stop, and
any other approach simply looks like the church is evading responsibility. The
NYTimes.com editorial board
captured this legitimate frustration very well:
“It doesn’t wash.
And not only because activists in the West are fed up
with pledges of change in the 17 years since The Boston Globe revealed systematic abuse in the Boston diocese. The
revelations have accelerated in recent years — the grand jury report from
Pennsylvania of abuse by hundreds of priests over many years; a similar report from Illinois; nuns finally speaking out about what they’ve been subjected to.
As the revelations have escalated, so has the rhetoric.
“Prepare for divine justice,” Pope Francis warned abusive priests
at Christmas. “Ravenous wolves,” he called them in his speech to the Vatican
gathering. But when it came to action, the talk was once again of changing
hearts and minds, of changing a centuries-old culture.”
So we can appreciate why this
probably feels like a “do or die” moment for the church and for Pope Francis,
trying to strike a balance that keeps people coming to Mass in local churches,
but addresses the church’s global mandate and perspective as well. As we’ll see,
the astrology reflected in Biwheel #2 below
reflects this tension and the importance of this milestone moment.
Let’s begin.
Biwheel
#2: (inner wheel) Pope Francis I
(born Jorge Mario Bergoglio) December 17, 1936, 9:00 p.m. DST, Buenos Aires,
Argentina.; (outer wheel) Vatican “Meeting,” February 21, 2019, 9:00
a.m. ST, Vatican City, Italy. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Meeting Neptune (Pisces) disposes Meeting
Sun (Pisces), conjoins Meeting Mercury (Pisces) and Pope Saturn and opposes
Pope Neptune (Virgo). In other words, the Pope is experiencing a
transit that only a person in advanced years does—Neptune is transiting
opposite his natal Neptune, but in this case the transit is made more difficult by
the presence of his Pisces Saturn. Transits expert Robert Hand characterizes a Neptune
transit conjunct Saturn as a “dark night of the Soul”
event,
“the period of confusion that precedes the understanding that
you can live with a reality that is different from what you had thought. At the
highest level this transit can be a prelude to enlightenment, understanding the
true nature of the ‘illusion’ we call reality.”[3]
Making clear decisions is not easy under this transit because
one’s vision and thinking are often prone to distortion. Perhaps this explains
why the Pope wants the church as a whole to tackle this crisis—solving it has
to be more than a top-down exercise of his authority. He’s 82+ years old at
this juncture: what happens when he is gone? Note that this is all happening
while Neptune also transits opposite his natal Neptune and Uranus
(Aries) transits opposite his natal Uranus (Taurus).
This
latter aspect will become tighter as Uranus returns to Taurus in March,
but the major point here is that the Pope’s entire worldview is being
challenged by the crisis he’s in charge of solving, and he may have to let go
of some dearly-held beliefs and ideas before the dust settles. Only he can know
what those beliefs and ideas are, but we might speculate that his defense of
celibacy among priests and an all-male priesthood may be among them.
 |
| Will the church take on the tough issues, like the all-male priesthood? |
It’s interesting that Meeting
Uranus (Aries) also trines
the Pope’s Sun-No.Node (Sagittarius). As we discussed under Biwheel #1, Pope Francis has an
Aquarian sensibility about him that qualifies him as a change-maker, and this Uranus
transit is supporting and highlighting that side of his nature at the
same time it is challenging his preconceived views on things and heightening
his sense of purpose. Uranus challenges us to take on
unfinished business, and to change anything that stands in our way.
Meeting Jupiter (Sagittarius) conjoins Pope
Sun-No.Node-Pallas (Sagittarius) and opposes Pope Chiron-So. Node (Gemini). This
axis turns the Pisces-Virgo aspects we just discussed into a Grand
Mutable Square between the two charts, but it’s worth noting that the
Pope’s chart already includes such a grand square. The meeting transits do a
great job of manifesting dynamics that have been in play for some time (Neptune
has been transiting within orb of his Saturn and opposing his Neptune
for years already), but the challenge has probably felt like a
confidence-busting, dull toothache for even longer. Meeting Jupiter is giving
him a boost here, but it’s also stimulating old wounds (Pope Chiron)
as it goes.
The Meeting Jupiter-Neptune square
challenges not just preconceived ideas, but deeply held beliefs—it’s probably not just nice words to say that the Pope
feels abuse victims’ pain, and that he “gets” the crisis of faith that many
Catholics are experiencing these days, whether he’s communicating that well or
not (his Chiron).
 |
| From the Second Vatican Council (1960s)--major reform is possible. |
Even so, conjunct the Pope’s Pallas, this Jupiter
feels hopeful, a sign that justice for victims is in the Pope’s hands
and its gaining support. Support is often elusive, of course—the media and
social media add to and possibly even create a lot of confusion, at a time when
clear messaging would be helpful (Mercury conjunct Neptune).
Meeting Chiron (Aries) conjoins Pope Eris
(Aries) and squares Pope Jupiter-Ceres (Capricorn). Chiron expert
Martin Lass characterizes the “wound” of Chiron in Aries as:
“A profound sense of loss of self-worth, a core feeling of
worthlessness, unworthiness and even undeservingness of life itself. Self
denial. A feeling of not being wanted, needed or useful. A feeling of being
uncentered, unfocused, lacking solidity.”[4]
How appropriate this placement is for the
issue at hand! It perfectly reflects the wounding experienced by the victims of
sexual abuse—especially as children. Every time the Sun ingresses Aries in
March, we celebrate a new astrological year: here, zero-point Aries encompasses
not just the wounding, but the collective,
even archetypal nature of the
challenge. Deep wounds to Humanity
itself are captured in this one point, and it’s notable that this is happening
within a couple degrees of the Pope’s Eris—his inner warrior—and square
his Saturn-fortified
Jupiter-Ceres
(Capricorn).
He’s faced with a great deal of responsibility in his 80s,
but it may actually be that his advanced age gives him the cosmic perspective
to take it all on. Ceres’ involvement here evokes the wise truism, that “A man
reaps what he sows.” Of course, it takes time
to grow a crop.
Interchart
T-Square: Meeting Eris (Aries) opposes
Pope Mars (Libra); this axis squares Meeting Saturn-Venus-Pluto, all conjunct
in Capricorn. This strident cardinal configuration demands action, and
the consequences for inaction could be serious. Financial responsibility is key
here—apologies won’t suffice. The Pope may be called upon to make some
difficult decisions about church assets, to “manage” its potential liabilities
and to satisfy claims.
Amazingly, he will be experiencing Pluto transiting opposite his
Pluto in the coming year (at the same time Uranus and Neptune
continue pressing upon him, discussed above). His legacy will be
written in these critical times—the consequences of “reaping and sowing” are
very real here.
 |
| Martin Luther's "95 Theses" sparked the Protestant Reformation in 1517. |
Historical
upheaval
It’s possible that the challenges addressed by this past week’s church
“Meeting” actually end up transforming the Catholic church as we know it, and if
we consider historical precedents like the Protestant Reformation, we know that
a mass exodus of the faithful is more than possible when the church is caught
up in what seems to be intractable corruption. The Roman church has been through
cataclysmic times of corruption and renewal before and it’s evolved, as most
institutions that touch billions of people do. It’s been through several cycles
of hard Pluto transits, in other words, and it’s had to reinvent itself
over and over.
One such challenge was the
Protestant Reformation, usually thought to have been triggered by German
professor of theology Martin Luther nailing a list of 95 Theses
on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany to protest what he
viewed as corrupt Catholic practices of the day. Reportedly, Luther did this on
October 31, 1517 (old calendar), however the modern calendar would move this
date to November 10th.
I bring this up because the planetary
echoes between that dramatic Reformation period and today’s challenges in the
Roman church are substantial. It should be noted that Luther didn’t set out to
break away from the church—he was part of
it—but he did object to certain corrupt practices he was seeing and decided to
act. He was declared a “heretic”
by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1521, which triggered an even deeper split,
so the actual Protestant schism took years, as developments on this scale often
do. Could a similar fissure happen in today’s Roman church?
Let’s take a very brief look at how
the chart for that day looks next to the Christian Era chart in Biwheel #3 below. I will note some
compelling correspondences with this week’s Meeting chart as we
go—please see Biwheel #2 above to
follow those.
Biwheel
#3: (inner wheel); Christian Era,
January 1, 0001 AD, 12:00:01 a.m. LMT, Jerusalem, Israel (Source: Chart 464, p.
483, Book of World Horoscopes[5]; (outer wheel) Protestant
Reformation (Luther nails 95 Theses), November 10, 1517, 12:00 p.m. LMT,
Wittenberg, Germany. Source: Wikipedia.com. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Interchart
Grand Mutable Square: Nodal Reversal (PR
So. Node conjoins Era No. Node); this axis squares Era Uranus-opposite Pluto
(Pisces-Virgo). Era Saturn (Sagittarius) also ties into this, conjoined
Era
No. Node, suggesting that the church had come to a crossroads where it
was either change or pay the consequences, and things have
never been the same with the Vatican since. The spiritual imperative here is
reinforced by PR Sun conjunct Era Neptune (both Scorpio) and PR
Neptune (Aquarius) square Era Neptune (Scorpio).
 |
| The English Reformation broke England away from the Catholic church in 1534. |
The clash between spirituality and
profit is clear here: Luther had basically accused the church of betraying
people’s trust by selling church “indulgences”—assurances that their sins were
forgiven—and the impact on church finances was about to be felt with PR
Neptune beginning a long transit to Era Venus (Aquarius).
PR Pluto-Vesta (Capricorn) widely conjoins
Era Sun (Capricorn). This is a pretty reliable sign that the church was
forced to reinvent itself over a period of years, as Pluto transited slowly
over this Era Sun. This echoes very clearly with today’s situation. Note
that Pluto
has been in Capricorn since 2009, and if we trace some of the major
revelations about clergy sex abuse in the past decade, they’ve coincided with Pluto
transiting conjunct Era Sun. In September, 2015, the film
Spotlight was released with its story
about the Boston Catholic diocese’s cover up of rampant sexual abuse by its
clergy—Pluto fell at 13°+Capricorn.
Public awareness may have been
seriously raised by this film, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
that year—perhaps Spotlight was our
modern day “95 Theses” nailed on a door? The investigations and revelations have
continued to mount from there.
 |
| Pope Francis also referred to predator priests as "ravenous wolves." |
Final
thoughts
It’s quite possible that the
Catholic church’s long, dragged-out crisis has already inspired an exodus, but
those who hang in there to hold the institution accountable instead of simply
leaving are doing a great service. Many victims and others seeking justice are
understandably upset by the “Meeting” this past week, despite the Pope’s strongly
worded condemnations of abusive behavior. From NYTimes.com:
“Francis had barely finished speaking before some abuse
victims and other frustrated faithful began expressing outrage and
disappointment at his failure to outline immediate and concrete steps to
address the problem.
‘Pope Francis’ talk today was a stunning letdown, a
catastrophic misreading of the grief and outrage of the faithful,’ said Anne
Barrett Doyle, a leader of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks incidents of
abuse in the church. ‘As the world’s Catholics cry out for concrete change, the
pope instead provides tepid promises, all of which we’ve heard before.’”
Those cries should not be ignored, of course, and the
pressure on the church to get this right needs to continue, but in fact, the
Pope’s concluding speech at the Meeting did
enumerate 8-points of major concern that he feels the church must act upon. Perhaps
it’s not quite articulated as a business-style action plan, but the intent and the direction are clear. The points
(without explanation—see this link
for more) are:
1. The
protection of children
2. Impeccable
seriousness
3. Genuine
purification
4. Formation
5. Strengthening
and reviewing guidelines by Episcopal conferences
6. Accompaniment
of those who have been abused
7. The
digital world
8. Sexual
tourism
So it will be interesting to see
what reforms finally come out the February 21-24 meeting and to see if they begin
to address the eight points laid out above. Perhaps we’ll see an encyclical that
encompasses and addresses those eight points and calls for concrete changes to
church law, among other things. Perhaps something approximating cosmic justice
will begin to crystallize: from the
astrology, I sense that Pope Francis seriously wants to see this crisis through.
One highlight that stands out to me
from the charts we’ve reviewed, in fact, is the pontiff’s advanced age. He’s experiencing major late-in-life
transits, and he may need all the support and cooperation he can get to carry
the responsibilities heaped on him by this crisis. Astrologically, he appears
to be the right person to lead this daunting renewal—he’s reform-minded and not
afraid to shake things up, but the weight of the crisis (not to mention Neptune)
is probably eroding his self-confidence and making it difficult to please anyone, much less everyone.
Bottom line, I hope that those who
really want the church to do the right thing will support the efforts begun
this week in the Vatican. Cosmic justice, please!
Raye
Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former educator. A graduate of
the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane,
collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs,
culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as
education and health. Several of her articles on these topics have been
featured in The Mountain Astrologer and other publications over the years.
She is
also available to read individual charts—contact her at: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2019. All
rights reserved.
[1]
Nicholas Campion, Book of World Horoscopes, The Wessex Astrologer, Ltd., Bournemouth,
UK. Revised/updated ed. 2004, p. 283.
[2]
Demetra George and Douglas Bloch, Asteroid
Goddesses: The Astrology, Mythology, Psychology and Astrology of the
Re-emerging Feminine, Ibis Press, Lake Worth, FL, updated/revised 2003
edition, p. 2.
[3]
Robert Hand, Planets in Transit: Life
Cycles for Living, Whitford Press, Atglen, PA, 1976, p. 456.
[4]
Martin Lass, Musings of a Rogue Comet:
Chiron, Planet of Healing, Galactic Publications, Nyack, NY, 2001, p. 319.
[5]
See Note 1 above.
