The Nuncio's On the Phone

I never thought I'd say this, but kudos to Tim Townsend of the beloved St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He got Montalvo so spooked that The Smoking Nuncio did his first American interview. Ever. As he's been in DC since January, 1999, this is quite an accomplishment.

Give Townsend his Templeton Award. This alone earns it for him.

The Belleville Wars continue on a week before Ed Braxton's Glorious Appearing/Even More Glorious (For Braxton) Move-In.

Over the past two weeks, seven priests have sought help from senior Catholic officials in Chicago and Washington to stop the installation on grounds that the normal process for matching a new bishop to a diocese was not followed, and that church leaders who traditionally participate in the selection were not consulted.

The seven met for 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday afternoon with Braxton and Monsignor James E. Margason, the diocese's vicar general, to discuss their reservations.

Wow. These guys are really standing up. Why?

[P]riests and laity alike were angry that Braxton's priority, after being named Belleville's new bishop, was to renovate the bishop's residence and that he asked for diocesan funds to be made available to do so.

More like Braxton threw a hissyfit. Very charitable, these priests are.

They shared their beef first with Cardinal George -- as archbishop of Chicago, he's metropolitan of the province which encompasses Belleville -- and then one of the group went to see the Wonderful Wizard of Massachussetts Avenue, who makes all the magic happen.

Well, almost all the magic....

[According to the priest who met with Montalvo] the archbishop said, "You can tell them I've been the apostolic nuncio here for six and a half years and some 200 appointments have crossed my desk, and this is the first time they've done it this way."

"The first time they've done it this way." What a statement -- he's basically saying Rome blew him out of the water. But who?

In an interview Tuesday, however, Montalvo said Scherrer must have misunderstood. "I have seen many appointments, and this was the first time I've received complaints about one," he said. "Father Scherrer did not understand what I said."

I smell skid-marks and furious backpedaling here....

And the Belleville priests should know better -- George didn't have a damn thing to do with this appointment, and there's nothing he could've done to stop it. Braxton to B'ville has The Pro written all over it. Do the math; it was there for all to see on the day this appointment was announced.

The Belleville Seven are barking up the wrong red tree.

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