Thinking about the legacy of 'Team Ted,' as Vatican insiders talk about the next pope

If I have learned anything about mainstream journalism it is this: Editors love partisan political horse races.

This framework is, alas, also used when journalists ponder vacancy signs on the Throne of St. Peter in Rome.

In this kind of contest, scribes almost always (they don’t have to do this, of course) decide that there is a good horse and a bad horse. Most of the time, the “good” candidate is defined as the one who is in favor of “reform.”

What does “reform” mean, for most mainstream journalists? As I noted long ago in this post — “Who gets to ‘reform’ what?” — it helps to look up that loaded word in an online dictionary or two:

REFORM …
* make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system"
* bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one; "The Church reformed me"; "reform your conduct" ...
* a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses; "justice was for sale before the reform of the law courts" ...
* improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country"
* a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices.

Now, who gets to define what is and what is not an “abuse,” an “evil course of life,” an “injustice” or a “malpractice”?

That would be the players behind the horse race who are trusted by newsroom leaders and owners.

Thus, before we get to this weekend’s “think piece,” let’s pause and look back to a 2013 speech at Villanova University (YouTube at the top of this post) by the former, now disgraced, cardinal Theodore McCarrick. At the 18-minute mark or so, this media-maven Vatican player discusses his behind-the-scenes networking activity ahead of the conclave that gave the world Pope Francis.

So often the kingmaker in American Catholic life, McCarrick describes a meeting with an “influential Italian gentleman” at the North American College in Rome.

Concerning prayers and penalty kicks: Inside the official Vatican soccer tournament

Beyond the Vatican’s walls and its soaring columns lies a not-so-secret passion. It is this passion, one that envelopes much of the planet, that takes over the lives of a select group of Catholic priests and seminarians.

This passion is especially relevant with the Italian national team playing in the finals of EURO 2020.

What is this passion? It’s soccer, of course. In particular, it’s the annual Clericus Cup, a soccer tournament contested by teams from various seminaries located throughout Rome. Founded in 2007, the competition features 66 different nationalities and is the brainchild of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the former Vatican secretary of state and rabid soccer fan.

The tournament pits against one another different religious orders and schools where seminarians are studying and training to become ordained priests. Think of it as March Madness for priests-in-training who play the world’s most popular sport. In fact, the tournament has received regular press from the Italian media and even the subject last year of a feature story on FIFA.com, soccer’s world governing body.

This unique sporting event is the focus of a new 69-minute documentary called “The Holy Game” by filmmakers Brent Hodge and Chris Kelly. The film, distributed by Gravitas Ventures, details what’s often called the “World Cup of the Church” — but also takes a behind-the-scenes look at these seminarians who love both playing the game and the challenges that come with dedicated their lives to God.

Soccer aside, the film follows several seminarians all with a seemingly similar backstory: self-doubt and anxiety over what awaits them once they are ordained.