Francis and eight cardinals from around the world are holding three days of closed-door meetings to discuss the Vatican’s troubled administration and to map out possible changes in the worldwide church.

“As the talks begin with the cardinals, Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’ published a long interview conducted by its atheist editor last week in which the Argentine pope spoke frankly about the problems facing the Vatican administration, known as the Curia.

“He reportedly said too many previous popes in the church’s long history had been “narcissists” who let themselves be flattered by “courtier” aides in the Curia instead of concentrating on the wider mission of the universal church.

“‘The (papal) court is the leprosy of the papacy,’ Francis is reported to have said.'” By Thomas C. Fox, National Catholic Reporter

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