Pope Francis has decided that all top administrators in the Vatican bureaucracy will keep their posts while he reflects on any necessary changes, the Vatican said on Saturday.
There had been speculation that the new pope could make swift changes to the Curia, the Vatican bureaucracy that has been at the center of allegations of corruption, infighting and intrigue.
“The Holy Father, wants in fact, to give himself a certain amount of time for reflection, prayer and dialogue before any (new) appointments or definitive confirmations,” a statement said.
It added that top job holders would “provisionally stay in their respective posts until it is decided otherwise”.
Both Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II before him rolled over the heads of departments appointments and kept people in these positions until their term expired.
“We’ll see in his appointments how serious he is about tackling this stuff,” John Thavis, a keen church observer and author of the book, “The Vatican Diaries,” said. “If the secretary of state is one of these same old guys, the curial cardinals are going to feel reassured.”
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