“That there is the Casa di Santa Marta, where Pope Francis lives. That down there is the monastery where Pope Ratzinger retired. And this right here is the Terrace of Scandals.” I am strolling on the roof of the Palazzo San Carlo with the man who for eight years was the most powerful person in Read more
Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s new Secretary of State, arrived in the Vatican on Saturday and will be in his office at the Apostolic Palace as of Monday. Archbishop Parolin was installed as Secretary of State in absentia on 15 October, due to an unexpected surgical procedure he had to undergo that day. Fr Federico Read more
Vatican watchers and even cardinals have been anxious to see how effective Pope Francis will be in tackling much-needed Curia reforms, and on Saturday he made what might be the single most important appointment in his tenure – and one that gives every sign that the Argentinian pontiff means business when he talks about change. Read more
Pope Benedict has expressed full confidence in his Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a personal letter clearly intended to end speculation that the cardinal might be replaced. The letter, released on July 4, was dated July 2, just before the Pope left on his summer vacation at Castel Gandolfo. In it, the Pope Read more
An anonymous letter has been sent to the Vatican secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone. It accused him of appointing to the Curia’s top posts only people loyal to him. And it contained the dreadful prediction of a “great funeral” for the “prime minister” of the Holy See, echoing the prophecy of Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian order, Bertone’s one, against Italian monarchs in the 19th century. The episode was quickly dismissed by his inner circle as trivial, saying it is not at all unusual.
Read the article...In Rome and in Catholic circles around the world, a question is quietly circulating which only Pope Benedict XVI can answer: What to do about Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Pope John Paul II’s former Secretary of State, who still holds the post of Dean of the College of Cardinals? Were Benedict to die today, it would Read more