The headline and the contents of this analysis may well represent at best the writer's wishful thinking, and one gathers he will not be saddened if Cardinal Bertone goes, though he ascribes the same sentiment to more than just 'a few people'. What, in fact, has Bertone done that has served to inspire confidence in his ability as an administrator, which he was hired to do? He said very famously - and rather unrealistically - when he took office, that he did not intend to be 'a minister of State but a minister of the Church'. But he was hired to be a minister of State, and it is his duty to be a minister of State, which is not at all incompatible with being a minister of the Church. Being Secretary of State, and a most efficient one at that, did not make Eugenio Pacelli, future Pius XII, any less holy, a reputation he held unsullied, nor any less worthy as a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.
Significant maneuvers in the Vatican:
Is the Pope preparing a post-Bertone
administration by technocrats?
by Giacomo Galeazzi
Translated from the Italian service of
June 24, 2012
Yesterday morning, Benedict XVI consulted the heads of the Curial dicasteries and offices (including Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone), and in the afternoon, he met with five other cardinals, presumably to stem the negative effects from the publication of private documents that have passed through his desk in the past two years.
The Curia, despite the usual formalities, is inevitably concerned over the unprecedented seriousness of a crisis in administration to solve which the Pope has started consulting the members of the College of Cardinals.
Mons. Angelo Becciu, deputy Secretary of State (Sostituto) for general affairs, and therefore #2 to Bertone, admits: "Today, the credibility of the Church appears to be in doubt - now is not the time to abandon her".
[He was addressing seminarians in his native Sardinia.]
The urgency manifested by Benedict XVI is interpreted in the Vatican i two ways. On the one hand, it would seem to mark a countdown to the ever more likely replacement of Bertone as Secretary of State when he reaches age 78 in December.
On the other hand, the Pontiff is telling the Curia to protect itself by giving his principal ministers the responsibility for guarding the privacy of their documents.
In effect, the Pope appears to be sounding the Church hierarchy over the possibility of a 'technocratic government' entrusted to a representative of the Vatican diplomatic world.
In December, Bertone turns 78, and protests about his work as Secretary of State have reached the Pope both from the majority of Curial officials as well as from bishops and apostolic nuncios. Some errors (such as the Williamson fiasco) have been
attributed to him, even by Papa Ratzinger [How does Galeazzi know this, who does not even hedge the statement with a 'reportedly'!]?], who is, however, ever aware that his closest collaborator has been the object of hostile reaction from various sectors that have been dominant for decades in strategic areas like geopolitics and health care.
[In both of which Bertone has openly indicated in words and actions that he would like to take control. Think CEI-Bagnasco, San Raffaele and Toniolo-Gemelli!]]
Therefore, in order not to leave the field open to old and emerging power centers, the Pope seems to be analyzing all possible scenarios. So this does not exclude that he may decide to keep Bertone in command - someone he has always trusted even now that he has been crippled by Vatileaks - but 'ordering' him to a more collegial conduct of the Vatican bureaucracy.
In recent days, two prominent and authoritative cardinals have sounded an alarm by publicly saying they desire clarification on what is happening in the Vatican: Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris and president of the French bishops' conference, who might be said to represent the thinking of some local bishops, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, who heads one of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
"The Holy Father wishes to explore in depth his thoughts about the situation by consulting persons who share with him the responsibility for the governance of the Church," said Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi yesterday.
The Pope presided at the 10 a.m. meeting yesterday of his 'Council of Ministers' - the heads of the various Curial offices - and then at 6 pm, in his own residence, he met with cardinals who have his complete confidence - Ouellet, Pell, Ruini, Tauran and Tomko - in an effort to 're-establish a climate of calm and confidence in the services of the Roman Curia'. The latter was an atypical move, one of exceprional significance.
In the next few days, he will continue such consultations, "availing of the presence in Rome of so many cardinals and bishops who will be here for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul".
Meanwhile, exactly one month (yesterday) since the search of his Vatican apartment which yielded a huge volume of documents presumably copied from originals that were on the Pope's desk of that of his private secretary, Paolo Gabriele, the Pope's ex-valet, continues to be deatained at Vatican police headquarteers.
"Gabriele appears to be a monster created by the vanity of those who got into his brain and exploited him for years as a source of documents but who then lost control over him or yielded it", says Vaticanista Salvatore Izzo of AGI. "In fact, it is likely that Gabriele was recommended to be the Pope's valet because his patrons thought he would thus be useful to them".
[With all due respect to Izzo, 1) he is thereby casting doubt unfairly on the motivations of persons like Mons. Harvey, in whose household Gabriele once served; Angelo Gugel, the papal valet to whom he was an assistant for years; and the Polish chaplain who was Gabriele's parish priest near the Vatican - all of whom vouched for Gabriele; and 2) How is it that none of the leaked documents so far dates back to more than two years ago? Does it mean that Gabriele - or whoever is pulling his strings - thought that any earlier documents were completely unimportant? There has to be a logical relevance of the time period to which the purloined documents date back, but as far as I can see, no one has publicly questioned this arbitrary timing at all.]
"It is not known into what other hands the stolen files may have fallen, other than the journalist who published them, but perhaps
some corrupt members of the Curia who intend to use them as a shield", Izzo continues.
[Unless these hypothetical figures have documents more damaging than those that have been published - none of which are objectively damaging in terms of proving evil-doing by anyone in the Secretariat of State or the Curia, but at best, only of bad faith and intentions gone wrong - can any of the revealed documents really 'shield' anyone from accusations of corruption? If this is what passes for analysis, Izzo is best left to reporting on the Vatican which he does excellently, not attempt any 'analysis' which does not even abide by elementary logic.]
Benedict XVI could well entrust to a 'sdirectory' of cardinals in whom he trusts completely the transition towards a new leadership in the Secretariat of State. An administration that will be less 'Italian' that will be able to manage the 'control room' of the unviersal Church.
This would be a sign of farsightedness and humility on the part of a Pontiff who is seeking not just an emergency exit from the quagmire of Vatileaks but also to force a reform of the Curial structure that has always been hampered, whoever the Pope is.
Meanwhile, the Secretariat of State has named Fox News correspondent Greg Burke, an Opus Dei member, to be a communications adviser to the Secretariat of State.
"To confront a crisis, it is an absolute novelty that the Pope decided to consult these five cardinals," some said at the Vatican. "It seems the Pope has decided to consult trusted cardinals he has known for a long time who are neither too closely tied in with Italian interests nor with the current administration".
They also claim that after hearing from local bishops of the same thinking as the Archbishop of Paris, "the Pope realized the need to listen to more opinions and above all, to ask help in governing the Church from prelates with international prestige and proven reliability".
Therefore, a possible benefit springing from a setback. A cardinal observed that "Before Papa Ratzinger, only Pope Paul VI had the advantage of having such a long experience with the Curia before becoming Pope.
[Before Paul VI, there was, more famously, Pius XII, who was, in fact, his predecessor's Secretary of State, whereas Paul VI was 'sidelined' to Milan after his long service in the Secretariat of State without ever becoming Secretary of State].]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/06/2012 21:23]