Mons. Scicluna has been promoted
to be auxiliary bishop of Valletta
and will leave the CDF
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from the Italian service of
Oct. 5, 2012
Monsignor Charles J. Scicluna, the prelate who had stood since 2002 beside Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and then Benedict XVI in the unequivocal effort to stop the tragedy of priests abusing minors and children, is leaving the Vatican.
His nomination is expected to be announced as auxiliary Bishop of Valletta, capital of Malta, his country of origin.
[In fact, Vatican Radio reported today, Oct. 6:
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Monsignor Charles J. Scicluna as Auxiliary Bishop of Malta nominating him Titular Bishop of San Leone. As Auxiliary Bishop, Monsignor Scicluna, 53, will collaborate with Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P.. His Episcopal ordination will take place on 24 November 2012.
A new position for Scicluna, who has been the 'promoter of justice' (in effect, chief prosecutor) at the CDF against sex offenders in the clergy. had been spoken about for some time. But it was not foreseen that he would be promoted out of the Roman Curia.
Scicluna has embodied the 'zero tolerance' line against clerical sex abuses and supported Joseph Ratzinger's initiatives all these years, not merely to strengthen canonical norms and existing laws against such offenses, but above all, the institutional mentality about this issue.
They have brought to the foreground the suffering of the victims and promulgated what are considered 'emergency measures' to deal more efficiently with such abuse cases. And it is no secret that the measures have stirred some opposition within the Vatican.
[Who cares that there is internal opposition - the opponents, whoever they are, are in no position to dictate to the Pope or to the CDF about this. They can oppose till they are blue in the face - it ought not to hinder the Pope or the CDF in what they are doing. The important thing is that the Pope is able to name a successor to Scicluna who will be just as committed and unequivocal about this job.]
Born in Toronto in 1959 to Maltese immigrants, Scicluna decided when he was 19, after he had begun to study law, to become a priest. Ordained in 1986, he continued his studies in Rome, where he obtained his doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University, under Professor Navarrete (who would be named an octogenarian cardinal by Benedict XVI) and defending his thesis before Mons. Leo Burke (also a future cardinal).
His potential was quickly noted by his superiors. "They would have wanted me to remain in Rome, at the Apostolic Segnatura (which Cardinal Burke now heads), but my archbishop recalled me to Malta, where I taught for five years at the university and I was the 'defender of the marriage bond' in applications for matrimonial annulment. and worked in the parishes," Scicluna said in an earlier interview with Vatican Insider.
In 1995, insistent requests from Rome won out and Scicluna was named 'promoter of justice' at the Apostolic Segnatura, which is the Church's Supreme Tribunal for canonical matters.
In 2001, after the publication of the motu proprio by which John Paul II decreed that all cases of priestly abuse against children and minors should be elevated to the Vatican, Cardinal Ratzinger had to set up a mechanism within the CDF for dealing with such cases.
Mons. Scicluna was recruited to the CDF and became one of the closest collaborators of the future Pope when he was named the CDF's 'promoter of justice' in 2002.
Thanks to the new norms promulgated at the start of the millennium (in response to the eruption of the priest-abuse scandal in the USA), all existing laws and decrees regarding such cases were assembled and revised for current application. In 2004, the CDF started its investigation of Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Scicluna travelled to the United States and Mexico to interview witnesses and gather information.
[In 2006, Benedict XVI announced that following the CDF investigation, he was ordering Fr. Maciel to a life of privacy and penitence, without the privilege of celebrating Mass in public, though he was not subjected to a formal canonical trial because of his age and the fact that he was suffering from a terminal illness. In fact, he died two years later.]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 07/10/2012 00:13]