New papal appointments.Vatican City -- The Vatican press office has announced two important curial appointments. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, 78, Vatican Secretary of State, will be replaced by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, 71, of Genoa, at one time Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) (Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei), previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. , under Cardinal Ratzinger as Prefect prefect or praefect (both: prē`fĕkt), in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 B.C. . As Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone's position is second only to the Pope's in the Vatican hierarchy; he will co-ordinate the work of major Vatican departments, including their dealings with the Church's worldwide operations. The second change came with the retirement of American Cardinal Edmund Szoka, 78, as governor of Vatican City The post of Governor (Governatore in Italian) of Vatican City was held from the foundation of the state in 1929 until his death in 1952 by Marchese Camillo Serafini. . His replacement is Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, currently the Holy See's secretary for relations with states The Secretary for Relations with States is the foreign minister of the Holy See, an official serving within the Secretariat of State, presiding over its "Second Section". This titular archbishop, the Vatican's top foreign-policy official, deals with relations between the Holy See , or "foreign minister." Msgr. Lajolo's new position is to oversee the everyday running of Vatican City State and its institutions, such as the Vatican Museums. Many top curial officials are now at, or approaching, official Vatican retirement age (75), thus giving Benedict XVI the opportunity to assemble his own "team" to assist in the work of his papacy. The two appointments noted here take effect September 15. Also appointed was Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., as the new director of the Vatican press office. He replaces Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Opus Dei psychiatrist who served Popes John Paul II John Paul II, 1920–2005, pope (1978–2005), a Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522–23) and the first Polish and Slavic pope. and Benedict as spokesman for 22 years. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion