Rumors have emerged that Archbishop Pietro Parolin, apostolic nuncio to Venezuela, will shortly be appointed as the Vatican's Secretary of State.
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A skilled diplomat, Archbishop Parolin, 58, served as Vatican undersecretary for relations with States from 2002 to 2009.
Suggestions of a possible “important appointment” for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul emerged from a couple of different Vatican sources who spoke to CNA at the beginning of this week on the condition of anonymity.
“The Pope knows that he cannot have an outgoing secretary of state for so long,” one of them said June 26.
After the first 100 days of his pontificate, the source maintained, “Pope Francis is now in a hurry to have his own staff carry out the reform of the Curia.”
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Following the appointment of the new Secretary of State, sources say that Pope Francis would also change several of the top-ranking officials of the Curia.
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras could be appointed prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (the so-called “Propaganda Fide”).
Cardinal Maradiaga is also the coordinator of the Pope-appointed Commission of Cardinals now studying a reform of the Roman Curia.
At the same time, the current prefect, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, would be appointed Archbishop of Palermo, in Southern Italy.
A new prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacraments should soon be appointed, as well.
The current prefect, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, would be appointed as the successor to Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela as the Archbishop of Madrid, Spain.
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| Abp. Piero Marini with Benedict XVI in Mariazell, Austria |
To cover his post, Pope Francis would call Archbishop Piero Marini, who was Pontifical Master of Ceremonies during Bl. John Paul II’s Pontificate and now heads the Vatican’s commission for Eucharistic Congresses.
A source from Spain who works in the archdiocesan curia in Madrid confirmed to CNA on June 28 that Cardinal Rouco Varela has left for Rome [Rorate note: Cardinal Rouco Varela was received in audience by the Pope this week.]. He also said that “the usual reception” held in the nunciature in Madrid for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul has been canceled.
Parolin and Rodríguez Maradiaga (moderator of the Pope's Privy Council) are reasonable names that are often repeated - and it would make sense for the Pope to have his close Honduran friend available at all times.
Now, on the CDW.
For the record: rumors that Cardinal Cañizares Llovera will be sent back to Spain as the next Archbishop of Madrid have been flying about for a year or two already, fanned by the Cardinals's frequent trips back to Spain and stories about his dissatisfaction in Rome.
Now, on the CDW.
For the record: rumors that Cardinal Cañizares Llovera will be sent back to Spain as the next Archbishop of Madrid have been flying about for a year or two already, fanned by the Cardinals's frequent trips back to Spain and stories about his dissatisfaction in Rome.
Cañizares was already the Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain before his transfer to the Roman Curia, but given the See of Madrid's de facto greater power and influence a transfer for him to Madrid will not be a "demotion", any more than Cardinal Scola's transfer from the Patriarchate of Venice to the Archdiocese of Milan was.
Before becoming Master of Pontifical Ceremonies under Pope Wojtyla, Piero Marini was the personal secretary of Abp. Annibale Bugnini in the 1970s - and a close friend of his mentor. He was one of the very first prelates received in audience by Pope Francis in the first days of his pontificate.
It is a rumor - but often-repeated rumors have turned out to be right too many times in recent years...
It is a rumor - but often-repeated rumors have turned out to be right too many times in recent years...
