Saturday, July 15, 2006

Sandro Magister: Ratzinger’s New Team Trains in the Holy Office

I always check with anticipation for the latest article from Sandro Magister. He has many on Vatican affairs. In his July 15, article he speaks about the new team in the Holy Office. I'll get you started here and you can follow the link:

Dias, Bertone, Lajolo, Lombardi... Appointment by appointment, Benedict XVI is changing the face of the Church’s central governance. At the center is the pope himself, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, July 14, 2006 – Benedict XVI’s second summer as pope opened with a lightning visit to Valencia, Spain, and will close with a visit to his native land of Bavaria, from September 9 to 14. He has already announced, after his return to Rome, that his first act of governance will be the change of the secretary of state, with cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (see photo) replacing cardinal Angelo Sodano.

Benedict XVI’s initial plans did not include making the announcement as early as he did, with an official statement last June 22. But the resistance he encountered within the curia convinced him to nip the opposition in the bud.

Bertone is not a career diplomat – as almost all the secretaries of state have been in recent centuries - but he comes from the ranks of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, of which he was the secretary from 1995 to 2003. He was the number two man, with Joseph Ratzinger as prefect, and now he is again becoming the main collaborator of the new pope.


continue reading Magister 15JL06