Abuse of trust – in Vatileaks 2, arrests at the Vatican

The spectre that haunted Pope Benedict XVI in the last year of his pontificate once again rears it ugly head. In 2012, under the moniker Vatileaks, sensitive information and documents were leaked by a butler working in the papal household, and recently something similar happened, once again by persons personally selected by the Pope and appointed by him to help clear up the economic affairs of the Holy See.

The Vatican gendarmerie arrested Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda (pictured at left) and Ms. Francesco Chaouqui and held them in detention overnight. This morning both arrests were validated but Ms. Chaougui was let go, after having cooperated fully with the authorities, a Holy See press statement said. Msgr. Vallejo remains in detention, Andrea Tornielli says.

Msgr. Vallejo was the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organisation of the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See, of which Ms. Chaouqui was a member. The commission was established in July of 2013, and had an advisory role to the Pope.

In addition, Msgr. Vallejo is also the secretary of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See and a member of the Financial Security Committee (he was its highest-ranking official since Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi was transferred to the Congregation for Catholic Education last March). Not the lowest employee in the Vatican, then, with, it can be assumed, high-level access to confidential information related to the reforms of the Vatican Bank and the entire economic apparatus of the Holy See.

Alarm bells about the appointment of Francesca Chaouqui (pictured at right)  were rung by Sandro Magister as early as August of 2013, suggesting a link between the first crisis of Vatileaks and the current case, which once again sees the announcement of books purporting to confidential information about the economic reforms and affairs in the Vatican.

The reforms of the Vatican Bank and the entire economic structure of the Holy were one of the first major spear points of Pope Francis’ pontificate. It was clear that much needed to change, and the Vatican Bank had already begun to be investigated and cleaned out under Pope Benedict XVI. The greatest development was the establishment of Cardinal Pell’s Secretariat of the Economy and the announcement of an independent auditor with free ranges to check the books of all departments in the Vatican. The commissions and committees of which Msgr. Vallejo and Ms. Chaouqui were members, with the exception of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs, which was established in 1967, are also part of these efforts.

This may turn out to be a major challenge for Pope Francis. Until now, his reforms seemed pretty straightforward as new dicasteries were established, with new personnel, to do new things. This would clear up a lot of old problems just by calling in new expertise. It now turns out that the new gang is not necessarily much different from the old gang, and the efforts by Pope Francis are not immune from abuse.  Whether the problem lies with the selection process or the personal faults of the appointed parties remains to be seen, but one thing it does show is that the economic reforms are by no means a done deal.

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Moving up – 6 Cardinal Deacons advance

In yesterday’s ordinary consistory, Pope Francis announced the ‘promotion’ of six cardinals. They were all cardinal deacons, created in Pope St. John Paul II’s last consistory on 21 October 2003. As that is ten years and a few months ago, these cardinals were up for a potential promotion from cardinal deacons to cardinal priests. Such a promotion has little effect on their day to day activities and duties, in part because four of the six are already retired, but mainly because it is largely ceremonial. They move up in precedence among their brother cardinals: as deacons they ranked under the cardinal priests, but they now move up according to the date the were created cardinals and the order in which they appeared on the list announcing the consistory.

And one cardinal loses a duty which put him in the world’s spotlight back in March of last year…

Cardinals Jean-Louis Tauran, Francesco Marchisano, Julián Herranz Casado, Javier Lozano Barragán, Attilio Nicora and Georges Cottier were just six of an impressive 30 cardinals that St. John Paul II created in what would be his final consistory. With Cardinal Renato Martino, who for some reason is not ‘promoted’, they were the most senior cardinal deacons in the College of Cardinals. With their appointments as cardinal priests, they come before such famous prelates as Cardinals Scola, Turkson, Pell and Ouellet, and also all cardinals created by Popes Benedict XVI and Francis (except for the cardinal-bishops and the eastern patriarchs made cardinals by the Pope emeritus).

The new cardinal priests keep their title churches, with the exception of Cardinal Lozano Barragán, who was cardinal deacon of San Michele Arcangelo, but is now cardinal priest of Santa Dorotea, a new cardinal title.

The biggest practical change comes with the promotion of Cardinal Tauran, who was the cardinal protodeacon, the most senior cardinal deacon. And as such it was his duty to announce the election and name of a new Pope, as he did in March of last year. The new protodeacon is the aforementioned Cardinal Renato Martino. But since he is 81, he will have no role in the proceedings of a future conclave (which should, admittedly, be still a long way off). Replacing him is Cardinal William Levada, and should we have a new Pope between now and two years, he will be the one announcing his name.

The appointments are also a sign of appreciation for their work done for the Church. Below are a few short overviews of the careers of the six new cardinal-priests:

Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran is 71, and was born in Bordeaux, France. From 1969 to 1990 he was a priest of the Archdiocese of Bordeaux (-Bazas), after which he was appointed as secretary in the department of the Secretariat of State that deals with the relations with other nations. From 2003 to 2007 he worked as archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and librarian of the Vatican Library. In 2007 he took up his current office: President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in which he is responsible for the ecumenical outreach of the Church.

Francesco Marchisano is 84 and hails from Italy. A priest of the Archdiocese of Turin since 1952, he became Secretary of the Pontifical Commission of Preserving the Church’s Patrimony of Art and History in 1988, and he remained so until 2003. During that time he also had several other tasks: he was President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology from 1991 to 2004; President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church from 1993 to 2003; President of the Fabric of St. Peter from 2002 to 2004; and Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica from 202 to 2006. His final office before retirement was as President of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See from 2005 to 2009. Cardinal Marchisano retired at the age of 80.

Julián Herranz Casado is also 84 and comes from Spain. He was ordained a priest from Opus Dei in 1955 and was appointed as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts in 1983. In 1994 he was appointed as the President of that same Council, a position he held until his retirement in 2007. Cardinal Herranz was also one of the cardinals entrusted by Pope Benedict XVI with the investigation into the VatiLeaks scandal.

Javier Lozano Barragán, from Mexico, is 81, and was ordained a priest in 1955. From 1979 to 1985 he was auxiliary bishop of Mexico and later the bishop of Zacatecas until 1996. In 1997 he came to Rome to become President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, a position he held until retiring in 2009.

Attilio Nicora, 77, comes from the Archdiocese of Milan, where he was a priest from 1964 to 1977. He became auxiliary bishop of Milan until resigning 1987. In 1994 he took on a new task, as Bishop of Verona, where he stayed until 2002. In that year he became President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See until retiring in 2011. In recent years he headed the Financial Information Authority of the Holy See.

Georges Marie Martin Cottier, lastly, is 92 and hails from Switzerland. He joined the Dominican Order in 1946 and was ordained in 1951. A distinguished professor and theologian, he was secretary of the International Theological Commission and has also been Theologian of the Papal Household.

Francis’ Group of Eight

It’s not really a surprise, as Pope Francis’ intention to restructure the Roman Curia had been discussed and speculated about since his election – in fact, it was a major topic  during the pre-conclave General Congregations. Never having been a curial cardinal himself, Pope Francis has decided to appoint a group of eight cardinals to help him in this process: the first concrete step towards a possible future restructuring. But what is noticeable is that only one of the members of this group comes from the Curia. It seems that a multinational group of non-curial prelates will have a major say about the future of the Curia.

Oscar Andrés Cardinal Maradiaga Rodríguez, archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras), will act as coordinator of the group, and Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano (Italy) will be secretary. The remaining six members are:

• Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello, President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State
• Francisco Javier Cardinal Errazuriz Ossa, Archbishop emeritus of Santiago de Chile (Chile)
• Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay (India)
• Reinhard Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of München und Freising (Germany)
• Laurent Cardinal Monswengo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Sean Patrick Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston (United States)
• George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney (Australia)

This seems to be an answer to the desire of several cardinals, among them Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, that a group of cardinals be established to assist the Pope in the management of the Church.  The difference here though, is that the current group of eight will only assist the Pope in one very specific matter not unlike the group of three that Pope Benedict XVI tasked with investigating the VatiLeaks case last year.

Aside from the general task of advising the Pope in the government of the Church, the Group of 8 will study a lan for revising Pastor Bonus, the Apostolic Constitution by which Blessed Pope John Paul II launched a number of revisions to the Curia in 1998. The general expectation and hope seems to be that certain offices will be merged or even suppressed to achieve a more effective Curia without the excessive careerism that many have noted has been preventing a smooth running of the Curial duties.

The Group of 8 will first meet in October, although Pope Francis is in contact with all of them (and with the Holy Father we may assume that that is certainly true – after all, he is not averse to picking up the phone to whoever he needs to speak to).

Photo credit: CNS

Wrapping up business – Congregation for Bishops gets ready for the conclave

In the final days before the Congregation for Bishops ceases its regular work when the Pope’s abdication goes into effect, it seems it wants to close some open files. Yesterday and today we saw a whole raft of appointments in such diverse countries as Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Tunisia and Congo, as well as in the Holy See’s diplomatic representation in several other countries.

Standing out are the appointments of Archbishop Ilario Antoniazzi of Tunis and Bishop Miguel Angel Olaverri Arroniz (pictured) of Pointe-Noire in Congo. Tunis is one of northern Africa’s major archdioceses. The previous archbishop, Msgr. Maroun Elias Nimeh Lahham, was called to Jerusalem as an auxiliary bishop in January of last year. Pointe-Noire, then, lost her previous bishop, Msgr. Jean-Claude Makaya Loembe, when he was removed from his office because of mismanagement in March of 2011.  He was one of the handful of bishops who lost their jobs under Pope Benedict XVI.

Among the reassignments of Apostolic Nuncios (five were appointed or reassigned today) is Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, who was the Undersecretary for the Relations with States at the Secretariat of State until today. He was assigned as Nuncio to Colombia, and some see this as a result of his name having been mentioned in the context of the Vatileaks scandal. Whether that is true is anyone’s guess, of course, but it does stand out.

The Prefect of the Congregation for Bishop, Marc Cardinal Ouellet, is considered a papabile, so perhaps the Congregation is wise to get as much work done in these last days: who knows, she may lose her prefect during the conclave…

Photo credit: Javier Valiente

A second Red Dawn rises

While fog hides the view from my window, a red dawn rises over Rome as Pope Benedict XVI gets ready to create six new members of the College of Cardinals. Who are these princes of the Churches again, in the smallest crop since the 1977 consistory which, among others, saw one Joseph Ratzinger made a cardinal?

Archbishop James Michael Harvey was, until yesterday, the Prefect of the Papal Household. As was announced earlier, he was moved yesterday to become Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls. In many eyes, this is a classic promotion out of the limelight for Cardinal-designate Harvey’s role in the Vatileaks case. Under his watch, papal documents were stolen and published, with the archbishop defending the convicted papal butler Paolo Gabriele before his actions became clear. While he was never even implicated, it is said that Archbishop Harvey submitted his resignation to the pope after Gabriele’s arrest. While prefects of the Household are usually eventually made cardinals, this happens when they were past retirement age. Cardinal-designate Harvey is 63.

As archpriest of a papal basilica, he has certain custodial and liturgical functions (which are worthy in their own right), but very few, if any, well-defined duties in the Roman Curia.

Cardinal Harvey will be a Cardinal-Deacon.

Patriarch Béchara Pierre Raï is the head of the Maronite Catholic Church of the Middle East, especially Lebanon. His three predecessor were also cardinals, so his creation is not a surprise.  And perhaps the pope’s recent visit to Lebanon also played a role in cementing his nomination. Patriarch Raï is 72 and will be made a Cardinal-Bishop by virtue of his position at the head of a Catholic Church in union with Rome. He will not be given a title church, as he is outside the hierarchy of the Latin Church, but not outside the world Church.

Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal also heads a separate Church in union with Rome, the Syro-Malankar Church of India. He will be the youngest cardinal of all, and will be the first archbishop of Trivandrum to be made a cardinal. During the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelisation his bearded presence was already much noticed. Cardinal Thottunkal will be a Cardinal-Priest.

Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan is the much-respected archbishop of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Most recently, he unequivocally spoke against the terrorist actions of Boko Haram in the north of Nigeria, while at the same time seeking relations with Muslims in Nigeria. He is also strongly against a proposed division of the country into a Christian south and a Muslim north. Nigeria’s old capital, Lagos, is also headed by a cardinal, but the value of the western country in the Church is surely reflected by this appointment if a second one, who will be a Cardinal-Priest.

Archbishop Jesús Rubén Salazar Gómez is the archbishop of Bogotá, capital of Colombia, a nation which, considering its Catholic population, was long overdue for the appointment of a second cardinal. Clearly pro-life, Cardinal-designate Salazar Gómez will also be a Cardinal-Priest.

Archbishop Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, is the rising star of the Church in Asia. Heading the major Archdiocese of Manila in the Philippines, Cardinal-designate Tagle will be the second-youngest cardinal of the bunch. He has his critics, but in general he is enormously popular, not least because of his use of social media. Affectionately referred to as “Archbishop Chito”, Cardinal-designate Tagle is a very welcome addition to the Asian part of the College. He, too, will be a Cardinal-Priest.

With the elevation of this international group, the first since 1924 to include no Europeans, the group of cardinals who are eligible to vote in a conclave reaches 120.

As for today’s ceremony, which will be conducted according to the exact same norms as this year’s previous one, it can be viewed via the Vatican Player, while the booklet for the celebration may be found here. Things are set to get rolling at 11am local time, which is 10am GMT.

VatiLeaks – standing together

“Events in recent days regarding the Curia and my collaborators have brought sadness to my heart, though the firm conviction, that despite human weakness, despite difficulties and trials, the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Lord will never fail to give His aid in sustaining the Church on her journey. Nevertheless, some entirely gratuitous rumors have multiplied, amplified by some media, which went well beyond the facts, offering a picture of the Holy See that does not correspond to reality. I would like therefore to reiterate my confidence and my encouragement to my staff and to all those who, day in and day out, faithfully and with a spirit of sacrifice, quietly help me in fulfilling my ministry.”

Unscripted words from Pope Benedict XVI at today’s audience.

Everyone seems to know something about the background of what has become known as VatiLeaks – the whodunnit, the conspiracies and exactly which cardinal has it out against the pope – but I think that a loving unity with one another, and today especially with the Holy Father, will go a long way, certainly further than finger-pointing and accusations. That goes for us faithful in the pews just as much as for the prelates in their Vatican offices.

Photo credit: Andreas Solaro/AFP/GettyImages