“He’s not cheeky, he’s not boisterous, he drives smoothly”. As the then Monsignor Pietro Paroline was appointed by Pope Francis His Secretary of State, , on August 31, 2013, asked for an opinion on his immediate superior in the main department of the Roman Curia, the Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo. In 2003 the future cardinal of was appointed St. John Paul II Secretary for Relations with States, or foreign minister As his deputy he found the then Monsignor Parolin, who had only been elected undersecretary for relations with states by the Polish Pope a year earlier. A collaboration between Lajolo and Parolin that lasted three years until 2006 Benedict XVI promoted to future Cardinal President of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Parolin, on the other hand, stayed in this role State Secretariat for three more years until 2009, when Ratzinger again appointed him nuncio Venezuelapersonally ordained him bishop.
“Monsignor Parolin, then Secretary of State – Cardinal Lajolo affirmed – introduced me with great humanity and kindness to my new post as Secretary for Relations with States. He already had one universal vision of the Church and knew everything very well diplomatic problems of the Holy See. I love him because he was so good to me. I can only praise their cleverness and wisdom. A lot of times I would make decisions that were a bit rash and he would immediately say, ‘Look out! It is better to do this. ‘ It was always perfect. Maybe he’s a bit shy, but that’s nice too.” A figure recognized by Cardinal Parolin, whom Francis has often wanted to praise with enormous praise recently for the intense work being done at his side discretionalso in the offer of mediation Vatican to the end of war in Ukraine: “Truly a great diplomat, in the tradition of Agostino Casarolihe knows how to move in this world, I trust him a lot and rely on him,” he told Corriere della Sera.
Cardinal Parolin, son of the illustrious diplomatic school Vatican of recent decades, the one who has effectively supported the pontificates Roncalli, Montini and Wojtyla, he immediately supported Bergoglio in the leadership of the universal church. An appointment, that of Secretary of State, which was vigorously requested by the great majority of the College of Cardinals, who in conclave In 2013 he had chosen Bergoglio to the detriment of the then Archbishop of Milan CL Angelo Scola, who had arrived with the favor of the media and collected the majority of the votes in the first two votes in the Sistine Chapel. A secretary of state who would quickly retire the Salesian Tarcisio Bertoneguilty, according to the cardinals, of not being able to deal with the great and frequent crises of the Ratzingerian pontificate, which resulted from the unfortunate decision, according to the cardinals, of the resignation by Benedict XVI.
The directive put into the hands of the new Pope was very clear: he should recall a man of Vatican diplomacy and not a minister, since Bertone was appointed Secretary of State while he was Archbishop of Genoa. From there the decision, hastened by the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, Timothy Michael Dolan, a radical change of method in the election of the chief collaborator of the Bishop of Rome. Bergoglio’s answer was not long in coming: Parolin, born in 1955, was recalled to Rome from Venezuela after just four years. On his desk before he became Apostolic NuncioImportant dossiers had gone through, such as the letter from Benedict XVI Chinese Catholics dated 2007. Dossier that Parolin resumed as Secretary of State, presenting, in complete harmony with Francis, the provisional agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China on the appointment of bishops. Two-year agreement, already renewed once despite the controversy, directed more internally than externally in the Catholic world, specifically against Parolin.
The Secretary of State’s loyalty to the Pope is undisputed, as has been the case during these nine years of close collaboration with the Pope observer more attentive, Parolin’s great ability to push through his vision, always with moderation and convincing arguments reform of the Roman Curia, in particular the role of the Secretariat of State. This vision was then incorporated into the most recent apostolic constitution predicate gospel which will come into force on June 5, 2022. A reform born before Parolin’s arrival in Rome and his subsequent entry into the Council of Cardinals who drafted it, to put the Secretariat of State in the corner, which instead emerged strengthened thanks to the vision of the cardinal.
It was precisely the variety of characters between the Pope and Parolin, the former expansive, the latter introverted, that made it possible to work in these nine years cooperation. Francesco trusts his state secretary blindly and that is by no means a matter of course pope who, as we have seen in the media sector, for example, likes to dribble employees to directly manage the practices that matter most to them. At Parolin, however, Bergoglio was always aware that he could not do without his skills and knowledge of the times and languages of Vatican diplomacy. Not for nothing did the Secretary of State often refer to a famous maxim of Cardinal Casaroli: “The martyrdom of patience”. There are people who have always been there curia argues that Parolin embodies this expression perfectly, even in these months of war Ukrainehis contacts with the Kremlinespecially with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrovagain on behalf of the Pope, were inspired by this maxim.
A certainly successful and profitable collaboration that between Francis and Parolin, as the Pope himself recognized, which has its origins on the eve of the white smoke, when the nuncio at the time in Venezuela looked forward positively to the election of a Latin American cardinal as bishop of Rome. “L’Latin America – explained Parolin – has all the qualifications to express a pope. Let’s not forget that this is the continent where the relative majority of the world’s Catholics live. It is about one living churchpresent in society, aware of his vocation disciple missionary. I believe that the election of a Latin American pope can impress strong impulse to the evangelization of our time and the contribution that the Church is called to make to solve the great problems of the day, such as Povertysocial justice, the peaceful coexistence “. Words that have materialized in nine years.
Twitter: @FrancescoGrana