When the phone rings

VATICAN CITY
Inquirer (Philippines)

By Juan Mercado
Cebu Daily News
8:52 am | Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

His phone stopped ringing late March. Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, 79, knew then it would be only a question of time before he would be ushered out of the Secretary of State’s office, Italy’s La Stampa reports. Days earlier, the Rome conclave of cardinals scuppered all forecasts by electing a Latin American Jesuit as 265th pontiff since Peter the Fisherman.

Friday, Pope Francis reached beyond today’s 217 cardinals into the Vatican diplomatic corps. He named 58-year-old Italian Archbishop Pietro Parolin as the new secretary of state. Parolin served as the papal nuncio to Venezuela. He has helped craft the Church’s response to virtually every geopolitical challenge of the past two decades: nuclear disarmament, dialogue with Iran and North Korea, to the fight against human trafficking.

The pontiff thanked Bertone but closed the exit door for a “divisive figure” in the Vatican corridors of power. Bertone, for now, retains his place in the Vatican Bank’s supervisory council. He will stay on the job until a report on the Bank is submitted to Francis.

Critics blame Bertone for a management breakdown exemplified by the Vatileaks scandal, the New York Times noted. Disclosed infighting suggested cronyism. “Archbishop Pietro Parolin’s appointment ends the era of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,” the Guardian pointed out. Known for his frugal lifestyle, Parolin’s appointment is also the most significant by Francis since March.

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