The absence of Msgr. Pietro Parolin at the ceremony of his taking possession as Secretary of State was certainly not a good thing. Struck by gallstone (or appendicitis according to other sources), Msgr. Parolin had to undergo an urgent, albeit not grave, surgery operation. During the ceremony, Pope Francis, after thanking the outgoing Secretary of State Card. Bertone, coined for Parolin a peculiar description: Secretary of State

Prolonging the absence of a leader at the helm of the Secretariat of State also means pushing back the attention-seeking obsessive tendencies of Vatican officials and dicasteries, always ready to jump to center stage. At the same time, it seems that Pope Francis wants to go beyond the Roman Curia.

The Pope’s inability to bear a central government would come from his personal experience of marginalization. As a young head of the Province of the Company of Jesus, he was assigned to Germany (which he felt was like being exiled) to study for a PhD he never completed, and then called again to Argentina and assigned to teaching.

The decade of the 80s is a “vacuum” in Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s biography. In experiencing this exile and marginalization, he would have concluded that governments are merely power establishments,  and that reality is better grasped from the periphery.

This is how the assertive Jesuit became a bishop impatient with centralized management, one who takes upon himself all management responsibilities, because he thinks it is best to trust no one.

This exile, together with the experience of living the military dictatorship in Argentine, forged the character and the ideas of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Perhaps he associates the Curia to the Province of the Company of Jesus which exiled him to Germany. As Pope, he paid homage to the late Jesuits General, Arrupe, by visiting his tomb at the “Casa Generalizia”, the Jesuits headquarters in Rome.

Yet Arrupe was one of the strongest “adversaries” of Bergoglio within the Jesuits, and some Jesuits have pointed out that, had Bergoglio not become Pope, he would have never gone to render honor to Arrupe’s tomb. This might have been the moment Bergoglio really internalized that he had become Pope.

Staying away from the Curia increasingly became “a must” for Jorge Mario Bergoglio (in fact he often did not attend the meetings of the Congregations he was a member of). Now, one of Pope Francis’ missions is to save the Roman Curia from itself. He does not want special events to take place at the Vatican. Not even the Curia’s traditional spiritual exercises of Lent will be held as usual in the Vatican’s Redemptoris Mater Chapel this year.  Instead, they will be held in Albano, Rome. The exercises will be lead by Fr. Angelo de Donatis, a simple priest.

As much as Francis wants to go beyond the Curia, someone will still be needed to run the Curia. Someone who, at the very least, can handle rumors and anxieties at the Secretariat of State. Pietro Parolin is someone who would probably take on this difficult task.

Parolin’s task will not be just about getting a new handle over diplomacy and downplaying general affairs. He must also, most importantly, give a direction to the government to the Holy See.

Pietro Parolin will not be a vice-Pope. Certainly, he will need to protect himself from pressures coming from all directions.  And he will also need to reign in those who vie for recognition and merits since the arrival of the new Pontificate.

A sign of the complete anarchy reigning within the Vatican Walls is the last small reform of Vatican Finances, regarding the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA). The reform was announced in a press release by the APSA, which the Holy See Press Office circulated in a bulletin different from its own bulletins.

The press release announced that APSA had started the “due diligence” process, hiring the Promontory Financial Group (already contracted by the IOR) for this purpose. Due diligence is the “evaluation of risks” in investments and loans, particularly with regards to the clients in a bank.

Yet, even if APSA is usually described as a sort of central bank, it is not a bank. When the evaluators of the Council of Europe Committee of MONEYVAL asked the Vatican about APSA’s activities, the Vatican explained that APSA has some accounts, but that its banking-type activity is minimal (they have only 23 accounts, 15 belonging to clerics and 8 to laymen) and that a process to close this banking-type activity started in 2001.

The APSA decision to announce the starting of the due diligence process is problematic: the APSA is not a bank, but is acting as one. So, there is an open question: what should the due diligence process be about? Are the Vatican dicasteries subject to due diligence on their activities?

The same issue arose when the Institute for Religious Works (known with the Italian acronym of IOR) issued its Annual Report, as banks usually do. The IOR is often described as the “Vatican bank” or the “so-called Vatican bank”, although the Vatican has always pointed out that –and explained why– the Institute is not bank. The report could confuse public opinion. If the IOR puts into practice everything requested from a bank, the debate about the nature of the Institute is somewhat “suffocated” from the beginning. Does this ambiguity help the Holy See’s mission?

Hardly, judging from the way the Holy See operates in the European and the international arenas.

The Holy See strategy was that of creating a customized financial model for the Vatican (where there are no banks or markets). One that would adhere to international standards while maintaining the Holy See’s “special kind” of sovereignty.

Neither the APSA nor the IOR seemed to be aware of this. They appear to want to act solo, without coordinating with the “central government” of the Church, in order to show the world that a path toward transparency has began. This behavior earns a lot of publicity to the IOR’s President, Von Freyberg, and elevates the image of the APSA (as well as the profile of external agencies, like Promontory, despite the fact Vatican officials are doing most of the work).

There is something worth noting about APSA. Cardinal Attilio Nicora had been for years president of this Vatican dicastery, until he had to resign, since he was also president of the Authority for Financial Information. Nicora’s conflict of interests (he was at the same time president of both a controller body and a controlled body) was the only issue underscored in the July 12 MONEYVAL report. But Nicora always kept control over the APSA, which he considers a creature of his. Most of the APSA moves are inspired by Nicora, anxious to take center stage once more.

In the meantime, “second tier officials” rose in importance within the Vatican, but it is hard to know on whose recommendation.

One of this second tier characters is Ilson de Jesus Montanari, an employee with a rank of second class secretary who has suddenly been catapulted to the number two position at the Congregation for Bishops. A Brazilian and young, Ilson is rumored to be a close friend of Msgr. Fabiàn Pedacchio Leaniz. Pedacchio is the Pope’s personal Secretary, but still serves as an official of the Congregation for Bishops, where he was sent by Bergoglio in 2007 (Pedacchio had been Bergoglio’s eyes on the Curia for several years).

It was Giovan Battista Ricca who introduced Ilson to Cardinal Bergoglio. Ricca, it seems, backed Ilson’s appointment. Ricca was the director of the House of Clergy in Via della Scrofa, where Ilson used to live and where Cardinal Bergoglio used to stay when he came to Rome.

Ricca was appointed by Pope Francis prelate of the IOR. As soon as the news of the appointment spread out, the vaticanista Sandro Magister published a leaked document about a homosexual scandal which involved Ricca when he worked in the Papal nunziature in Uruguay. The documents accused Ricca of being “the prelate of the gay lobby”, which is how Magister headlined his article. Was also Ilson part of a the gay lobby as Ricca was accused to be? Was he only part of the small circle of friends that rose around card. Bergoglio when he was cardinal? This kind of speculation is often rumored in Vatican corridors.

Finally, one of Pope Francis’ most recent appointments is food for thought. Fernando Vergez, Legionary of Christ, General Secretary of Vatican City State, will receive the title of bishop. Pope Francis (somewhat belatedly) announced this decision with a long and unusual letter to Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Vatican City State government.

In the letter, Pope Francis explains that the General Secretary of Vatican City State should focus on pastoral duties and the care of the souls of all at Vatican City State. So, while Vergez will be a sort of “bishop of the Vatican parish”, Bertello is charged with management, thus increasing his power.  It is also the Pope’s intention to entrust Bertello with the coordination of the Curia’s general affairs.

The upcoming ordination of Vergez as archbishop is a good development for the Legionaries of Christ. Vergez’ mother was one of the women in the close circle of Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries who lived a double life: that of a respected founder of a Congregation full of vocations; and that of a drug addict who had love affairs with several women, at least three illegitimate children, and who abused his seminarians.

The secretary of the late Argentine Cardinal Eduardo Pironio and a respected and active member of the Legionaries of Christ, Vergez distanced himself from the founder of the Congregation at the right time, when the rise of Legionaries of Christ was going to come to an end because of the process instructed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith lead by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Vergez reportedly testified that the Legionaries statutes approved by Pope John Paul II were not those the Congregation really applied. This is how he was awarded a post in the Vatican City State government. From there, he was catapulted to the number two position at the Vatican City State government.

Vergez’s promotions will presumably help the image of the Legionaries of Christ, which is preparing its general chapter in March and that is ever losing more “freshmen”. The Legionaries of Christ and its traditional supporters, like Secretary of State Emeritus Angelo Sodano, can thank the Pope for this opportunity.

Ultimately, Pope Francis clearly stated that he felt nostalgia for the Curia man of the old days. After the promotions of people presumably part of a gay lobby (and can this not be but a strategy to keep everybody under control?), and his preference to govern without the Curia as much as he can, Pope Francis keeps on going his own way.

Yet, a signal to Parolin has been given. The Pope said Parolin need not worry too much about his new job. Parolin’s importance is not considered pivotal, as evidenced by the Pope not waiting one week for Parolin to get well before officially inaugurating the new Secretary of State’s term in office.  

The appointment of the Secretariat of State is just one piece of the Curia puzzle. On Aug. 30, Pope Francis fitted another piece, appointing the number two position for the Vatican City State government. Fernando Vergez, who until now headed the Telecommunications Department of the Vatican, held the right qualifications and was appointed.

Parolin will start on his new job on Oct. 15, when Pope Francis will «receive for an audience high- ranking members and officials of the Secretariat of State, »  in order to publicly thank Bertone for his faithful and generous service to the Holy See and to introduce Bertone’s successor to Secretariat of State officials.

Actually, it is a homecoming for Msgr. Parolin: He served in the Secretariat of State from 1992 to 2009, at different posts, most recently and importantly as the Vatican’s equivalent to a vice minister for foreign affairs, overseeing sensitive portfolios and closely following the outcomes of the Second Gulf War. Later, As papal nuncio in Venezuela, Parolin did a great job reconciling the Venezuelan government and the Church.

The new Pro-Secretary of State (Parolin will become Secretary of State only after Pope Francis creates him cardinal) is happy. He issued a press release thanking everyone, from his family to Pope Benedict who «ordained me bishop,»  and affirming that he «stands before this new service to the Gospel, the Church and Pope Francis with trepidation, but also with confidence and serenity, ready – as the Pope always calls for – to walk, build and confess.»

Parolin will work with Bertone’s team, since Pope Francis confirmed all the top Secretariat of State officials.  These include Parolin’s deputy, Msgr. Angelo Becciu; Secretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Dominique Mamberti; Undersecretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Antoine Camilleri; Assessor, Peter Bryan Wells. The Pope also confirmed in his charge the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, Msgr. Georg Gaenswein.

Parolin’s appointment means that a diplomat will once again be heading the Secretariat of State. Card. Bertone, who served as Secretary of State under Pope Benedict XVI, was not a diplomat and he often claimed that he was mostly «a Church secretary.»  Bertone’s critics often lamented and called attention to the fact that he was not a diplomat.

In fact, any pretext was good to attack Bertone. Even Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, a member of the commission appointed by Pope Francis to rationalize Vatican expenses and management, described Bertone as a «corrupt man»  in a tweet. This became public knowledge, but carried no consequences. Nobody, from inside the Vatican, said a word to defend Bertone.  During a lunch he had with the Pope on August 15,  Bertone let it be known that he had taken note of this silence, and told him that he wanted to leave as soon as possible. The Vatican press release specifically and intentionally notes that Pope Francis «will publicly thank»  Bertone in the upcoming meeting.

Angelo Sodano was also present at the lunch with the Pope on Aug. 15. The Secretary of State Emeritus is again a king maker, it seems. In fact, Parolin is widely appreciated, but he is also considered by many observers a Sodano’s man. The same observers note that Fernando Vergez, the new number two of the Vatican City State government, comes from the ranks of the Legionaries of Christ, traditionally a Sodano’s feud. Pope Francis, in the press conference he held coming back from the Rio World Youth Day, underlined that he felt nostalgia for the «old curiale,»  and Sodano is ultimately one of the oldest representatives of a certain idea of the old curia.

Vergez, a Spanish priest hailing from Salamanca, is not only a gentle and competent monsignor who improved the Vatican’s website, which under his direction has expanded to cover seven languages. He is also a Legionary of Christ, and it is rumored that he was one of those who testified that the Legion’s constitution presented to the Pope (and then approved by the Vatican) by the Legion’s founder Marcial Maciel was different from the one used within the religious congregation.

Vergez also stands out because he has been for years the personal secretary of Card. Eduardo Pironio, from Argentina, the unforgotten organizer of World Youth Days.

Vergez will replace the archbishop Giuseppe Sciacca as the second highest-ranking official in the government of Vatican City State. Last Saturday, Sciacca was appointed adjunct secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature, a sort of court of last appeal for canon law. When friends of Pope Francis are asked about the reasons for giving Msgr Sciacca a new assignment, they explain that the Pope thought about strengthening the Signature, following a typical Vatican practice to justify with subtle arguments each promoveatur ut amoveatur (promote to remove). In fact, Sciacca is paying for a certain level of activism during the final period of Benedict XVI’ pontificate. His proclivity to call attention to himself and his networking had been considered expressions of careerism that needed to be downplayed.

If Benedict XVI’s team was recruited from the ranks of what used to be the  Sant’Uffizio, Pope Francis’ team will probably be comprised of Argentinians or other Spanish-speaking Church officials who know Latin America’s problems well.  These officials gained the trust of the then- Card. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, when he had to endure a difficult relation with the Vatican Secretariat of State and the Papal nuncios in Argentina over the selection of bishops in that country.

It is thus not surprising that another Argentine priest is hailed as a rising star in the Vatican. He is Msgr. Daniel Alejandro Giorgi, rector of the major seminary in Buenos Aires. Pope Francis has tracked his career from its beginning. Giorgi was also present at the August 15 lunch (which followed the Mass and the Angelus of Ferragosto celebrated by the Pope in Castel Gandolfo).

Pope Francis will probably proceed one step at a time, with no revolutionary, sudden changes. For example, the pressure to dismiss Bertone have been very strong. However, Pope Francis – who often speaks with Benedict XVI and asks for his advice–  resisted the push to oust Bertone, and got Sodano to advocate for Parolin. In fact, pressure may be counterproductive because it raises suspicions. Since Pope Francis likes to work by himself and does not involve the Secretariat of State much, he had no problem with leaving Bertone at his post until now.

According to Vatican sources, Bertone would have kept his post at least until the meeting of the group of cardinals the Pope chose to counsel him on a Curia reform, but it was Bertone himself who insisted on  retiring. The meeting will take place in the Vatican Oct. 1-3.

Pope Francis’ working methods are become ever more clear. Some insiders maintain that, beyond his lack of interest over institutionalization, Pope Francis knows very well what he is doing. He wants to see others backing his views. According to an American monsignor, Pope Francis is acting as one who  «would create a commission to decide how to get from Washington to New York. Everybody knows that the best thing is to take a high-speed train heading north, and everybody knows that a commission would reach this conclusion. The Pope, however, wants to count with a strong backing for his views.»

In fact, the «gang of cardinals» (whose appointments follow a regional diversity model, similar to that of Jesuit commissions) follow this criteria. Pope Francis agrees with the views of each of the cardinals he chose. Particularly – it is rumored – Pope Francis thought is in perfect tune with that of Card. Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston.

The same criteria informed the selection of the members of the commission on the IOR (the so-called Vatican bank) and of the commission to oversee the Vatican government. The commissions will make their proposals, but it remains to be seen what weight Pope Francis will give to these recommendations.

In the meantime, lobbies have flourished and are applying some pressures. This is why Pope Francis would have thought about– encouraged by the work developed under Benedict XVI – to institutionalize his path to renewal. It should not lead, however, to an excessive institutionalization, which Pope Francis would not approve or allow. It would be a way to protect the outcomes of his decisions and to give the Church a solid framework beyond its image, which is for many a renewed image.