Leo XIV: Toward a necessary restructuring

Leo XIV has returned to the Vatican after a month-long vacation in Castel Gandolfo, and a series of important decisions await him. They aren’t all urgent matters, but what he decides in each of them will tell us a lot about how the pope intends to shape his pontificate.

These decisions will be subjected to the severe scrutiny of many, starting with those in the Vatican who championed Pope Francis’s decisions and refuse to backtrack.

The risk is that the pope will find himself, in the near future, facing a crossfire over the nominations and organization of the Roman Curia. You may even hear some chatter – some of it from persons highly placed – about abandonment or betrayal of Pope Francis’s curial reform project as expressed in his 2022 Apostolic Constitution, Praedicate Evangelium.

So, what are these decisions?

First of all, several dicastery heads have already reached retirement age and will need to be replaced.

They are: the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro; the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, Cardinal Arthur Roche; the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch; and the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

In November, Cardinal Lazzaro You, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, will also turn 75.

So far, Leo XIV has operated consistently in all the dicasteries where he has been called to carry out generational replacements. The only exception is the Dicastery for Communication, where he has chosen Montse Alvarado, olim president and COO of EWTN News, who, starting in November, will be called upon to oversee the complex machinery of Vatican communications.

For the rest, there were no major surprises, nor even any disruptive decisions. Leo XIV kept a fairly low profile, and this works for all major issues.

Voices have whispered about another possible change, this one to the Secretary of State.

It bears mention in this regard that the current Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has thus far enjoyed the Pope’s absolute trust and is a little more than three years away from 75. The pope, however, may indeed want someone of his very own choice to lead the Secretariat of State.

There’s already considerable speculation about who the new Secretary of State will be, but little is being said about what Cardinal Parolin might do. At 72, any new assignment would be incomplete, even with an extension until he turns 77, because there wouldn’t be time for reforms and action.

There is, however, the possibility that Cardinal Parolin could replace Cardinal Fernando Filoni, now in his eighties, as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher. The position would have an international and diplomatic profile and would be an ideal transition to retirement.

Furthermore, it would avoid appointing Cardinal Parolin to a position where he would be unable to complete his five-year term.

The Holy See, in fact, always prefers that prelates who can complete their first five-year term be appointed to senior positions, so that they can work with peace of mind.

Some say that Cardinal Parolin could be replaced by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s current Secretary for Relations with States. But this is unlikely, given that Gallagher is already 73 and would therefore serve only two years before retiring.

This is a time for speculation.

There is growing talk of Bishop Erik Varden as the new prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. There is talk of Cardinal Mauro Gambetti being transferred from his position as Archpriest of St. Peter’s to that of Bishop of Chieti. There is also talk of Bishop Guido Marini being appointed as the new Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

But it is rather difficult to distinguish between wishful thinking and real information, because the truth is that little is still known about Leo XIV’s way of governing.

Then, that’s why these coming appointments – and they will be coming, some sooner and some later – are so interesting.

So far, Leo has favored continuity in appointments, with the sole exception of the Dicastery for Communication.

Examples are Archbishop Filippo Iannone, Leo’s own successor at the Dicastery for Bishops. For the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Leo XIV chose a woman, Sister Alessandra Smerilli, who was already secretary, and promoted Cardinal Fabio Baggio, undersecretary, to pro-prefect.

With that move, Leo XIV maintained the “female quota” of the dicastery but also put an end to the asymmetrical distribution of positions and honors, since it was objectively strange for the undersecretary of a dicastery to also be a cardinal.

It remains to be seen whether the Pope will continue this pattern, leaving decisions to the old guard.

It bears mention that Pope Leo XIV was a member of that old guard – albeit a latecomer to it – having served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops for two years.

There is general confidence in the pope’s ability to carry out the work of his new office, but it remains to be seen whether this confidence will be repaid by the facts.

Meanwhile, the risk for Leo is that every appointment perceived as disruptive will undermine cardinals and bishops, leading them to attack the pontificate and create unfavorable public opinion.

It’s not that the pope cares about public opinion, but part of his mandate – as he understands it, his mission – is to “take down the temperature” in the Church, at Rome and around the world. The impact his decisions will have – on curial types in Rome and on people – is not to be discounted.