Pope Leo XIV: The role of the Curia & the season of trials

In a pair of audiences last week, one with the Roman Curia and the other with the superiors and officials of the Secretariat of State, Leo XIV began to outline what he expected from his collaborators. His approach was generally positive, showing evident appreciation for their work without failing, however, to mention some of the significant problems that have affected Vatican offices in recent years.

In particular, Leo XIV quoted an old Roman maxim: i Papi passano, ma la curia rimane—”Popes come and go, the Curia remains,“—a statement that is no small matter. We are just out of a pontificate in which leadership always came before the work of the Curia and where the work of the Curia was almost not considered except insofar as it more-or-less directly and personally affected the Pope himself. Leo’s recognition of the importance of the structure around the Pope, well, that highlighted the importance of the Curia as an institution.

In his meeting superiors and officials of the Secretariat of State, Leo expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the work they do. “It is evident that the Pope cannot go forward alone,” he said. Then he referred to a speech by Saint Paul VI, who said, “Ambitions or antagonisms must not taint this place. Be, instead, a true community of faith and charity, of brothers and sons of the Pope, who spend themselves generously for the good of the Church.”

Leo XIV is not yet a month into his pontificate, and so far, he has primarily met with the heads of various departments. These are the so-called “table” audiences, which, however, also allow the Pope to understand how the work is managed, what issues are on the table, and what changes are necessary. The Pope does not want to remain isolated from the Curia and his collaborators.

The impression, so far, is that this will not be a two-speed pontificate: it will not be, in other words, a pontificate in which there will be extemporaneous and sudden choices, difficult to manage from the point of view of diplomacy, as it was with Pope Francis. It will be rather a pontificate during which the Pope will try to work closely with his collaborators. Leo XIV knows that he needs to delegate and trust. He is trying, first of all, to throw a lifeline to those in the Curia who, in recent years, have worked on the margins or even worked against. He will then decide how many and which collaborators to keep and which people will be part of his team.

Leo XIV’s approach is cautious. However, there appears to be considerable agitation around him. There is a Vatican world that has completely lived in the dynamics of the previous pontificate and now fears losing its influence. As always happens in the Vatican, everyone has repositioned themselves. Even the Vatican trial season will never be the same again. In sede vacante, on April 29, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, the former member of the Commission for the Administration of the Holy See who was later tried in the Vatican, was summoned to the Vatican and charged with influence peddling and tampering with evidence.

The news was released almost a month later. Chaouqui’s summons followed the publication of wiretaps that revealed her role in tampering with evidence and advising magistrates in the trial concerning the management of funds from the Vatican Secretariat of State, known as the Becciu trial.

But why is the indictment coming only now? Beyond the wiretaps, Chaouqui’s role had already become known during the Becciu trial when she was called to testify. At that time, Chaouqui’s statements did not lead to an arrest or even a suspicion.

In the meantime, the season of trials in the Vatican continued with another , that of Daniele Pergolizzi, an employee of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, for extortion against Cardinal Gambetti. Pergolizzi was arrested because he allegedly tried to sell the Fabbrica, an ancient document he had previously stolen. Arrested also thanks to Cardinal Gambetti, he remained detained without knowing the charges, and above all, it seems that some of his interrogations are not available to either the court or his defense attorneys.

Regardless of the allegation’s accuracy, the trial has seemingly – but we need further information on it to assess it with certainty – some significant procedural shortcomings, similar to those of the Becciu trial.

Then there is the trial against former IOR directors Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulli, which led to the total seizure of their pensions as compensation for the damages that would have been caused by their “mala gestio,” the bad management for which they were convicted. The pension is an acquired right of the worker; it can be reduced by up to a fifth for compensation reasons, but it cannot be taken away entirely.

The two appealed the decision.

After two favorable levels of judgment, the Vatican Court of Cassation (a commission composed of Cardinals Zuppi, Lojudice, and Farrell, appointed by Pope Francis) instead ruled that the suspension of the pension was legitimate.

It will be challenging to unravel the tangle of Vatican trials. At the same time, we await the appeal for the trial on the management of the Secretariat of State’s funds, which is scheduled to take place on September 22. It should be because all these situations could also prompt us to consider postponing the appeal.

Leo XIV listened carefully to all these situations and read the dossiers. To make the best decisions, he needs the Curia, and that means he needs curial officials who aren’t corrupt and a Secretariat of State that not entangled in internal antagonisms.

These considerations, in short, were among those that led to the substance of the recent speeches. The Pope, among other things, still does not have a personal government team. He has decided to trust those who are there so far. Some are considering cutting off dead branches to maintain power. However, this will not be the case. The perception is that there is a general change of season, the results of which will not be entirely noticeable, at least not right away.