If the cardinals of the Catholic Church, meeting in conclave to choose Pope Francis' successor, are looking for a reliable administrator who can effectively govern the Church and restore calm after three sometimes turbulent papacies, they should look to Pietro Parolin.
For the past 12 years, Parolin has served as the Vatican's secretary of state, effectively the second-highest ranking official in the Church. He also serves as the Vatican's top diplomat.
Those two roles make him, a 70-year-old native of a small town in the deeply Catholic Veneto region of northern Italy, one of the most prominent candidates for the 133 cardinal electors who will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the secret conclave on Wednesday.
He had meetings with cardinals who came to Rome on ecclesiastical business from all over the world, and visited most of these countries.
For example, two cardinals from two African countries probably know Parolin as well, if not better, than they know each other.
During the life of Francis, who died on April 21, the number of occasions when all the cardinals could gather in Rome was limited.
“We need to get to know each other” was the oft-repeated refrain uttered by the taciturn cardinals coming and going from the pre-conclave meetings known as “General Congregations.”
Conflict resolution
Parolin is considered a reserved diplomat who is more pragmatic than conservative or progressive. He has sometimes had to quietly resolve the problems caused by the late pope's statements.
Francis, an Argentine and the first American pope, has given media interviews and sometimes made impromptu public statements.
“He (Parolin) knows how to protect the interests of the Head and the Institute,” noted one clergyman who now lives abroad, worked with him for many years and asked not to be named due to the secrecy of the conclave.
One of the recent incidents was the late Pope's statement last year when he said that Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip could be equivalent to genocide.
Parolin agreed to meet with Israel's then-ambassador to the Vatican, Raphael Schutz, who told him that Israel wanted the Pope to talk more about Israel's right to self-defense.
When Francis said Ukraine must show “the courage of the white flag” to end the war, the comment was widely criticized by Kyiv’s allies but welcomed by Russia. Parolin was careful to tell diplomats that the pope had in mind peace talks, not capitulation.
Diplomatic career
Parolin entered the minor seminary at age 14 and was ordained in 1980. He has spent almost his entire career in the Vatican’s diplomatic service, both in Rome and abroad. He has never led a Catholic diocese, which might have given him more pastoral experience.
However, those who know him say this is not a disadvantage, since, in running such a complex organization as the Vatican's central administration and representing the Pope throughout the world, he had many contacts with various believers.
“He has visited many places and interacted with all social groups in different cultural and linguistic contexts. He knows the universal Church,” said the priest, who lives abroad.
Vatican Agreement with China
Some conservative cardinals in the United States and Asia have expressed anger at Parolin because he is a chief architect of the Vatican's secret 2018 deal with China.
They see the deal, which gives Chinese authorities a say in choosing Catholic bishops, as a betrayal of the Communist Party.
Supporters argue that it is better than no dialogue at all between the Church and China, and that even Pope Benedict, who was known as more conservative than Francis, supported the agreement.
Another criticism is that under Parolin's leadership the State Secretariat lost about 140
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
