8. Attack on the Reform

  1 Maria Antonietta Calabrò, Corriere della Sera, July 11, 2014.

  2 “Diario Vaticano / La nuova curia prende forma così,” October 22, 2013. www.chiesa.espressoonline.it.

  3 Antonio Spadaro, “Francesco.” La Civiltà Cattolica, September 19, 2013. English translation from the Vatican website. In the interview Francis also underlines that, “The church’s ministers must be merciful, take responsibility for the people and accompany them like the good Samaritan, who washes, cleans and raises up his neighbor. This is pure Gospel.”

  4 Eugenio Scalfari, la Repubblica, October 1, 2013. English translation by Kathryn Wallace.

  5 Parolin assumed his new post in absentia, since he was recovering at the hepatobiliary surgery ward of the Padua hospital and would not be installed until November 18. In the meantime, his functions were performed by the office managers.

  6 On several occasions—for example, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Tears in Siracusa on the day after the announcement of his replacement by Parolin—Bertone responded to the many “accusations” to which he had been subjected: “Of course there have been many problems, especially in the past two years, and many accusations have been thrown at me by … a cabal of crows and snakes … But this should not obscure what I consider a positive final balance.” “I have had my flaws,” he said, but “I have always given my all” and no one can say that “I did not try to serve the Church.” “On the one hand it would seem that the Secretary of State decides and controls everything, but that is not the case. There are events that got out of hand because these problems were ‘sealed’ within the control of certain persons who refused to liaise with the Secretariat of State.” (ANSA, September 1, 2013.)

  7 Enrique Llano expressed a similar position: “I am strongly in favor of the establishment of a Ministry of Finance and of the idea that it should report to the supreme authority, that is to say, to the Secretary of State—if the idea of a prime minister were to prevail—or to the Holy Father—if the idea of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs were to prevail. The Ministry of Finance should have the ultimate responsibility for financial control of the Holy See and the Governorate.”

  8 Francesca Chaouqui also took the floor: “There are two questions that must be addressed: 1. How to reform the financial management to help the Holy Father immediately; and 2. In the past the Rome of Bernini, Michaelangelo, et al. was the cultural fulcrum of the world and the Church was the matrix of civilization: how can we procure the means to become a wellspring of such talents that would enable the Church to spread the word of God and at the same time have a clean financial system? We must envision the creation of an exemplary financial system.”