Reforms within the Roman Curia should involve not only administrative changes, but a difference in approach to the work of the Vatican, the new Secretary of State has told an Italian magazine.
In an interview with the Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone stressed the pastoral dimension of the Vatican's activities. The Italian cardinal-- whose appointment to the Vatican's #2 position raised some eyebrows because of his lack of diplomatic experience-- said that the emphasis on pastoral work would be "the key to understanding" the pontificate of Benedict XVI.
Within the Roman Curia, Cardinal Bertone said, structural reforms will be undertaken to "respond to the requests from bishops and to the needs that have gradually appeared." But apart from these structural changes, he said, a more important consideration would be the selection of the officials who work at the Vatican.
The new Secretary of State, who took office on September 15, said that his own job involves two complementary roles: working within the Church, "building up relations with the episcopates and the faithful," and also working with the outside world, handling relations with different nations and peoples.
In the latter role, Cardinal Bertone said that the policies of the Vatican would be unchanged: "the defense of life and the struggle against any abuse of the human person; the defense of peace and the safeguarding of creation." For these purposes, he said, the Vatican's status as a permanent observer at the UN is "extremely necessary."
The Italian cardinal said that his first action as Secretary of State had been to go to the grotto of St. Peter's basilica, to pray at the tombs of previous popes. He mentioned that he prayed in particular at the tomb of Pope Pius XII, who was "a great Secretary of State" before his election to the papacy.
Famiglia Cristiana recounted the cardinal's report that he had had a vision of the late Pope John Paul II, appearing to him in the chapel of the Lateran University, walking with a wooden cane-- "like the one that Sister Lucia carried." [Sister Lucia, the last survivor among the Portuguese children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima, died in February 2005.] Cardinal Bertone said that he told the late Pontiff of his concerns about the new job he would soon be undertaking, and asked for his blessing, "which he quite willingly gave me."
Courtesy of Catholic World News
In an interview with the Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone stressed the pastoral dimension of the Vatican's activities. The Italian cardinal-- whose appointment to the Vatican's #2 position raised some eyebrows because of his lack of diplomatic experience-- said that the emphasis on pastoral work would be "the key to understanding" the pontificate of Benedict XVI.
Within the Roman Curia, Cardinal Bertone said, structural reforms will be undertaken to "respond to the requests from bishops and to the needs that have gradually appeared." But apart from these structural changes, he said, a more important consideration would be the selection of the officials who work at the Vatican.
The new Secretary of State, who took office on September 15, said that his own job involves two complementary roles: working within the Church, "building up relations with the episcopates and the faithful," and also working with the outside world, handling relations with different nations and peoples.
In the latter role, Cardinal Bertone said that the policies of the Vatican would be unchanged: "the defense of life and the struggle against any abuse of the human person; the defense of peace and the safeguarding of creation." For these purposes, he said, the Vatican's status as a permanent observer at the UN is "extremely necessary."
The Italian cardinal said that his first action as Secretary of State had been to go to the grotto of St. Peter's basilica, to pray at the tombs of previous popes. He mentioned that he prayed in particular at the tomb of Pope Pius XII, who was "a great Secretary of State" before his election to the papacy.
Famiglia Cristiana recounted the cardinal's report that he had had a vision of the late Pope John Paul II, appearing to him in the chapel of the Lateran University, walking with a wooden cane-- "like the one that Sister Lucia carried." [Sister Lucia, the last survivor among the Portuguese children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima, died in February 2005.] Cardinal Bertone said that he told the late Pontiff of his concerns about the new job he would soon be undertaking, and asked for his blessing, "which he quite willingly gave me."
Courtesy of Catholic World News
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