Cardinal most likely to become Secretary of State

Will Cardinal Maradiaga be the Pope's right hand?

"Il Messaggero" reported today that the confidant of the Pope from Honduras could replace the current Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

After the Pope appointed the Cardinal to an eight-member Commission which will be on hand to help him lead the world church, Vatican insiders reckon with further personnel changes at the Vatican in the summer. Several key positions in the Roman Curia could be filled with people enjoying the confidence of the Argentine pontiff. Francis is thinking of replacing Cardinal Bertone, under fire as a result of several scandals in the past year, with the Honduran Cardinal Oscar Luigi Maradiaga . This was reported by the usually well-informed Roman newspaper "Il Messaggero" on Friday.

Maradiaga was was appointed by Pope Francis in April as the coordinator of a group of eight cardinals to draft proposals for a reform of the Roman Curia. The Commission is also participating in a plan to reform "Pastor Bonus", the Constitution of the Roman Curia . The eight Cardinals will meet in October for the first time. But Francis has been in contact with them. Cardinals from all five continents belong to this directorate.
Appointment in late July?

The 70-year-old articulate Maradiaga is the favorite of the Pope . Francis could name him after his trip to Brazil in late July as the new Vatican Secretary of State, the paper stated. The Pope will participate in World Youth Day from July 22 to 29.

Maradiaga has from time to time been hailed as the rising star of the Latin American Church. The polyglot cleric speaks as a result of his psychotherapy studies in Innsbruck also a passable German. He is an avid musician and is also open to ecumenical questions. The Salesian with three doctorates, who has been president of Caritas Internationalis since 2007 and from 1995 to 1999 was president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), is a sharp critic of the effects of globalization.

Criticism of the lack of transparency of the Vatican Bank
In his role as coordinator of the planned reform of the Curia, Maradiaga also expressed views on the Vatican bank IOR. He claimed that "IOR as any other financial institution should publish its balance sheets." "It is important that the role of the IOR Bank should be defined, to give clarity. All banks publish reports on their activities, otherwise things will not work, "said the cardinal.

The Cardinal Secretary of State (actually Secretary of State of His Holiness ) heads the main Dicastery of the Curia, the State Secretariat. The term Cardinal Secretary of State has prevailed in the German language, as this position is always occupied by a cardinal. The Secretary of State is largely responsible for the political and diplomatic activities of the Vatican.

The current Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone is considered by Italian media as a blocker of transparency efforts of Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI. He was especially seen in the Vatican Curia as a champion of the status quo, even with the finances.

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