By Andrea tornielli
Vatican Insider
July 15, 2011
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/news/detail/articolo/stati-uniti-us-usa-vaticano-vatican-vaticano-3408/
 |
There has been a tug of war going on for several months now in the shadows of the sacred buildings, concerning the Governatorate, that is, the body which exercises executive power over the world's smallest state, the Vatican City, and handles all administrative issues.
It is a tug of war that is still in progress, with unpredictable results, even though the fate of one of the protagonists appears to be decided, the septuagenarian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who has been secretary of the Governatorate since July 2009, and who should be leaving his post in the coming weeks.
Upon his appointment, which took place after more than a decade spent with the Secretary of State as delegate for representatives in charge of personnel, the prelate from Lombardy (born in Varese and incardinated as a priest in Pavia) had been led to understand that within two years he would replace the outgoing president, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, and he would receive the purple hat. But now, instead of a ticket for the appointment of cardinals at the next Consistory, Archbishop Vigano may be receiving an airline ticket to one of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See in the world.
What happened in these two years? And why will Vigano soon be replaced? The answer, says a knowledgeable source close to the Pope, “is the negative climate that reigns within the Governatorate, and in the relations between the lay office directors and the secretary general”.
Vigano arrived at the Governatorate with the intention (and mandate) to clean up, put his hand to waste and balance the books. Already in 2010 the State budget, from a negative of seven million passed to a surplus, thanks to savings on costs as well as a more favorable economic situation and the increasing number of visitors.
The Secretary-General improved the coordination of management tools, creating an office of Planning and Management Control. He established a goods and service procurement office, centralizing all purchases and obtaining higher discounts from suppliers. He made ??sure that for work inside the Vatican the workers involved are coordinated in a rational way, he demanded that projects be presented with accurate cost estimates and that there always be a project manager.
After only 10 months, the savings on management costs for the Vatican gardens served to completely redo the centralized water heating system with heat exchangers that ensured heat to the Vatican City. But by implementing these reforms, the prelate from Lombardy hurt too many feelings, making relations between the General Secretariat of Governatorate and office heads increasingly difficult.
To all this one adds suspicions, accusations, files, letters, which have led to conflict between archbishop Vigano and a prelate of the Vatican Museums. The Secretary of State formed an informal inquiry committee, but apart from the results, it seems that the climate that has been created makes it difficult for the Secretary General to remain at his post, despite the positive results. And so Benedict XVI, with the consent of the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, decided for the turnover, which should have already taken place in these past few days. Now, however, unless there are any last-minute surprises, it may be postponed until after the summer.
There are currently three possible destinations for the Archbishop. The first is the position of nuncio in the United States: it is now certain that the current ambassador to the Vatican, the papal nuncio Pietro Sambi, will arrive at the Vatican after the summer, probably as the new President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See (currently led by Cardinal Velasio de Paolis) and will therefore receive the red hat at the next consistory. The Embassy in Washington is important and prestigious, but it is not said that it will the destination for Vigano.
A second possibility is the nuncio in Brazil, since the current nuncio, the septuagenarian Lorenzo Baldisseri, could also be called to Rome as the new nuncio in Italy, or in the Roman Curia. A third possibility for Vigano is the nunciature in Prague, which is currently vacant. But there may be some surprises.
Other expected changes are the turnover in the Presidency of the Governatorate: Cardinal Lajolo should be passing the hand to the current papal nuncio to Italy Giuseppe Bertello, and become the Cardinal Patron of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.