Roman Curia to be ‘less bureaucratic and more effective’: Abp. Parolin

Vatican City, 10 February 2014: Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, published an in-depth interview on Sunday with the Holy See’s new Secretary of State Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin.

Among the themes that cropped up in the lengthy interview of Archbishop Parolin by Stefania Falasca of the Italian Bishops’ daily Avvenire, were: working with Pope Francis, the role of Vatican diplomacy, Syrian conflict and the Vatileaks episode; the last one, he said, unjustly caused Pope [emeritus] Benedict XVI to suffer unjustly,” adding that it scandalized many people, “[doing no little damage] to the cause of Christ.”

Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin who took over as the Secretary of State late last year explained in the interview that he hopes to help the whole Roman Curia become more “streamlined” and “agile” in the service of the Church in the contemporary world. He cautioned that it demands "not just a reform of structures, but an accompanying continuous personal conversion."

The cardinal-designate also focused on the "renewal of the Church" to which the Pope is calling all "persistently" and noted that the Secretary of State is "totally available to implement the pastoral proposal from Pope Francis.

The Secretary of State said that he would like to see the Roman Curia become less bureaucratic and more efficacious,” and “an instrument in the service of the Pope and the bishops, of the universal Church and the particular Churches.”

Archbishop Parolin also touched upon the case of IOR, popularly known as the ‘Vatican Bank’. He said that, in accordance with the directions of the Pope, money management is meant to serve " the needs of the Life and Mission of the Church" and must be permeated "by the principles of the Gospel."

Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin went on to discuss issues related to the commitment of the Holy See for peace, including the plight of Christians in the Middle East. Speaking of relations with China, Archbishop Parolin expressed the hope, “That trust and understanding among the parties might increase, and that this [goal] might be concretely realized in the resumption of a constructive dialogue with political authorities.

The interview concluded with Secretary of State Parolin offering a winning formula – that is, collaboration - for management of relations, through which, he said, everyone would be able to effectively contribute to the common good.
Source: VR Sedoc