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[Catholic Caucus] Old Liberal Midwife to Francis Pontificate Cardinal Angelo Sodano Deceased (Rome) Last Saturday the death of Angelo Cardinal Sodano was announced. The former Cardinal Secretary of State of Pope John Paul II died in Rome on Friday, May 27 at the age of 94. He made a particularly controversial statement about the Third Secret of Fatima. Above all, he was the door opener to the pontificate of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio.From farmer's son to chief diplomatThe Vatican diplomat from Piedmont was the son of a farmer and a Christian Democrat member of parliament. He was ordained a...

On Cardinal Sodano and the meaning of ‘accountability’ In News AnalysisJohn L. Allen Jr.Aug 12, 2018 EDITORPope Francis, left, greets Cardinal Angelo Sodano at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (Credit: L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP.)Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano may not be guilty of a crime or a cover-up on the Church's abuse scandals, but his record has raised questions about whether the system is serious about "zero tolerance." News Analysis ROME - In the mounting conversation about accountability amid the Church’s sexual abuse scandals, one question that often doesn’t get as much attention as it should is what, exactly,...

Minutes ago, at the end of the just-concluded audience with the Secretariat of State marking the handover of its top job from Cardinal Angelo Sodano to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Benedict XVI personally announced the appointment of Archbishop Dominique Francois Joseph Mamberti, the nuncio in the Sudan and Eritrea, as the new Secretary for Relations with States, the Vatican's top foreign relations post. The name of Mamberti, 54, had surfaced in imminent pre-appointment speculation in the Italian press. He was ordained a bishop in 2002, when he was assigned to the nunciature in Khartoum. The Holy See's new "foreign minister"...

Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano (R) meets Saad Hariri, son of assassinated Lebanon's premier Rafik Hariri during a private meeting at the Vatican July 19, 2006. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano/Pool (VATICAN) Lebanon turned Wednesday to the Vatican for help in pressing for a cease-fire in the Middle East, dispatching the son of assassinated premier Rafik Hariri to meet with the Holy See's secretary of state.Vatican officials said Cardinal Angelo Sodano met Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian marjority in Lebanon's parliament whose father's assassination last year led to massive protests that drove Syria out of Lebanon.Hariri was scheduled to meet...

The Holy Father has accepted Cardinal Sodano's letter of resignation according to Canon 354. Cardinal Sodano will remain at his position as Vatican Secretary of State until September 15, 2006. The Holy Father has named Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, as the new Secretary of State beginning September 15th. In addition, the Holy Father has accepted Cardinal Edmund Szoka's resignation and will also remain until September 15th as President of the Pontifical Council for the Vatican State. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, at present, the Secretary for Relations with States, has been named to be the new President to succeed Cardinal...

It’s Sunset Boulevard for the Cardinal Secretary of StateHe should be the pope’s foremost collaborator. But for Benedict XVI, cardinal Angelo Sodano is more of an obstacle than a help. Especially after his failed maneuver against cardinal Camillo Ruini by Sandro Magisterbr>ROMA, March 2, 2006 – For the Vatican curia, the upcoming consistory from March 23-25 will be very Lenten, and really hardly festive at all. Only three of the curia heads waiting for the cardinal’s purple will receive it. Of those left standing at the gate, the most famous, archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, not only was not promoted as a...

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In a cordial meeting that lasted 45 minutes, Vatican Secretary of State, Card Angelo Sodano, and his US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, discussed religious freedom, the Holy Land, the Middle East and other Asian countries.In a statement, the director of the Vatican press office, Joaquin Navarro, said that Cardinal Sodano “extended the Holy Father’s greetings to the guest asking her to convey them to President Bush as well. For her part, Ms Rice, on behalf of President Bush, the American people and herself, expressed to his Holiness their best wishes for a quick recovery”. “The two then...

Discussions Should Focus on Peace NEW YORK, SEPT. 24, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, said that the Iraqi government must be supported and that democracy must be established in the country. "In Europe there are discussions on the legitimacy of the new executive and perhaps the judgment of history on the intervention in Iraq will be severe. But it must be considered a fact that this child has been born. It might be illegitimate but it is now there, and it must be educated and raised," he explained. Cardinal Sodano expressed these convictions in an...