Every day, Aleteia offers a selection of articles written by the international press about the Church and the major issues that concern Catholics around the world. The opinions and views expressed in these articles are not those of the editors.
Monday 30 May 2022
1. With Sodano’s passing, the Vatican’s old guard is down but hardly out
2. An end-of-summer Consistory that looks to the world
3. In Jerusalem, the feast of the Ascension is celebrated in a mosque
4. Archbishop Gallagher: Ukraine war an opportunity to put an end to logic of nuclear deterrence
5. For Indigenous Canadians, Pope Francis’ age is an advantage
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With Sodano’s passing, the Vatican’s old guard is down but hardly out
Vatican journalist John Allen looks at the death of 94-year-old Cardinal Angelo Sodano, former Secretary of State under John Paul II and Benedict XVI and then dean of the College of Cardinals until 2019. The powerful Italian Cardinal embodied the “old guard” and had retained a strong influence within the Vatican’s internal culture. “Though Sodano was an important point of reference, it would be a serious mistake to think that his death means the old guard is down for the count,” considers the American Vatican expert. The past is now embodied by Cardinal Re, 88, who succeeded Cardinal Sodano in 2019 as dean of the College of Cardinals. An important page in the history of the Vatican is being turned with some discretion. Cardinal Sodano’s death elicited only a relatively sober telegram from Pope Francis. The very factual articles published on Vatican News, the official media portal of the Holy See, lacked the glowing tone often associated with Cardinal’s deaths. Cardinal Sodano “one of the titans of the Catholic Church over more than 50 years,” will keep a reputation tarnished by the sexual abuse scandals and his controversial action during his service as apostolic nuncio in Chile, under the dictatorship of Pinochet.
And today we celebrate...
