New assignment, promotion for key Vatican foreign-policy aide
August 17, 2009
Msgr. Pietro Parolin, who since 2002 has been the Vatican equivalent of a deputy secretary of state, has been named by Pope Benedict XVI to become apostolic nuncio to Venezuela. He will assume the title of archbishop with his new duties.
The new assignment for Archbishop-elect Parolin-- which had been predicted earlier this month by journalist Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale-- gives the veteran Vatican diplomat a challenge: to uphold the interests of the Holy See in a country whose leader, leftist President Hugo Chavez, has been constantly at odds with the Church hierarchy. The new nuncio has ample experience in delicate negotiations, having led several Vatican delegations in talks with government leaders in Vietnam.
Msgr. Ettore Balestero, another veteran of the Vatican Secretariat of State, will take over the duties of deputy secretary for relations with states.
The confirmation that Andrea Tornielli's report was authentic-- the latest in a string of accurate predictions by the respected Vatican-watcher-- lends credence to his report that another change is coming soon in the Roman Curia: the retirement of Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
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