Your gift counts double until 5/31: $20,923 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Leading Vatican journalist: Cardinal Pell to head Congregation for Bishops

CWN - May 05, 2010

Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia will soon be named prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, according to Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale.

The report by Tornielli-- who has accurately predicted several developments during this pontificate-- matches rumors that have circulated in Rome for several months. Tornielli adds that the formal announcement of Cardinal Pell's appointment will come before the summer months. Major changes in the Roman Curia often come either just before or after the Pope makes the move to the apostolic palace at Castel Gandolfo for his summer stay there.

Cardinal Pell would replace Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who has been prefect of the Congregation for Bishops for 10 years and, at 76, is now well past retirement age. The rumors that Cardinal Pell would be his replacement, which began last year, were rekindled last week when, after a private audience with Pope Benedict, Cardinal Pell met at length with Cardinal Re.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($20,923 to go):
$80,000.00 $59,077.50
26% 74%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 1 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: samuel.doucette1787 - May. 05, 2010 5:26 PM ET USA

    Hopefully Cardinal Pell will bring some of that refreshingly blunt Aussie demeanor to the Vatican and shake up the bishop appointment process. Why not also dismantle bishops' conferences while we're at it? G'day Mate!

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Revealing News, and Revealing Christ 12 hours ago
The Russell Ford problem 13 hours ago
Fr. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly: Your Letter May Help 19 hours ago
The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church May 23
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church May 23

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8