Catholic World News News Feature
John Paul remembered #4: the Pope's inner circle April 06, 2005
Throughout his pontificate, Pope John Paul II relied on the advice and support that he drew from a close group of colleagues, friends, and assistants. Many of these associates developed considerable influence during his papacy.
Some of the Pope's closest colleagues were the leading figures of the Roman Curia, such as Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Angelo Sodano-- the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Secretary of State, respectively. Others were old friends from Poland, such as Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur, whose influence stemmed less from their official positions than from their ready access to the Holy Father.
Without question, the man closest to John Paul II was Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who had served for many years as his private secretary. As a young priest, he had traveled with then-Bishop Karol Wojtyla to the sessions of Vatican II. When John Paul II was elected, the Polish cleric-- who had not yet reached his 40th birthday-- moved to Rome to continue his work alongside the Pontiff. Although he rarely spoke about his work, and for years he was modestly listed in the Annuario Pontificio as an "assistant to the Secretary of State," he held enormous influence, as the man who controlled access to the Pope. Only a few prelates could obtain a papal audience without going through his Polish secretary; the paperwork that reached the Pope's desk also went through his hands. He lived in the papal apartments, spent every day with John Paul II, and spoke with him on virtually every topic. In 1998, the Pope rewarded his faithful aide for 20 years of loyal service by naming him a bishop; in 2003 he was raised to the status of archbishop. He remained with the Pope until his death, and will now await a new ecclesiastical assignment.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was known worldwide as the intellectual heavyweight among the Pope's aides, although John Paul II was very much an intellectual himself. The former Archbishop of Munich was tapped by the Pope in 1981 to become the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: the primary guardian of Catholic orthodoxy. Pope John Paul relied heavily on his advice, and although Cardinal Ratzinger made no secret of his wish to return to Germany, the Pope repeatedly extended his term of service at the Congregation, renewing his mandate every five years. Liberal Catholics saw Cardinal Ratzinger as their primary enemy in Rome, as he issued public cautions against deviations from doctrinal orthodoxy. The German cardinal did not shrink from controversy, when he saw it as necessary to safeguard the faith. He was largely responsible for the public disciplining of noted radical theologians such as Hans Küng in Germany and Charles Curran in the US, and for cautionary statements issued by the Vatican on liberation theology, feminism, and religious syncretism. These same activities made him a hero to many conservative Catholics, who were thrilled with his candid appraisal of Church problems in The Ratzinger Report, a book based on his conversations with journalist Vittorio Messori. Although often portrayed as the "grand inquisitor" or the "Panzerkardinal," Cardinal Ratzinger is in fact a gentle, unassuming, and affable man. Despite his age (he will celebrate his 78th birthday just before the conclave) and a history of heart problems, he is regarded as a possible successor to John Paul II.
Cardinal Agostino Casaroli was the Vatican Secretary of State during the early years of the pontificate, which coincided with the final years of the Cold War. The primary architect of the Ostpolitik strategy of engagement with the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe, he remained the Secretary of State-- essentially the 2nd-ranking official of the Holy See-- until his retirement in 1990, when he was replaced by Cardinal Angelo Sodano. When he first appointed the Italian prelate as his Secretary of State in 1979, John Paul II caught many people by surprise; Cardinal Casaroli had not been particularly close to him, and his attitude toward Communist ideology was seen by many Polish Catholic leaders as overly friendly. In fact it was clear that the Pope himself preferred a more confrontational approach. Nevertheless he admired Cardinal Casaroli's intellectual abilities, and perhaps saw him as a useful counterbalance. Pope John Paul was deeply moved by the Italian cardinal's death in June 1998.
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the former Archbishop of Marseille, frequently served as an official papal envoy, representing John Paul II on foreign missions that the Pontiff himself could not undertake. Originally brought to Rome as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 1984, he became a frequent traveler, representing the Holy See in delicate talks in places such as China, Cuba, and Rwanda. An imposing man and a tireless diplomat, he was given the leading role in bringing together representatives of all different faiths for a day of prayer for peace in Assisi in 1986. As he reached retirement age, the Pope asked the French cardinal to hed the committee preparing for the Grand Jubilee in 2000. Later he resumed his globe-trotting missions, making special diplomatic trips to Israel, China, and Iraq.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re is a master of Vatican affairs. Although he was trained for diplomatic service, he has spent most of his life working within the Vatican itself. He was appointed by John Paul II as the secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, then in 1989 to the highly influential post of sostituto, or deputy Secretary of State. In that role he supervised the day-to-day paperwork of Vatican affairs, earning wide respect for his administrative abilities. In fact there was some speculation that Pope John Paul regarded him as irreplaceable, and would keep him on as sostituto to the end of his pontificate. But in 2000 he was named a cardinal, and prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. From that time forward he met weekly with the Pope to discuss the appointment of new bishops all around the world.
One of the Pope's closest allies outside Rome was Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. The Pope's nomination of this Jewish convert, whose mother died at Auschwitz, to become Archbishop of Paris was another surprise, but John Paul II appreciated the French prelate's independent character and his strength of intellect. Cardinal Lustiger visited Rome frequently as a member of the Congregation for Bishops, and during those visits he would regularly have long private conversations with the Pope-- although his visits to the third floor of the apostolic palace were rarely disclosed to the public.
Although he was not a close personal acquaintance, the Pope regarded the late Cardinal John O'Connor of New York as one of his key appointments. The son of a working family, the American prelate had served as a military chaplain in Vietnam and risen through the ranks to head the US military vicariate. When he was personally selected by the Pope to head the New York archdiocese-- shortly after having been named as bishop of the smaller Scranton, Pennsylvania diocese-- Cardinal O'Connor quickly emerged as an influential figure in US public affairs, particularly in his opposition to abortion. Within the Vatican the American cardinal was highly regarded for his handling of the mass media.
The director of the Vatican press office, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, was one of the few lay people in the Pope's inner circle. He had free acess to the papal apartments-- a status that sparked jealousy among some high-ranking prelates who did not have the same privilege-- and traveled with John Paul II on both foreign voyages and vacation trips to the Italian Alps. Although he was originally trained as a psychiatrist, Navarro-Valls became a polished journalist and a skilled publicist. Under his guidance the Vatican took some major steps forward in recognizing and using the influence of the media.
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