The "Segretariola" of Francis, the Pope Who Wants To Do It All Himself

ROME, August 8, 2013 – Francis is in no hurry to reform the curia, and some of his big electors are starting to get impatient. "We wanted someone with good managerial skills and leadership skills, and so far that hasn't been as obvious," the cardinal of New York, Timothy Dolan, complained in an interview a few days ago.

But pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio certainly does not like the curia the way it is. And in fact he often and intentionally does without it. The latest chirograph signed "Francis," that of July 18 which instituted a commission of eight experts to rethink the organization of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See, was made known to the Vatican secretariat of state only as a done deal.

This means that in the little office of pope Bergoglio on the second floor of the Casa di Santa Marta, where he has chosen to reside, many things are decided and done that never even pass through the majestic curial offices of the first and third loggia of the Apostolic Palace, a few steps away from the now-deserted pontifical apartment.

The secretariat of state continues its routine work, but much more at work is another secretariat, miniscule but highly active, which in direct service to the pope attends to the matters that he wants to resolve himself, without any interference whatsoever.  (more...)

The "Segretariola" of Francis, the Pope Who Wants To Do It All Himself