Archbishop Pietro Parolin is the new Vatican Secretary of State
Vatican City ( AsiaNews ) - Archbishop
Pietro Parolin was today appointed Secretary of State by Pope Francis. He succeeds Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who will
remain in office until 15 October.
In
a statement released at noon, the new Secretary of State speaks of " unmerited
trust" placed in him by Pope Francis, to whom he expresses "my willingness and complete
availability to work with him and under his guidance for the greater glory of
God, the good of the Holy Church, and the progress and peace of humanity, that
humanity might find reasons to live and to hope. "
"I feel very strongly the grace of
this call - he adds - which is yet another and the latest
of God's surprises in my life. Above all, I feel the full weight of the
responsibility placed upon me: this call entrusts to me a difficult and
challenging mission, before which my powers are weak and my abilities poor. For
this reason, I entrust myself to the merciful love of the Lord, from whom
nothing and no one can ever separate me, and to the prayers of all. I thank all
those who have shown and who, starting now, will show me understanding, as well
as for any and all manner of help that anyone might desire to offer me in my
new undertaking. "
A native of Veneto, Msgr. Parolin was
born in Schiavon (Vicenza ) January 17, 1955 . His
was an agricultural machinery salesman, his mother a teacher and he had a
brother and a sister. His
father died when he was ten years old.
He
entered the seminary and was ordained on April 27, 1980 . Having
graduated in Canon Law in 1986, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy
See . His
first missions took him to Nigeria , where experienced first hand the difficulties
of relations with Muslims , and later to Mexico.
He
returned to the Secretary of State on 30 November 2002 on being appointed
Under-Secretary for Relations with States. He remained in this role until
August 17 , 2009, when he was appointed nuncio to Venezuela
A period
that he recalls in his statement today. "My
thoughts - he writes - go
to my family and to all the persons who have been part of my life: in the
parishes into which I was born and in which I served; in the dear Diocese of
Vicenza; at Rome; in the countries in which I have worked - from Nigeria, to
Mexico, and most recently in Venezuela, which I am sorry to leave. I think also
of Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, who ordained me bishop, I think of the
Secretariat of State, which was my home for many years, of His Eminence,
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, of the other Superiors, colleagues and collaborators
and of the whole Roman Curia, as well as of all those who represent the Holy
Father and the Holy See diplomatically around the world. I owe a great
debt to all".
Those
years also saw him undertake a number of missions to Vietnam (pictured) , in
order to improve the situation of religious freedom in the country and to
explore the possibility of creating diplomatic relations. This
work resulted in the establishment of the Joint Working Group, which, laboriously,
continues in its mission.
An
open and welcoming man described as a good listener, in his statement Msgr. Parolin
speaks of "trepidation", but also " confidence and peace of mind
" with which he places himself "in this new service to the Gospel, to the
Church and to Pope Francis, but also with trust and serenity - disposed - as
the Holy Father asked us at the beginning - to walk, to build and to profess".
"May our Lady, whom I like to invoke
under her titles as Our Lady of Monte Berico, Guadalupe and Coromoto, give us,
"The courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord's Cross; to
build the Church on the Lord's blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to
profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go
forward."
"
And , as they say in Venezuela : " ¡Que Dios les bendiga . " ( FP )
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25/02/2022 16:12
