(ANSA) - Vatican City, November 18 - The new Vatican
Secretary of State Piero Parolin began his official duties
Monday.
Parolin was appointed by Pope Francis in late August and
had initially been expected to assume his position in
mid-October, but was delayed due to a medical procedure.
In his first day on the job, Parolin welcomed the Prime
Minister of the Bahamas, Perry Gladstone Christie, who was on an
official visit to the Vatican.
Parolin replaces Tarcisio Bertone whose departure marks the end of an era.
Appointed by Benedict XVI in 2006, Bertone was known as a divisive figure in the Vatican Curia, the Church bureaucracy. In the last phase of the former pontificate, Bertone also was involved in the so-called "Vatileaks" controversy where confidential Church documents were leaked to the press by the former pope's butler in 2012.
In contrast Parolin, who has been the Holy See's representative in Venezuela, belongs to the diplomatic tradition with extensive experience in the Vatican's diplomatic corps.
Parolin, the new right hand of Pope Francis, was born in 1955 in Schiavon, in Italy's Veneto region, has a degree in canon law from Gregorian University, and entered the papal diplomatic service in the summer of 1986. He worked in Nigeria for the papal authorities from 1986 to 1989, in Mexico from 1989 to 1992; and as the 59th secretary of state in the Vatican's modern era will now have the task of interpreting the "foreign policy" of Pope Francis.
Parolin replaces Tarcisio Bertone whose departure marks the end of an era.
Appointed by Benedict XVI in 2006, Bertone was known as a divisive figure in the Vatican Curia, the Church bureaucracy. In the last phase of the former pontificate, Bertone also was involved in the so-called "Vatileaks" controversy where confidential Church documents were leaked to the press by the former pope's butler in 2012.
In contrast Parolin, who has been the Holy See's representative in Venezuela, belongs to the diplomatic tradition with extensive experience in the Vatican's diplomatic corps.
Parolin, the new right hand of Pope Francis, was born in 1955 in Schiavon, in Italy's Veneto region, has a degree in canon law from Gregorian University, and entered the papal diplomatic service in the summer of 1986. He worked in Nigeria for the papal authorities from 1986 to 1989, in Mexico from 1989 to 1992; and as the 59th secretary of state in the Vatican's modern era will now have the task of interpreting the "foreign policy" of Pope Francis.
