Vatican Diary / Forty new bishops in Italy, and five fewer cardinals in the curia
That is how many will pass the age limit by the end of 2015. A golden opportunity for Pope Francis to reshape the Italian episcopate as he likes, and diminish the influence of curia members at a future conclave
by Sandro Magister
VATICAN CITY, September 11, 2014 – There are currently 226 dioceses in Italy. An exorbitant number compared to many other national Churches, even though it is a product of history. So much so that Pope Francis himself did not fail to mention a possible reduction in them during his first address to the Italian bishops in May 2013.
Speaking with the newspaper “La Nuova Sardegna” at the end of August, the substitute of the Vatican secretariat of state, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, however explained - with regard to a possible “disappearance of dioceses in Sardinia,” his birthplace - that “for now there is nothing concrete.”
“If there is any elimination,” Becciu added, “this must be the fruit of a general restructuring of the various existing ecclesiastical circumscriptions,” this having been “the approach of the Italian episcopal conference until now.”
Although no reduction of the number of dioceses seems to be on the horizon, Pope Francis nevertheless has the possibility, within the span of a few years, to change the face of the Italian Church hierarchy.
Not a few dioceses and archdioceses, in fact, are vacant or have bishops who have passed or are close to passing the retirement age of 75.
Vacant at the moment are the sees of Ozieri in Sardinia (this is the diocese of the substitute Becciu himself, and has been so since December of 2012 when Sergio Pintor promptly retired upon reaching the age of 75), of Piana degli Albanesi in Sicily, of the territorial abbey of Montecassino in Lazio, of Acerenza in Basilicata, of Ariano Irpino and the territorial abbey of Montevergine in Campania, and of Pistoia in Tuscany. Auxiliary bishops also have to be assigned for two dioceses that traditionally have them: Genoa and Reggio Emilia.
Also past the age of 75 are the archbishops of Bologna in Emilia, of Palermo in Sicily, of Cosenza in Calabria, and of Foggia in Puglia, the bishops of Tortona in Piemonte (which however belongs to the ecclesiastical region of Liguria), of Senigallia in Marche, and of Faenza in Romagna, as well as an auxiliary in Rome.
By the end of the year, the archbishop of Ancona in Marche and the bishops of Rieti in Lazio and of Adria-Rovigo in Veneto will also reach the age of 75.
But by the end of 2015 there will be twenty more dioceses with pastors who have reached retirement age.
In Triveneto there will be the diocese of Belluno (that of pope Albino Luciani), as well as the large diocese of Padua (more than a million inhabitants) and the important archdiocese of Trento, both currently directed by former nuncios, historically rich with clergy and also with ecclesiastical assets.
In Lombardy there are the dioceses of Pavia, Cremona, and Mantova, to which must be added an auxiliary of Milan. While in Piemonte there are those of Cuneo and Pinerolo.
In central Italy there are the dioceses of Pescia in Tuscany, of Fabriano in Marche, and the archdiocese of Gaeta in Lazio. The cardinal vicar of Rome, Agostino Vallini, will also turn 75.
In the south there are the archdioceses of Potenza in Basilicata, of Benevento, and the diocese of Cerreto Sannita in Campania (a region that counts a particularly high number of bishops of Focolare), as well as the dioceses of Andria, of Conversano, and of Cerignola in Puglia (this latter diocese is the birthplace of the secretary general of the CEI, Nunzio Galantino).
In the islands, finally, the bishops of Ragusa in Sicily and of Ales-Terralba in Sardinia will reach retirement age.
Overall there will therefore be about forty ecclesiastical circumscriptions ready for a turnover. Enough to allow a thorough overhaul of the body of the Italian episcopal conference.
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As has already been pointed out, the new pastors whom Pope Francis is preparing to appoint include those of Bologna and Palermo (the two-year extension allowed for their bishops expires in 2015). Two dioceses that have, or better, had a longstanding cardinalate tradition.
With Pope Francis, in fact, the automatic elevation of the bishops of these cities as cardinals no longer seems to hold true. This was seen in the last consistory, when he chose to give the scarlet to Perugia, but not to Venice.
And a verification of this freedom in creating cardinals could come as soon as 2015. In early January of next year, in fact, the number of cardinal electors, whose maximum is set at 120, will drop to 110. A number that will fall to 107 next June and to 105 in November. Which means that if he chooses, Pope Francis could hold a consistory with at least ten new cardinals at the feast of the Chair of Peter in February, with at least thirteen at the feast of Saints Peter and Paul in June, and at least fourteen at the feast of Christ the King in October.
Already at his first creation of cardinals, Pope Francis demonstrated that he did not feel bound by particular ecclesiastical traditions, that he has special consideration for the Churches of the ecclesial “periphery” and favors the diocesan sees over the curia.
With regard to this latter aspect, it should be noted that currently 36 out of 114 cardinal electors have positions in the curia. But within one year five of the cardinals in the curia will pass the age of eighty. And it is unlikely that Pope Francis will replace them at the first consistory.
With the result that the influence of the curials, who made up fully one third of the college of electors at the end of Benedict XVI's pontificate, will soon be reduced to just one fourth of the voters.
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English translation by
Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.
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For more news and commentary, see the blog that Sandro Magister maintains, available only in Italian:
> SETTIMO CIELO
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11.9.2014
