logo
Papal contender Parolin is a soft-spoken, longtime Vatican diplomat

Papal contender Parolin is a soft-spoken, longtime Vatican diplomat

Straits Times05-05-2025

FILE PHOTO: Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin looks on at the end of the Rosary for Pope Francis at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), following the death of the pontiff, in Rome, Italy, April 22, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin walks after kissing the cross during the Good Friday Passion of the Lord service in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Pietro Parolin leads the Holy Mass to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
VATICAN CITY - - If the Catholic cardinals entering the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis are looking for a steady administrator to run the Church and bring some calm after three consecutive papacies that were at times tempestuous, they may look no further than Pietro Parolin.
On nearly every media shortlist of papal contenders, Parolin has been the Vatican's secretary of state for the last 12 years, effectively the number two position in the Church. He is also the Vatican's top diplomat.
The two roles mean Parolin - a 70-year-old from a small town in Italy's deeply Catholic northern Veneto region - is perhaps the candidate best known to the 133 cardinal electors who will enter the Sistine Chapel for the start of the secret conclave on Wednesday.
Cardinals who have visited Rome from around the world on Church business have met him and he has visited most of their countries. Two cardinals from two African countries, for example, probably know Parolin just as well or even better than they know each other.
Under Francis, who died on April 21, the number of occasions all the world's cardinals could meet altogether in Rome was limited. "We have to get to know each other" has been a common refrain to reporters from otherwise tight-lipped cardinals entering and leaving pre-conclave meetings known as "General Congregations".
Parolin is seen as a quiet diplomat who is pragmatic more than conservative or progressive. He occasionally had to quietly put out fires caused by the late pope's remarks.
Francis, an Argentine who was the first pope from the Americas, gave media interviews and sometimes spoke off the cuff in public.
"He (Parolin) knows how to take a punch for the number one and for the institution," said one cleric currently based abroad who has worked with him and has known him for many years, who asked not to be identified because of the secretive nature of the conclave.
One such recent occasion was when the late pope suggested last year that Israel's military campaign in Gaza might amount to genocide. Parolin agreed to meet with then-Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, Raphael Schutz, who told him that Israel wanted the pope to say more about Israel's right to defend itself.
When Francis said Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" to end the war there, the comment drew widespread criticism from allies of Kyiv but was hailed by Russia. Parolin quietly told diplomats that the pope meant negotiations, not surrender.
CAREER FOCUSED ON DIPLOMACY
Parolin entered the minor seminary when he was 14 and was ordained in 1980. He has spent nearly all of his career in Vatican diplomacy, in Rome and around the world. He has never headed a Catholic diocese, which would have given him more pastoral experience.
But those who know him say this is not a deficit because in running an organization as complex as the Vatican's central administration and representing the pope around the world, he has had many contacts with many members of the faithful.
"He traveled to many places and dealt with all categories of people in diverse regional, cultural and linguistic environments. He knows the universal Church," the overseas cleric said.
Some conservative-leaning cardinals in the U.S. and Asia have expressed disagreement with Parolin because he is the main architect of a secret 2018 Vatican agreement with China.
They call the deal, which gives Chinese authorities some say in who will serve as Catholic bishops, a sell-out to the Communist Party. Supporters say it is better than no dialogue at all between the Church and China and that even Pope Benedict, known as more conservative than Francis, favored it.
Another criticism is that under Parolin's watch the Secretariat of State lost some $140 million in a botched investment in a London property.
The deal led to a Vatican corruption trial in which Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was one of Parolin's top deputies, was convicted of embezzlement and fraud.
Parolin testified at the trial but was not among those accused. Becciu denies wrongdoing and is appealing the verdict.
Parolin's personality is definitely not as charismatic as that of Francis, but some cardinals may see that as a plus.
"Parolin is like Clark Kent without the superman part - mild-mannered, industrious, respected, but not flashy," said one person, a layman, who knows him well, referring to the famous comic book character with two personalities. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NATO needs 400% increase in air and missile defence, Rutte will say in London
NATO needs 400% increase in air and missile defence, Rutte will say in London

Straits Times

time34 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

NATO needs 400% increase in air and missile defence, Rutte will say in London

FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a press conference on the eve of a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo NATO needs 400% increase in air and missile defence, Rutte will say in London LONDON - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London on Monday to say the military alliance needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence, one of the priorities for a summit of members in the Hague later this month. Rutte is pushing for members to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a 5% target. Last month, he said he assumed that target would be agreed at the summit on June 24-25. Rutte will argue in a speech at London's Chatham House think tank that for NATO to maintain credible deterrence and defence, it needs "a 400% increase in air and missile defence". "We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," he will say, according to extracts of his speech provided by his office. "The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence. The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full. The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends." With little let up in fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine despite ceasefire calls, European countries are under pressure to raise defence spending after Trump signalled a shift in policy, pushing for the region to better protect itself. Several countries say they are doing so, with Britain pledging an increase from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and 3% of GDP at a later date. Germany has said it will need roughly 50,000 to 60,000 additional active soldiers under new NATO targets. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Musk's father says Elon made a mistake ‘under stress' and that Trump will prevail
Musk's father says Elon made a mistake ‘under stress' and that Trump will prevail

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Musk's father says Elon made a mistake ‘under stress' and that Trump will prevail

Mr Errol Musk, father of Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk, spoke to the Izvestia newspaper during a visit to the Russian capital. PHOTO: REUTERS Musk's father says Elon made a mistake 'under stress' and that Trump will prevail MOSCOW - The row between Mr Elon Musk, the world's richest man, and US President Donald Trump was triggered by stress on both sides, and Mr Musk made a mistake by publicly challenging Mr Trump, Mr Musk's father told Russian media in Moscow. Mr Musk and Mr Trump began exchanging insults last week on social media with Mr Musk denouncing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination'. 'You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months - you know - give them a break,' Mr Errol Musk told the Izvestia newspaper during a visit to the Russian capital. 'They are very tired and stressed so you can expect something like this.' 'Trump will prevail - he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed.' Mr Errol Musk also suggested that the row 'was just a small thing' and would 'be over tomorrow'. Neither the White House nor Mr Musk could be reached for comment outside normal US business hours. Mr Trump said on June 7 his relationship with billionaire donor Musk was over and warned there would be 'serious consequences' if Mr Musk decided to fund US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill. Mr Musk, the world's richest man, bankrolled a large part of Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Mr Trump named Mr Musk to head a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Putin approves big revamp of Russia's navy, Kremlin aide says
Putin approves big revamp of Russia's navy, Kremlin aide says

Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Putin approves big revamp of Russia's navy, Kremlin aide says

The strategy aims to restore the country's position as a leading maritime power. PHOTO: REUTERS MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview published on June 9. Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the US, according to most public rankings, though the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war. Mr Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Mr Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Mr Putin in late May. "Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Mr Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview. "It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian Navy," Mr Patrushev said. Mr Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, though Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product. A US Department of Defence report said in 2021 that China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force is expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030. Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. It's main fleet is the Northern Fleet headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store