The “Bergoglio Effect” on the Bishops of Italy and Spain

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Vatican Diary / The “Bergoglio Effect” on the Bishops of Italy and Spain

The change has begun with the secretaries general of the two episcopates. In Madrid the new one has been elected. And in Rome Paul Francis has deposed the old. With even bigger innovations in the works

VATICAN CITY, November 25, 2013 – As has already taken place in the United States, the episcopates of Italy and Spain also have significant changes in their leadership under way.

And the observers of ecclesiastical questions, but not only they, have gone to work to interpret these changes in the context of the new pontificate.

They want to understand the impact of the “Bergoglio effect” on the corps of Catholic hierarchies profoundly shaped by his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

IN SPAIN

In Madrid, after two five-year mandates and with the statutory impossibility of being reelected, Bishop Antonio Martínez Camino was on his way out as secretary and spokesman of the episcopal conference.

An anomalous Jesuit – hardly Bergoglian in style – and an ironclad conservative, Martinez was a staunch ally of cardinal of Madrid Antonio María Rouco Varela, no Bergoglian himself, “dominus” of the Iberian episcopate over the past two decades with an iron fist in opposing internal ecclesial dissent, the political separatist impulses present also in sectors of the Church, and the secularist tendency personified by socialist leader José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero.

In the place of Martínez Camino the Spanish bishops have elected the priest-journalist José María Gil Tamayo, well-known to the media all over the world as the Spanish-speaking sidekick of Vatican “spokesman” Fr. Federico Lombardi before and during the last conclave.

Gil Tamayo was elected in the first round of voting with 48 votes out of 79. While the two elections of Martínez Camino were more laborious. According to information leaked to the press, in fact, both times he was elected at the second round of voting, with 40 votes out of 77 in June of 2003 and 39 votes out of 77 in November of 2008.

The changing of the guard has been hailed with rejoicing by progressive Iberian circles, which are already savoring the exit from the stage of Cardinal Rouco Varela. The cardinal has in fact already reached the age of 77, and in March will cease to be president of the episcopal conference.

On the other hand, however, Gil Tamayo, in spite of his more affable and engaging character, does not at all seem to have that revolutionary cast which has been attributed to his election, interpreted as the fruit of the new climate, also presumed to be revolutionary, coming from the Rome of pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

A diocesan priest, Gil Tamayo is imbued with the spirituality of Opus Dei, having studied communications at universities of the Obra: that of Navarra, where he obtained his undergraduate degree, and the Roman university of the Holy Cross, where he is working on his doctorate.

In the first hours of his mandate, he immediately had occasion to clash with a socialist leader – who had accused him of interference in political questions – reminding him that the bishops “have the mission of illuminating situations of citizenship” and that Catholics “have the right to receive a word from their pastors.”

In order to verify a possible change in the stance of the Spanish episcopate it will therefore be necessary to wait for the name of the new archbishop of Madrid – where the expected arrival of Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera would signify a more dialogue-friendly approach in the political camp, but no less firm in that of doctrine – and above all to see who will be elected the new president of the episcopal conference.

IN ITALY

If the full impact of the “Bergoglio effect” in Spain is yet to be seen, In Italy it has already been unleashed with striking repercussions. In part because the pope is the primate of Italy and currently has the power to appoint directly not only the president of the episcopate but also, after non-binding consultation with the thirty bishops of the permanent council, the secretary general.

So far pope Bergoglio has acted on two levels here.

He has ordered a study of a reduction in the number of dioceses – currently more than 200 – and a reform of the statutes that would assign more power to the regional episcopal conferences with respect to the national conference and would take away from the presidency the power of appointment and direct control over the central offices, turning this over to the respective episcopal councils, which are elective.

Not only that. Francis has also asked that the Italian bishops determine if they want the pope to continue choosing their president and secretary general.

It is not clear how much time this statutory reform will take. But if the bishops decide to change the norms on how the president is chosen, and the pope approves the change, it is clear that their leader, cardinal of Genoa Angelo Bagnasco, appointed in 2007 and confirmed in 2012 by Benedict XVI, will be required to surrender his mandate, which according to the current norms would expire in 2017.

In the meantime, however, last October came the expiration of the five-year mandate of the secretary general, Bishop Mariano Crociata, who had been appointed by Benedict XVI in 2008.

And in this case the firm hand of pope Bergoglio made itself felt right away.

The pontiff, in fact, at first did not “confirm,” but only “extended.” And after a month he sent him as bishop to Latina, a diocese of little importance not far from Rome.

With this move, Pope Francis in fact turned the calendar of the CEI back to 1986, when John Paul II relegated to Mantua the outgoing secretary general Egidio Caporello and appointed as his successor the then-auxiliary of Reggio Emilia, Camillo Ruini.

From that time on, all the secretaries general of the CEI – who according to the current statutes must be bishops – have always been “confirmed” and/or promoted afterward to lead a diocese of cardinalate tradition.

In 1991, Ruini became cardinal vicar of Rome. His successor, Dionigi Tettamanzi, became archbishop of Genoa in 1995. Ennio Antonelli, appointed in 1995 and confirmed in 2000, was promoted to archbishop of Florence the following year. Giuseppe Betori, appointed in 2001, was confirmed in 2006 and also promoted to Florence two years later. Today all of them wear the scarlet.

Pope Bergoglio has broken this automatism.

Now it remains to be seen when and how the new secretary general will be chosen. And above all when and how the new statutes of the CEI will come to light, as they could assign a more direct role to the Italian bishops in the selection of their president. A direct role that they now exercise only in the selection of the three vice-presidents, who in practice have been chosen to represent the north, middle, and south of the country.

At times with surprising results and with elections contested to the last vote.

For example, the current vice-president for central Italy, archbishop of Perugia Gualtiero Bassetti, was selected in 2009 at the second round of voting with 102 votes out of 194, far surpassing two churchmen of great stature in the media world, then-archbishop of Terni Vincenzo Paglia, who received 46, and archbishop of Chieti Bruno Forte, who scraped together 35.

And while the current vice-president for the north, archbishop of Turin Cesare Nosiglia, was elected in 2010 with a comfortable margin of victory over bishop of Como Diego Coletti with 137 votes out of 219, the selection of the vice-president for the south in 2012 was more contested. On that occasion, bishop of Aversa Angelo Spinillo prevailed in the voting by a hair’s breadth over archbishop of Bari Francesco Cacucci, with 100 votes against 91.