Archbishop Giovan Battista Re Appointed Cardinal, Leading Vatican Congregation
It was certainly no surprise that Archbishop Monsignor Giovan Battista Re was appointed cardinal, holder of Vescovìo Forum Novum pr. Lazio, until a few months ago an irreplaceable Substitute for the Secretariat of State of Vatican City, and now prefect of the Congregatio pro Episcopus, i.e., the Congregation for Bishops. The nomination to the cardinalate was announced by Giovanni Paolo II last Sunday from the window of his private study, before the recitation of the Angelus. No one was surprised that the first name to be called was precisely that of Monsignor Re, a Brescian, who on July 19, 1998, even managed to bring to his country house in Borno, Vallecamonica, a exhausted pope! Semiology experts naturally interpreted this episode as a supreme investiture. How could one not link, in fact, this gesture to that made by Paul VI when, during a visit to Venice, he removed his stole and made it worn by then Patriarch Albino Luciani, elected Bishop of Rome and thus Pope upon Pope Montini’s death?
The history of the protagonists
Curious detail. The first name of a cardinal that Giovanni XXIII uttered in his first consistory in January 1959 was that of Giovanni Battista Montini, former Secretary of State and also a Brescia native. Montini later succeeded him on the throne of Peter. That Karol Wojtyla has a particular fondness for the new cardinal is well known. Just read the Osservatore Romano and note how many times a week the pope holds an audience with him. The task then entrusted to him is certainly, after that of the Secretary of State, the most prestigious.
The reform of the Congregation for Bishops
The Congregation for Bishops, an ancient department established by Sixtus V on January 22, 1588, with the Constitution «Immensa», has been reformed over the centuries. The latest reform dates to June 28, 1988, when, with the Apostolic Constitution «Pastor Bonus», the current pope defined its competences. These include the establishment, division, unification, suppression, and various changes of dioceses and territorial ordinariates.
Moreover, it handles all matters concerning the appointment of bishops, it conducts (formidable) apostolic visits, and prepares the «ad limina apostolorum» visits, i.e., it reviews all diocesan documents before bishops come to visit the Pope. An enormous power, second only to the Pope. Curious detail: Giovan Battista Re was secretary of this congregation from 1987 to 1989.
The commitments of the new cardinals
Next January 21, the new cardinals will go to the Paolo VI Hall at the Vatican to receive their red biretta from the hands of the pontiff. Each new cardinal will also be entrusted with the title of a Roman church. They will be considered Princes of the Blood, with the title of Eminence.
Monsignor Re will thus be able to fully participate in the future conclave. With what role? Certainly as a great elector. As for anything else, it’s better to stay silent. Because almost always, those who enter a papal conclave come out as cardinals. by Giacomo Danesi