Word: benedicts
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...rank of Cardinal the next year and was thought to be among the core group in the conclave that pushed for Ratzinger's election. Still, since he didn't have the usual résumé from the Vatican diplomatic corps, many were surprised when his old boss, now Pope Benedict XVI, tapped him to take over in September as Vatican Secretary of State, the No. 2 slot in the entire Catholic Church hierarchy, behind only the Pope himself...
...Roman Curia, being the Vatican link to Catholic organizations and officials around the world, and even stepping in for the Pope if he falls ill or is unavailable. While Pope John Paul II's constant travels kept him somewhat separated from the workings of the Vatican bureaucracy, Benedict and Bertone are instead expected to work hand in hand on all matters, foreign and domestic. The Pope will need his No. 2 as both a political strategist and a sort of chief of operations, which will give Benedict the space to pursue the intellectual and theological aspects of the job that...
...Warsaw, who had to immediately resign after revelations that he had been an informant for the Polish communist regime. There are also broader complaints inside the Curia that other appointments, and key documents, have being delayed. "We're still waiting on important changes," says a senior Vatican official. "Benedict is turning out to be more cautious than we had thought, and so far Bertone hasn't managed to really get things moving...
Still, Vatican watchers say it remains an open question if the Benedict-Bertone team--which may have been effective in imposing orthodoxy on wayward theologians when the pair ran the doctrinal office--has the worldly vision and institutional muscle to impose their will on the 1.1 billion--strong universal church...
...counting on Benedict touching down in China. Though there are an estimated 12 million Catholics in the Middle Kingdom, its diplomatic ties with the Vatican have remained broken since 1951. Rome has repeatedly reached out to Beijing, hoping to overcome a standoff over who appoints China 's Catholic bishops. The so-called Patriotic Church, which reports to Beijing, has continued to crack down on papal loyalists in China and appoint bishops without Rome's consent. The two-day meeting in Rome was another sign that the Pope is hoping a softer approach will open the door to normalization...