Cardinal Parolin: The Pope has never stopped governing the Church

By Alessandro De Carolis

Pope Francis has slowed down, as his health recovery has required, but “the governance of the Church is in his hands,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin explained in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper. The Cardinal Secretary of State recalled how the Pope’s hospitalization and now his convalescence have changed the duration and amount of attention he can dedicate, but there has been no interruption in his ability to deal with issues that required a decision by him or direction from him. 

In the interview Cardinal Parolin speaks about the functioning of the Holy See, noting that while “the Pope has never stopped governing the Church, not even during his hospitalization at Gemelli,” it is also true that there are “many more routine matters on which the collaborators of the Curia can proceed without consulting him, based on instructions already given earlier and existing rules.”

On behalf of the Pope

The matters presented to the Pope during this period, Cardinal Parolin clarifies, are solely the “issues on which he alone can and must decide”; for the rest, there is an “authority” that the Vatican dicasteries, which “work on behalf of the Pope,” can exercise by making decisions “following the guidelines” outlined by Pope Francis, something that also happens “in normal times.”

One such circumstance, Cardinal Parolin cited, regards canonizations: “It is the Pope who pronounces the formula, but this, if necessary, can be delegated to a collaborator who pronounces it in the Pope’s name.” Thus, he continues, if the Pope were to authorize Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, he could “read the formula on his behalf, in case the Pope is unable to do so at that time.”

All of this, Cardinal Parolin notes, “will also depend on how the Holy Father feels during those days.” Now, the important thing for Pope Francis, he says, “is that he can rest and get better” for the two months prescribed by the doctors with the hope that this “reduced period of activity” compared to his previous pace “will help him fully resume his ministry.”