POPE Benedict XVI's changes at the head of various Vatican bodies this week show his willingness to revamp the Church after it was rocked by the paedophilia scandal, Vatican experts say. 'He is imposing his style of firmness and transparency, after he realised that the paedophilia crisis risked threatening evangelisation on a permanent basis,' Vatican expert Bruno Bartoloni told AFP.
This week, Pope Benedict created a new ministry to fight secularisation in traditionally Catholic countries and replaced the heads of two other important ministries after the former chiefs reached the age limit of 75.
Since his election in 2005, he has appointed new heads for 17 of the now 21 ministries at the Vatican.
'The timid intellectual has descended from his ivory tower and is showing determination in his leadership,' said Vatican observer Giancarlo Zizola.
In May, the Vatican said it would overhaul the powerful ultra-conservative Legion of Christ whose late founder Marcial Maciel was disgraced by sex abuse scandals.
In recent months, Benedict has also accepted the resignation of half a dozen bishops involved in cases of paedophilia and in cover-ups.SIC: ST