Here are the portraits of the cardinals, bishops, priests and one
woman – Francesca Immacolata Chaoqui –whom the Pope talks and listens to.
One of the most frequently asked questions behind
the Vatican walls (and a bit beyond) is who Francis has regular contact
with.
Who advises him?
Who does he listen to?
One of these figures is
Mgr. Fabiàn Pedacchio Leaniz, an official of the Congregation of Bishops
and unofficial but highly efficient private secretary to the Pope, a
bit like – mutatis mutandis of course - what Stanislao Dziwisz was to
John Paul II.
But after a fair number of consultations, the
names of quite a few other individuals begin to emerge; some of them
come as surprises.
One name which is not surprising, however, is that of
Cláudio Hummes, a Brazilian cardinal who was formerly Prefect of
the Congregation for the Clergy and said to be one of Bergoglio’s “big
voters”.
He successfully campaigned for Francis’ election in the last
Conclave and was by his side when Francis appeared on the loggia of St.
Peter’s Basilica, when the new Pope was presented to the world.
Then there is the over 80-year-old British
cardinal Murphy O’Connor, who plays less of a centre-stage role. He
certainly did not see eye to eye with Benedict XVI when it came to
bishop-related issues but under Francis’ pontificate he seems to have
gained in importance and Francis consults him often.
The Nuncio to Great
Britain seems to be conscious of this “hotline” to the Pope and the two
apparently speak more regularly than before.
Then there is Honduran cardinal Oscar Madariaga, a
member of the Salesian Order. There is a chance he could be appointed
as head of one of the Congregations and move to Rome at the ripe age of
73. Then again, the Pope is 77.
Curia members say he is a key advisor to
Pope Francis as is the 80-year-old Chilean cardinal, Errazuriz Ossa.
Cardinal Ossa is a member of the official eight-member Council that
meets with the Pope to discuss Curia and Church reform.
But there are also some Italians who form part of
Pope Francis’ “secret Council”, if one may call it this.
One of them is
Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the Governor of Vatican City. Cardinal
Bertello served as Nuncio to Italy before being made Governor, thinking -
as the Secretary of State had hinted - that he would be appointed head
of the Congregation for Bishops and hoping he would get to lead the
Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (Propaganda Fide).
He
never got the latter position because Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who
currently leads the Congregation, acted with greater skill and
determination.
Other Italians that collaborate closely with Pope
Francis include Carlo Maria Viganò, Nuncio to the United States - and
averse to anything that so much as whiffs of Ratzinger or Bertone - and
the former Master of Ceremonies, Mgr. Piero Marini who some believe
played a role in the replacements discussed by the consultants to the
Congregation for Divine Worship.
Finally, another cardinal whose
advice is taken very seriously – and one can understand why when one
takes a look at his resumé – is Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de
Chinchetru, a Spanish bishop who taught at the Pontifical University of
the Holy Cross, a canonist of the Apostolic Penitentiary and coordinator
of the commission that oversees the Vatican bank (IOR).
But there is also a female who has gone to St.
Martha’s House on a number of occasions – including recently –to meet
with the Pope and introduce him to various people.
The woman in question
is Francesca Immacolata Chaoqui. Chaoqui made headlines – not all good
ones – about a week ago when she was nominated as a member of the
commission set up in July to overhaul the Vatican's
financial administration.
Bergoglio has apparently met with her in a
friendly capacity on a number of occasions.
Then there is the telephone which Pope Francis uses unreservedly. Naturally, the secrecy surrounding this is far greater.