The phrase by Cardinal Pietro Parolin about the possibility that Leo XIV might “reajuste” his pontificate after the operation continues to spark discussion in Rome. Vaticanist Nico Spuntoni devotes an analysis to the controversy in the Sunday edition of Il Giornale on 18 October, arguing that the Secretary of State’s remark “has caused annoyance in the Vatican” and placing it within a series of setbacks Parolin has faced in recent months.
An “unfortunate remark”
Parolin made the comment on Thursday afternoon at an event at the Iraqi embassy to the Holy See. Asked by journalists, he said the Pope would “reajustará su pontificado, si es necesario reajustarlo” once the doctors had given their assessment. The following day, at the Catholic University, he limited himself to saying that the recovery “is going well” and that he could not “interpret” anything about the Pontiff’s plans. According to Il Giornale, the cardinal later clarified that he was referring to the trip to Latin America.
Spuntoni describes the remark as an “unfortunate remark” and states that, “among prelates and experts,” the judgment of its inopportuneness is “unanimous.” The surprise, he adds, was greater because Parolin has a reputation for being prudent. His critics also reproach him, according to the newspaper, for an excessive presence at conferences and the habit of “talking too much to journalists.” The words came, moreover, just hours after the first images of the Pope after the operation and his telephone call to Vladimir Putin were released.
Russia, the Domus Paul VI and the deanship
The article lists several episodes in which, in its view, the Secretary of State has come out the loser:
- Russia. At the end of August it was Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, whom the newspaper describes as a friend of the Pope, who was sent on the delicate mission to Russia. Parolin had travelled to Moscow in 2017.
- The Domus Paul VI. According to Il Giornale, Parolin opposed the lease of the building, which is to become a hotel, and tried to freeze the operation in February. Leo XIV approved it anyway, citing savings on maintenance.
- The deanship of the College of Cardinals. Last week’s election of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as dean closed, according to the newspaper, an aspiration Parolin already had in 2025 and which Francis did not grant. A source cited by Spuntoni claims that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re conveyed to the cardinal-bishops the preference for “not someone over eighty,” and that Parolin was told he “has too many commitments.”
The “stigma of the defeated” in the conclave
Eighteen months after the conclave, Parolin remains at the head of the Secretariat of State, unlike what happened with his predecessors Angelo Sodano and Tarcisio Bertone. But, according to Spuntoni, he carries the “stigma of the defeated in the conclave” and there has never been harmony between him and Leo XIV, although the newspaper stresses that the Pope is not one to humiliate his collaborators.
With the Pontiff already out of the Gemelli, Il Giornale expects a meeting between the two that will clarify what it calls the “rimodulare-gate,” and recalls a similar misunderstanding between Paul VI and Cardinal Giuseppe Siri.
InfoVaticana already reported the cardinal’s words: Parolin: «Si es necesario, el Papa reajustará su pontificado».