Cardinals heard a briefing Monday from the Vatican No. 2 about another stain on the Holy See's reputation, the Vatican bank.
As a non-Italian, the archbishop of Sao Paulo would be expected to name an Italian as secretary of state the Vatican No. 2 who runs day-to-day affairs another plus for Vatican-based cardinals who would want one of their own running the shop.
The most immediate task facing the new pope is picking a new secretary of state, the Vatican's powerful No. 2 official who runs the Holy See government on the pontiff's behalf.
WSJ: Bid to Remake Church Will Focus on Vatican Administration
Making sure the transition goes smoothly, Benedict made an important appointment Wednesday, naming the No. 2 administrator of the Vatican city state, Monsignor Giuseppe Sciacca, as a legal adviser to the camerlengo.
The cardinals are hoping to elect someone who can heal rifts within the Vatican hierarchy while tending to Catholicism's 1.2 billion followers.
Cardinals held their final closed-door debate Monday over whether the church needs more of a manager to clean up the Vatican's bureaucratic mess or a pastor to inspire the 1.2 billion faithful in times of crisis.
The new leader of the world's estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics has brought a new sense of simplicity to the Vatican, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
In 1993, after 2, 000 years of often hostile Christian-Jewish relations, the Vatican and Israel approved a document in which the Holy See and the Jewish state recognized each other.
The next pope, when he is chosen, will be handed the fruits of a number of digital initiatives, including a Twitter presence of over 2.5 million followers, and will then have to decide how to move Vatican forward in the social realm.
FORBES: Next Pope Will Inherit An Established Social Media Presence With Room To Grow
Certainly the Vatican does not, according to Consob, Italy's securities regulator, have a stake of 2% or more in the company, which would require disclosure.
When Jorge Bergoglio stepped onto the balcony at the Vatican on Wednesday evening to reveal himself as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, he made history as the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin America, the first Jesuit and the first to assume the name Francis.
The Vatican has said Francis' primary secretary will be Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, who had been the No. 2 secretary under Benedict.
应用推荐