Powerful Italian cardinal holds the future of bishop in his hands
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re this week holds the power of recommending Bishop Donal Murray's resignation to Pope Benedict XVI.
He was Italy's challenger to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the 2005 papal conclave.
As the powerful Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, the 75-year-old cardinal last week heard Bishop Murray's case for mitigation in his "inexcusable" handling of his investigation of paedophile priest, Fr Tom Naughton.
Under Canon Law, Cardinal Re is obliged to send "an interim report" of his interview with Bishop Murray which will include his own judgment as to whether this is a case of resignation or reprieve.
Cardinal Re, who attended last Friday's summit meeting in Rome of Pope Benedict with Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, is no stranger to the Irish church.
Vatican insiders say he was a key figure in the acceptance by the late Pope John Paul II of the resignations of Bishop of Galway Eamon Casey in 1992, and 10 years later that of Brendan Comiskey as Bishop of Ferns.
A staunch defender of church tradition, Cardinal Re is reputed to be a moderate, for instance in his support for granting more power to local churches.
- John Cooney
Irish Independent
