Cardinal Szoka visits boyhood parish
Sept 05, 2008
After Mass, under near-perfect blue skies, a stream of well-wishers edged down the church's front steps Sunday to greet the white-haired man in red.
(Press News Service, August 30, 2008) MUSKEGON -- Some were relatives, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. Others were former classmates, who, in a long-ago childhood, had attended class with him in a school building that no longer stands.
It has become a post-Mass tradition at St. Michael's Catholic Church, in downtown Muskegon, when Cardinal Edmund Szoka comes home to visit.
The difference Sunday: Szoka no longer goes home to Vatican City to the rigors of governing the smallest state on earth.
These days it's back to Northville, a Detroit suburb where Szoka is more involved with some of the duties of a new home owner, such as getting to know the neighbors, working on the house and relearning the complexities of the area expressways.
"One week, I went out three times -- and I got lost three times," Szoka recalled ruefully.
Until his recent retirement, Szoka was one of the most powerful officials in the Vatican governing hierarchy. On Sunday, he greeted many familiar faces and presided over Mass.
A visit home: Cardinal Edmund Szoka enters St. Michael's Church Sunday in Muskegon.
From Michigan to Rome
His relationship with the parish is nearly lifelong. It dates back to the 1930s when, growing up in Muskegon, he attended St. Michael's School. A Grand Rapids native, he was baptized at St. Adalbert's Catholic Church.
His life in the priesthood has taken him far and wide -- to the Gaylord diocese where he became its first bishop, to the Detroit archdiocese where he presided as archbishop and ultimately to the Holy See in Rome, where he managed the Vatican's financial affairs and then oversaw the Vatican itself.
But West Michigan, where many of the cardinal's relatives still live, always has been home.
In 2006, at 79, Szoka retired from his duties as president of the Pontifical Commission of the Vatican City State after Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation. He stayed on in the Vatican for another year, serving on five Vatican congregations until his 80th birthday.
Now Szoka, who will turn 81 in September, is adjusting to retirement.
"It's been busy," he said.
He purchased a house in his old archdiocese and moved in April 27.
"You know, when you move into a house, a lot of things are not finished, and that takes a lot of time," he said.
At the same time, he has kept his apartment in the Vatican.
Duties, such as funerals and lending a hand at Masses and special church gatherings, have kept him on the move, with trips to Seattle, Ohio and twice to Quebec.
Szoka has kept faith on a promise to himself.
"I've been doing a lot of reading," he said, "but not heavy reading. That will come later."
His life has taken on some dramatic differences, particularly regarding the work-heavy schedule he kept in the Vatican.
"In a sense, I do," Szoka said when asked if he missed his duties, which involved supervising more than 1,600 employees. "I enjoyed my work.
"It was only 108 acres, but there was a lot going on on those 108 acres. We always had to raise our own money in commercial activities."
Those activities included the Vatican's supermarket, warehouse store, pharmacy, health clinic, gas stations and handling more than 4 million visitors each year.
Szoka was particularly pleased with a project that transformed an old train station into a modern, attractive department store.
Raising revenue for Vatican City "wasn't easy," he said. "It took a lot of effort."
While the grueling schedule has changed, his relationship with the parish of his childhood has not.
Boyhood memories
"I certainly enjoy coming back to the parish where I grew up as a boy," he said.
When he attended St. Michael School, "this church wasn't here," he said. "Instead, there was an empty lot. We used to play football here. We didn't have equipment, of course."
Szoka celebrated Mass Sunday with the Rev. Thomas Simons, pastor of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Norton Shores.
Szoka spent the afternoon with relatives celebrating the family's reunion. It, too, was simple. The meal was potluck. Everyone brought a dish.
'Time to retire'
Sept 18, 2007
Cardinal Szoka celebrates his 80th and with no official position in the Vatican plans to spend more time in Detroit.
(The Michigan Catholic, September 14, 2007) Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka stands in front of Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Because he revamped the seminary program and launched the remodeling of its building during his time as archbishop of Detroit, he is widely considered Sacred Heart's "second founder."
Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, former archbishop of Detroit, is retiring Sept. 14 from his remaining Vatican responsibilities as he turns 80 years old. He retired one year ago from his positions as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and of the Governorate of Vatican City State, but has continued to serve as a member of five Vatican congregations. He spoke with Michigan Catholic reporter Robert Delaney during his current visit to Detroit.
How to you plan to celebrate your 80th birthday?
Well, I’m going to be here in Detroit, and one of the pastors is giving a little party for me -- or maybe a big party, I don’t know.
And you will then be free of all official duties?
When you reach your 80th birthday you no longer have any official position in the Holy See, in the Vatican.
I retired as president of the Government of Vatican City State last Sept. 15 because I was 79 on the 14th. We’re supposed to retire at 75, and we have to send a letter to the pope with our resignation, which I did, but that was still Pope John Paul II, and he just wrote back and said, “Well, keep working for now.” So, I kept working. I worked under the new pope for almost a year and a half, and then it was time to retire. The pope decides that.
Even though I retired from being president of Vatican City, I was still serving on five different Vatican congregations, and that meant five meetings a month. But when you reach your 80th birthday, you’re off of those.
Which congregations were you on?
I was on the Congregation for Bishops, which met twice a month. That has to do with the naming of bishops in the settled countries, and then I was on the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which chooses bishops for mission countries. Now, I say chooses, but what we do is discuss the candidates and vote on them, and then the prefect of the congregation takes the results to the pope, and he makes the final decision.
On every bishop appointed in the world, he makes the final decision. So, the prefect of the Congregation of Bishops sees him every week and the prefect for the Evangelization of Peoples sees him every other week, and they present the candidates and the results of our investigation and the results of our vote, and then he decides. He can’t do all that work himself, so he has to depend to some extent on our decision; but he’s not bound to accept it, and there are times when he doesn’t, because he thinks there may still be something unanswered.
I was also on the Congregation for Saints, which meets once a month, and on the Congregation for Clergy and the Congregation for Religious, but they don’t meet regularly, just from time to time.
Even though you’re off of everything now, are there other things retired cardinals are more or less expected to do in service to the Church?
They don’t have any specific obligations. The cardinals are the primary consultors to the pope, so, he can use us for consultation or whatever he wishes. Also, although I will no longer be a member of the Congregation for Bishops, if there is a diocese open in an English speaking country, and they want someone who reads English well to read all the documentation and make a presentation, they could ask me to do that. And occasionally I get invitations from a parish in Rome to preside at some celebration, or in other parts of Italy for a special celebration. Since I’ve retired I think I’ve had about five of those invitations.
Last year, as you looked ahead to retirement, you said you might spend about half the year in Rome and half the year in the Detroit area. How are those plans coming?
Well, they’re coming along. I’ve been looking for a house and I’ve found one I believe I may take, but all the legal work is not done yet. I’m going back to Rome on the 17th, because even if I did settle on it before then, the house wouldn’t be ready. There are still a few things I have to do, and then I have to furnish it.
Are you thinking of summers in Detroit, or winters in Detroit?
Well, summers. The winters are much better in Rome.
You’ve said you are looking forward to helping out at parishes on weekends during your retirement?
While I’m here in Detroit, yes. In Rome it’s not quite the same, because there are a lot of priests in Rome so they have plenty of help for the weekends, but here they need help. So, it’s a little different.
Are there any other plans you could share with us or any projects you want to undertake?
When I have the opportunity, I would like to do some traveling. I’ve been in many parts of the world, but not all of them. I don’t enjoy the traveling part so much, but I enjoy visiting. For example, I’ve never been to Australia and next year the World Youth Day will be in Australia, so I may try to go for that.
Is there anything that Pope Benedict has done since becoming pope that surprised or impressed you, and if so, why?
I wouldn’t say surprised. I think his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God is Love"), is the foundation of his pontificate. In it, he’s saying we will never solve the world’s problems without love, that love is at the heart of everything, and if we can love God and love each other we can solve our problems.
That encyclical is very important and it sort of lays out his plans for his pontificate, but you also have to remember that he is a scholar and was a teacher for many years and a professor, and he is still a professor and a teacher. The talks he has given in various places are excellent. They’re theological talks, and I think they will make a great impression on theology in the Catholic Church throughout the world, and also on others who are not Catholic.
You’re known as a very prayerful man. Who are some of the authors who have had a major impact on your faith, ones you would recommend to people seeking a deeper spirituality?
Well, I’ve been a priest 53 years and I’ve read all sorts of books and I don’t remember all of them now, but there are some basic ones I think are very important. “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas à Kempis, St. Theresa of Avila’s autobiography and some of her writings, and St. John of the Cross.
And then there’s a small book called “The Cloud of Unknowing,” which has been a very important book in my life. It was written by a 14th-century English contemplative -- they don’t know who he was exactly, but they know he was a monk. It’s not a very big book, but I found it a very pivotal book for me, and have reread it three or four times.
Cardinal Szoka turns 80, drops from list of papal electors
Sept 15, 2007
Cardinal Edmund Szoka celebrates his 80th birthday on September 14, and thus becomes ineligible to vote in a papal conclave.
Vatican, Sep. 14, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The American prelate, a former Archbishop of Detroit, is credited with restoring the Holy See to fiscal health during his tenure as head of the Vatican's prefecture for economic affairs. His successful money-management and his Polish ethnic background helped to make him a close adviser to Pope John Paul II (bio - news).
Born in Michigan and ordained to the priesthood for the Marquette diocese in 1954, Edmund Szoka became the first bishop of the newly formed diocese of Gaylord, Michigan, in 1971; he was promoted to be Archbishop of Detroit in 1981. In 1988 he was raised to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul, and in 1990 he was brought to the Vatican to head the prefecture of economic affairs. From 1997 until his retirement in 2006, he was president of the Vatican City governatorate.
With the removal of Cardinal Szoka from the list of electors, there are now 104 cardinals eligible to participate in a papal conclave. The next cardinal to reach the maximum age and drop from the list will be Cardinal Angelo Sodano (bio - news), the former Secretary of State and current dean of the College of Cardinals, who will turn 80 on November 23.
Retiring Cardinal: 'I've been blessed'
Jul 03, 2006
From his school days at St. Joseph Seminary in Grand Rapids to the bedside of a dying Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Edmund Szoka has lived out a rich and varied ministry in the Catholic Church.
(The Grand Rapid Press, June 24, 2006) The Grand Rapids native looked back with gratitude Friday on 52 years as a priest and powerful church leader, a day after his retirement as governor of Vatican City was announced. "There's not many priests who have all that experience," Szoka said in a telephone interview from his Vatican apartment. "I've been blessed in that, and I'm thankful to the Lord for giving me all these opportunities."
The man who rose from baptism at St. Adalbert Catholic Church on the city's West Side to key Vatican posts will step down Sept. 15, the day after his 79th birthday, following Pope Benedict XVI's acceptance of his retirement. But Szoka stressed he will remain active in Vatican bureaucratic bodies and as a parish priest when needed.
"I continue to be a priest and will be until I die," Szoka said. Grand Rapids Bishop Walter Hurley, who served as chief of staff when Szoka was archbishop of the Detroit Archdiocese, said he admired how Szoka tackled the tough task of closing Detroit parishes. "He faced some issues that needed to be addressed, and addressed them with courage and some considerable sacrifice on his part," Hurley said. "He has just rendered marvelous service to the church." Szoka's service included being named the first bishop of the Gaylord Diocese, serving as the Holy See's budget director and then as a Vatican City administrator overseeing nearly 1,500 employees. It all started with a sense God was calling him to the priesthood while he was growing up in Grand Rapids and Muskegon. Szoka recalled his pastor at St. Michael Catholic Church in Muskegon taking him to visit the former St. Joseph Seminary, now headquarters of the Grand Rapids Diocese at 660 Burton St. SE.
"I saw these seminarians having their track and field day," he recalled of that day in 1941. "I realized, 'Gee, these people are very normal.' " He entered seminary the next year, sticking to a strict study regimen. "I look on those years as very happy years," said Szoka, who pursued further studies in Detroit and Rome before being ordained at Marquette's St. Peter Cathedral in 1954. Szoka counts that ordination and his consecration as a bishop in a Gaylord parish-school gymnasium among the best moments of his ministry. He does not second-guess controversial decisions he made as Detroit archbishop, including the closing or merging of 35 parishes. "Sometimes, I was criticized very severely, but I did what I was convinced was the right thing to do."
Szoka grew close to Pope John Paul II, spending Christmas and Easter dinners with him. He prayed for the pontiff at his deathbed and led a rosary in St. Peter's Square the night he died. "For me, every visit with him was an inspiration," he said. "I always left with the idea, 'I'd like to be holy like he is.' " He will continue to reside in Vatican City after he retires, and looks forward to having more time to read and travel. "It's going to be an adjustment, because I've been working all my life," Szoka said.
Cardinal Szoka, Gaylord's first bishop, announces he'll retire from Vatican
Jul 01, 2006
After a 16-year appointment in Vatican City where he has served as the head of the governor's office since 1997, Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka announced his retirement last week.
(gaylordheraldtimes.com, June 28, 2006) GAYLORD - Szoka, the first bishop of the Gaylord Diocese formed in 1971, will retire on his 79th birthday, Sept. 14. Pope Benedict XVI accepted Szoka's resignation Thursday and asked Szoka to remain on the job until Sept. 15 when Archbishop Giovanni Lajola, the Vatican's foreign minister, will take over as governor.
Upon hearing of Szoka's retirement plans, Bishop Patrick R. Cooney, current bishop for the Diocese of Gaylord, remarked, “I have two emotions on hearing of Cardinal Szoka's retirement plans. The first is to thank him for his wonderful work in establishing the Gaylord Diocese; he was creative and imaginative.
“Also, I really appreciate the nice things he did in the Archdiocese of Detroit. I think the Cardinal accomplished everything we knew he could do. The second is that I hope he enjoys his retirement years in happiness and joy.”
Szoka served at the Diocese of until 1981, when he was appointed Archbishop of Detroit. He was then assigned to the Vatican in 1990 where he spent the first seven years as president of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See before becoming governor of the Vatican City.
After his retirement, Szoka said he may divide his time between living in Rome and Detroit but will stay on at the Vatican for as least another year. “I am a member of five different Vatican congregations, some of which meet every month,” the Cardinal told reporters for the Catholic News Service.
Szoka was brought into the Vatican by Pope John Paul II in 1990 to standardize accounting procedures in all departments, a process he began when he oversaw the budget office. He was responsible for helping to reduce a 20-year budget deficit at the Vatican and helped to find ways to increase income and cut expenses.
Szoka's jobs in the Vatican gave him a chance to be close to Pope John Paul II and he was with the pope when he died last year.
Szoka plans to be active in retirement
Jun 27, 2006
He says he'll help in metro parishes
(Detroit Free Press, June 26, 2006) Cardinal Edmund Szoka, who led the Archdiocese of Detroit in the 1980s, is looking forward to pitching in with masses at metro Detroit Catholic parishes and spending part of his retirement years in the area after his 16-year stint at the Vatican ends.
"I'd be more than willing to help in the parishes on Sunday and hear confessions and do whatever I can do," Szoka said in a telephone interview Friday from his Vatican quarters behind St. Peter's Basilica. "I don't stop being a priest because I'm retiring."
On Sept. 15, Szoka will step down as governor of the Vatican City State, a position to which Pope John Paul II appointed him in 1997. His retirement will come one day after he turns 79.
But on Friday, Szoka said he'll stay mostly in Rome for a year until his 80th birthday, to serve out his terms on five Vatican congregations that oversee matters such as declaring Catholic saints and appointing Catholic bishops throughout the world. After that, Szoka said he'd like to spend the warm-weather months in Michigan and winters in Italy, where he's entitled to a Vatican apartment during his lifetime.
Ned McGrath, an archdiocese spokesman, said local parishes, struggling with a priest shortage, would welcome Szoka's assistance.
"It's our good fortune that Cardinal Szoka would want to continue to use his gifts and talents in service to the church, and especially here in the Archdiocese of Detroit," McGrath said. "He will bring a unique and valuable pastoral presence to Catholics of all ages in southeast Michigan."
Rosanne DiMambro, 55, of Oakland Township said she'd enjoy an opportunity to see Szoka say mass at her parish, St. Andrew Catholic Church in Rochester.
"That would be thrilling after all the service he's done," DiMambro said. "I think the congregation would just be thrilled. That would be like having an actor or famous person in our midst."
Szoka went to the Vatican in 1990, serving as a budget director who helped balance the books and computerize operations. In his current role, Szoka administered a budget of about $200 million, oversaw a staff of 1,600 (including 63 gardeners) and orchestrated a growth in Vatican revenues from sales in its museums and stores.
When Pope John Paul II summoned Szoka to Rome, it was after the cardinal had alienated many metro Detroit Catholics with a heavy-handed process to close about 30 Detroit churches.
Yet, his efforts were eventually repeated in other U.S. cities with declining and changing Catholic demographics. This year, Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida instituted another process of church closings, mergers and realignments.
Szoka visits Detroit periodically, staying in an apartment at Sacred Heart Seminary. But he said he'll be looking for a larger home to accommodate Sister Damiana and Sister Hyacinth, the two Polish nuns who've helped run his household since he moved to the Vatican.
"They've been with me for 16 years. They're like my family here. I wouldn't go without them," Szoka said Friday.
In retirement, he is looking forward to reading and enjoying the outdoors. He walks an hour every day.
"I don't think I'll find that kind of retirement burdensome at all. I like to keep exercising as often as I can," he said. "I may do some visiting Up North while I'm there."
Szoka participated in the papal conclave last year that elected Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. This week, Benedict accepted Szoka's retirement.
Szoka, a Grand Rapids native, said he'll vacation in Detroit in August and has been worried about the troubles facing the auto industry.
"I pray every day that, if it's the Lord's will, he will bring back the auto industry very quickly for all these people who depend on it for a living," Szoka said.
Former Detroit cardinal to retire from Vatican post
Jun 24, 2006
Cardinal Edmund Szoka, who led the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit from 1981-1990, is retiring as governor of Vatican City, a position he earned under Pope John Paul II.
(FREE PRESS, June 22, 2006) The Vatican announced Thursday that Pope Benedict XVI accepted the retirement of Szoka, who will turn 79 in September, and named Italian archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, 71, the Vatican’s foreign minister, to succeed Szoka. Szoka will remain in the post until Sept. 15.
As governor of Vatican City since 1997, Szoka was the boss of the 1,500 employees who staff the post office, the hospital, a store, a gas station, the police force, gardens, kitchens and other buildings. Szoka was first brought to the Vatican in 1990 by Pope John Paul to be its budget director.
Szoka and the late pope shared a Polish heritage, and Szoka periodically dined with the Polish pontiff. When Szoka was Detroit’s archbishop, he convinced John Paul to visit Detroit in 1987, as part of the pope’s American tour.
Szoka voted in the April 2005 conclave that selected the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to follow Pope John Paul II, who died April 2, 2005. Pope Benedict asked Szoka to remain in his job, the expected procedure for a transition under a new pope.
Szoka, as well as other Vatican leaders, submitted mandatory letters of resignation when they turned 75, but the pope can choose to keep them working.
But Szoka stayed on much longer than the six months he expected under a transition period under Benedict.
Szoka couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Thursday. But in an interview in April 2005, the Grand Rapids native said he would spend part of his retirement every year in Michigan, where he still has family.
Szoka has an apartment inside the archdiocese-owned Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. He will remain a cardinal and is entitled to a lifetime Vatican apartment. But he will not remain in his current Vatican apartment, which has a view of St. Peter’s Dome out one window and of the Vatican Gardens on the other side.
Since his Vatican appointment, Szoka's household has included two Felician nuns from Poland, Sister Hyacinth and Sister Damiana. When Szoka underwent three surgeries in 2003, the sisters took turns staying at the hospital with him.
"They go where I go," Szoka said last year. "I wouldn't go without them."
For retirement, Szoka said last year that he was dreaming of reading books —- in English — as opposed to scores of Vatican-related documents in Italian. He also wants to travel to Thailand, China or Australia.
As president of the Vatican City State, it was Szoka's duty to deliver an official good-bye and offer a warm welcome on the many occasions when Pope John Paul II departed from and returned to the Vatican from his worldwide sojourns.
When Szoka was hospitalized for several months in 2003 with gastrointestinal problems, John Paul II telephoned him four times to offer get-well wishes.
Last year, Szoka movingly described Pope John Paul II’s final days., Szoka saw the pope propped up on pillows in a bed in the middle of a room.
"He looked at me with his eyes. He tried to nod at me. I know he recognized me," Szoka said. Szoka said he knelt on the floor, alternately holding the pope's hand and stroking his arm. In Polish, Szoka told him, "I offered mass for you this morning. I prayed for you this morning and the whole world is praying for you."
On the night the pope died, Szoka led a recitation of the rosary in St. Peter's Square. He offered opening and closing prayers. It was during the rosary, Szoka said, that John Paul II died.
Les Musées du Vatican fêtent leur Ve centenaire
Feb 22, 2006
Les Musées du Vatican fêtent leur Ve centenaire en ouvrant de nouvelles beautés aux quelque trois millions et demi de visiteurs qui en franchissent chaque année le seuil.
ROME, Mardi 14 février 2006 (ZENIT.org) - Le cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka, président du gouvernorat de l’Etat de la Cité du Vatican, a en effet présenté le programme de ce Ve centenaire, avec M. Francesco Buranelli, directeur des musées.
Pour le cardinal Szoka, « il ne s’agit pas d’un anniversaire formel, mais de célébrer l’extraordinaire découverte, en 1506, du groupe sculpté du « Laocoon ». »
« Les manifestations prévues entendent donc, expliquait-il, évoquer à partir de cet événement, une histoire séculaire d’art et de culture, sans cesse enrichie par les papes qui ont rassemblé avec goût les śuvres du passé, afin de les préserver de l’oubli et de la destruction, pour les générations futures ».
Il faisait par ailleurs observer que le patrimoine séculaire des musées du Vatican n’est pas purement « matériel » : « L’institution est consciente de son devoir de conserver et de transmettre au mieux ces manifestations du génie, de la vie, de la pensée et de la spiritualité du passé, sans se dérober aux enjeux contemporains et avec autant de conviction qu’hier ».
M. Francesco Buranelli a présenté les manifestations qui vont scander l’année du Ve centenaire.
Le 17 février, le cardinal Szoka présidera une messe d’action de grâce en la chapelle Sixtine, pour l’ensemble du personnel des musées.
Au cours des six premiers mois de l’année, les musées rénovés seront ouverts au public : ils témoignent de « la politique d’évangélisation des papes » par le moyen de l’art.
Ainsi, le « Musée chrétien », fondé par Benoît XIV dans les années 1756-1757, a été destiné à rassembler les śuvres d’art acquises durant la première partie du XVIIIe s., pour manifester « la grandeur de Rome » et affirmer « la vérité de la religion chrétienne ».
Le 16 mars, les plus belles pièces tirées des Catacombes seront exposées dans des vitrines ornées des bustes des 24 cardinaux qui ont été bibliothécaires.
Le « Musée missionnaires ethnologique », fondé en 1926 par Pie XI, a été transféré du Latran au Vatican en 1963 et rouvert en 1973.
Il explique les cultures et les rites des pays de mission et leurs contacts avec le christianisme. La section « Chine-Japon-Corée-Tibet-Mongolie » doit, elle aussi, être rouverte.
Dans la « Salle des Mystères » de l’Appartement Borgia, les fresques du Pinturicchio de la seront à nouveau visible à partir du 27 avril : elle ont fait l’objet d’une délicate restauration.
Les lunettes représentant les scènes de la vie de Jésus et de Marie ont été nettoyées, ce qui a mis au jour des décors cachés depuis une trentaine d’années par des tentures murales.
Le nouveau secteur de la nécropole romaine découvert il y a trois ans le long de la Voie Triomphale, à l’occasion de la construction d’un nouveau parking sera présenté à l’automne. La nécropole rassemble une trentaine d’édifices funéraires, des sépultures individuelles allant du Ier siècle av. J.-C. au IIIe s. ap. J.-C..
L’exposition consacrée au « Groupe du Laocoon dans la genèse des Musées du Vatican » conclura, en novembre cetet série de manifestations.
Elle s’accompagnera d’un congrès international sur « L’identité, la science et la mission du musée dans notre société ».
La page Internet des musées permet une visite virtuelle des salles et des śuvres en italien et en anglais, et propose trois sélection des principales śuvres présentes dans leur enceinte.
Dans sa présentation des Musées, le directeur souligne que « le langage universel de l’art, capable de parler à des personnes de cultures, de langues et de religions différentes, constitue un des principaux moyens d’enrichissement intérieur et de communication réciproque ».
Il cite les paroles de Jean-Paul II, le 7 février 2000, lors de l’inauguration de la nouvelle entrée des Musées, ouverte pour le Grand Jubilé. Le pape voyait dans ces musées, « l’une des portes du Saint-Siège ouverte sur le monde les plus significatives ». Il exprimait la « volonté de l’Eglise de dialoguer avec l’ »humanité sous le signe de l’art et de la culture, en mettant à la disposition de tous le patrimoine qui lui a été confié par l’histoire ».
Le card. Szoka évoque les 77 ans des Pactes du Latran
Feb 16, 2006
Le cardinal Casimir Edmund Szoka a évoqué les 77 ans des Pactes du Latran, lors de l’inauguration, ce vendredi, du nouveau passage vers Rome ouvert dans les murs du Vatican, sur le « viale des Bastions de Michel Ange ».
ROME, Vendredi 10 février 2006 (ZENIT.org) - Le président de la commission pontificale pour l’Etats de la Cité du Vatican, a inauguré la porte en présence de différentes autorités religieuses et civiles.
Dans son bref discours, le cardinal Szoka, a fait la louange des dirigeants et des artisans qui ont réalisé la porte.
La nouvelle porte a été réalisée en abattant le mur à la main, et les pierres ont été récupérées pour les décorations.
Cette ouverture, soulignait le cardinal fait partie d’un projet plus ample qui comprend entre autres la restauration des murs du XVIe siècle et du Bastion de Michel Ange.
Avant de bénir la porte de bronze, le cardinal Szoka a rappelé que l’ouverture a lieu la veille du 77e anniversaire de la signature des Pactes du Latran, le 11 février 1929, qui sanctionnaient la création de l’Etat de la Cité du Vatican.
Ce passage avait été lui-même réalisé en 1929, sous le pontificat de Pie XI, puis il avait été refermé pour permettre la construction de la « zone industrielle » vaticane.
Cette nouvelle ouverture permettra, à certaines heures de la journée, de rendre plus facile la circulation des piétons et des voitures du parking Sainte-Rose qui accueille plus de 500 véhicules.
La Iglesia necesita sacerdotes y obispos de profunda fe
Oct 11, 2005
Durante la intervención durante el Sínodo de los Obispos del Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para el Estado de la Ciudad del Vaticano y Presidente del Gobernatorato del mismo, Cardenal Edmund Casimir Szoka, afirmó que para la vida y la misión de la Iglesia tenemos urgencia de sacerdotes y obispos con una profunda fe.
VATICANO, 08 Oct. 05 (ACI).- A lo largo de su intervención, el Arzobispo emérito de Detroit (Estados Unidos) manifestó su preocupación e inquietud porque “algunos de nuestros sacerdotes han perdido la fe en la Santa Eucaristía y celebran la Santa Misa como una responsabilidad profesional”.
Asimismo, recomendó dos libros para la reflexión en torno al gran don y dignidad del sacerdocio y la liturgia: Keepers of the Eucharist de William Henry Schaefers y Lo spirito della liturgia del entonces cardenal Joseph Ratzinger.
Concluyendo, afirmó que “si la Santa Eucaristía debe ser fons et culmen de la Vida y de la Misión de la Iglesia, tenemos sobre todo necesidad de sacerdotes y obispos de fe profunda, de oración, de espiritualidad y de dedicación.
Religion und Rendite
Apr 26, 2005
Der Vatikanstaat ist ein Zentrum des Glaubens und der Geschäfte - Doch die Kassen sind leer, der Heilige Stuhl muß verstärkt investieren
(Berliner Morgenpost, 25.4.05) Rom - Das beste Perlhuhn der Stadt gibt es in Rom beim Papst. Im Supermarkt des Vatikans, erste Kreuzung rechts hinter der Porta Sant' Anna. Auch der Fisch, der hier angeboten wird, ist besonders frisch. Die Milch kommt direkt aus den Fattorie Pontificie, der päpstlichen Molkerei.
Wer allerdings hier einkaufen will, und das zu einem unschlagbaren Preis-Leistungsverhältnis, muß Mitarbeiter des Vatikans sein. So verlangt es der italienische Staat, denn das 0,44 Quadratkilometer große Territorium des Stadtstaates Vatikan ist steuerfreies Gebiet, mitten in Rom.
"Wer einen Ausweis vorweisen kann, darf die Schweizergarden passieren", sagt Kardinal Edmund Szoka. Er ist der Gouverneur des Stadtstaates Vatikan. Der polnischstämmige US-Kardinal fungiert als eine Art Bürgermeister. Die Umsätze des Supermarktes, ebenso wie die Einnahmen der Vatikantankstelle, der Apotheke, des Bekleidungsgeschäftes kommen in die von ihm verwaltete Stadtkasse. Und die ist leer.
Im Jahr 2003 lagen die Ausgaben des Vatikansstaats um 8,8 Mio. Euro über den Einnahmen in Höhe von 149,9 Mio. Euro. Die Kosten für die 1534 Angestellten des Stadtstaates, darunter auch 63 Gärtner, ebenso wie die Aufwendungen für Restaurierungsarbeiten und den Sender Radio Vatikan ließen sich nicht aus den Erlösen der Geschäfte, der Vatikanischen Museen und der Euromünzen-Serie decken.
Schlechter noch sieht die getrennt geführte Bilanz des Heiligen Stuhls aus, der Zentralverwaltung der katholischen Kirche. Die Ausgaben für neun Kongregationen, drei Tribunale, elf päpstlichen Konzile und 118 päpstliche Vertretungen weltweit waren 2003 um 9,5 Mio. Euro höher als die Einnahmen von gut 200 Mio. Euro aus Steuern, Immobilienbesitz und Spenden. Weltweit geht die Kollekte vom 29. Juni, dem Fest der Heiligen Petrus und Paulus, oder dem Sonntag davor beziehungsweise danach als "Peterspfennig" an den Papst.
Um die Kosten in den Griff zu bekommen, hat die Kurie die Unternehmensberatung Ernst & Young engagiert. Die Folge war ein Sparprogramm. Überstunden wurden gestrichen, Reisebudgets gekürzt, sowohl in der Zentrale in Rom als auch in den autonom verwalteten Bistümern und Gemeinden weltweit. Was die tatsächliche Höhe des Vermögens angeht, gehen die Schätzungen von 1,2 Mrd. Euro bis mehr als zwölf Mrd. Euro. Eine offizielle Stellungnahme gibt es nicht. Umstritten ist etwa, ob die Kunstschätze der Vatikanischen Museen bilanziert werden können und welcher Wert hier anzusetzen wäre.
Als souveräner Staat innerhalb Italiens beansprucht der Vatikan das Recht, seine Finanzgeschäfte abgeschirmt von Schweizer Gardisten abzuwickeln. Anfang der 90er Jahre haben spürbare Bemühungen eingesetzt, die über zweitausend Jahre gewachsene Organisationsstruktur zu vereinfachen.
Die Verwaltung der Vermögenswerte ruht auf vier Säulen: Der Präfektur für wirtschaftliche Angelegenheiten steht der "Finanzminister" der Weltkirche vor, Kardinal Sergio Sebastiani. Als Gouverneur des Stadtstaates Vatikan ist Kardinal Edmund Szoka für Einnahmen und Ausgaben auf dem Territorium zuständig. Die Vermögensverwaltung des Heiligen Stuhles (Apsa) leitet Kardinal Attilio Nicora. Über die Apsa werden die Gehälter gezahlt und hier wird über Investitionen entschieden.
Als vierte Säule wurde das Institut für Religiöse Werke (IOR) 1942 von Papst Pius XII. gegründet. Die Bank wird von einem weltlichen Manager geführt, von dem Bankier Angelo Caloia, und von einer Kardinalskommission kontrolliert. Eigentümer ist der Papst, der auch Anspruch auf die IOR-Gewinne hat.
Seit Anfang der 90er Jahre werden die vatikanischen Haushaltsberichte veröffentlicht. Doch auch dies erlaubt nur einen sehr eingeschränkten Blick auf die Aktivitäten der Investmentkardinäle. In der Bilanz heißt es, daß mit Anleihe- und Aktiengeschäften im Jahr 2002 immerhin 16 Mio. Euro Verlust gemacht wurden; im Jahr 2003 kam ein Zehn-Millionen-Euro-Minus hinzu.
Hier endet die Transparenz. Welche Unternehmen genau von den Kirchengeldern profitieren und welche offenbar nicht die gewünschte Leistung erzielt haben, ist Staatsgeheimnis. Die Rede ist von konservativen Anlagen in Dollar und von Goldreserven in den USA. Derweil drängen außenstehende Berater die Kirche, aggressiver zu investieren, um ihre Finanzsituation zu verbessern. Um an Kapital zu kommen, könnte etwa der Immobilienbesitz beliehen werden.
Eine entscheidende Rolle würde dabei dem IOR zufallen. Nach den Verwicklungen in den Finanzskandal um den Zusammenbruch der Banco Ambrosiano hat IOR-Manager Caloia seit 1990 einen Reformprozeß vorangetrieben.
Anfang der 80er Jahre war das IOR verdächtigt worden, Verbindungen zu dem ermordeten Ambrosiano-Präsident Roberto Calvi und dem Mafia-Geldwäscher Michele Sindona zu unterhalten. Der als "Bankier-Gottes" in die Geschichte eingegangene US-Kardinal Paul Marcinkus hatte die Bank derart heruntergewirtschaftet, daß sein Nachfolger Kardinal Agostino Casaroli einer "freiwilligen Ausgleichszahlung" in Höhe von 224 Mio. Dollar zustimmte, um die Gläubiger zur beruhigen.
Heute beschäftigt die Bank 120 Mitarbeiter. Zu ihren rund 10 000 Kunden gehören Diözesen, Privatunternehmen mit religiösen Anliegen und vor allem Frauenorden. Experten wie Sandro Magister, der "Vaticanista" des italienischen Wochenmagazins "L'Espresso", weisen darauf hin, wie gut das IOR in der römischen Finanzszene vernetzt ist. Rat holt sich Caloia bei einer Gruppe von Top-Finanzexperten, die achtmal im Jahr nach Rom reisen. Dazu gehören neben dem Deutschen Theodor E. Pietzcker, früher Direktor der Deutschen Bank in Essen, die beiden ehemaligen UBS-Präsidenten Philippe de Weck und Robert Studer.
Sie haben die vatikanischen Bankiers auf Effizienz getrimmt. "Ich muß vorsichtig sein, weil es nicht mein Geld ist, sondern das des Heiligen Stuhls", sagte IOR-Manager Caloia vergangenes Jahr dem Journalisten Giancarlo Galli für dessen Buch über die "weiße Finanz". Persönlich würde er forscher investieren. Diese Entscheidung obliegt nun Papst Benedikt XVI.
Former archbishop of Detroit brought capitalism to city’s budgetary chaos.
Apr 09, 2005
The late Pope John Paul II earned praise for his role in facing down communism. One of Cardinal Edmund Szoka's contributions to the Roman Catholic Church has been an injection of capitalism.
(Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2005) VATICAN CITY - The 77-year-old former archbishop of Detroit is president of the Governatorate of Vatican City, the closest thing this tiny city-state has to a mayor.
Two years ago, Szoka moved the Vatican's department store out of a glum basement and into the former train station, a spacious refurbished stone building behind St. Peter's Basilica. New merchandise was added: high-end perfumes, $3,000 Longines watches and flat-screen TVs from Panasonic.
"The store is doing pretty well," the cardinal says, though he notes there has been a drop-off since year-end sales ended. "Before Christmas, it's fantastic."
In an enclave where prayer and theological study dominate, Szoka tackles traffic snarls, parking problems and especially finance. "My job is basically to run this country," he says. "My biggest problem is maintaining a balanced budget."
Since being assigned to his post in 2001, he has boosted the Vatican's retailing operations, which account for 53 percent of the city-state's annual budget of about $190 million.
Revenue from the Vatican Museums, including admissions and gift shop sales, makes up an additional 19 percent, while odds and ends such as the sale of stamps and coins issued by the post office provide the rest. Without that cash, the Vatican wouldn't be able to pay its electricity bill or the salaries of its 1,500 employees, including 63 full-time gardeners.
"Everything else," says Szoka, "is all costs."
The Vatican's struggle to make ends meet dashes one of the enduring myths about the church - its tremendous wealth. Certainly, the Vatican is stuffed with mind-boggling treasures. Its museums are 8filled with Michelangelos, Leonardos and Raphaels. The value of St. Peter's Basilica is astronomical. But the Vatican has no intention of ever selling its masterpieces. In fact, it lists all its priceless works of art, including the Sistine Chapel, on its books at a nominal value of 1 euro each, as a way of indicating it prizes their religious and artistic significance over their financial worth.
Tax-free shopping
Today, one of the Vatican's most lucrative sources of income is a two-pump gasoline station about 50 yards south of St. Peter's. Cars pull up in a steady stream to fill their tanks with gas that costs up to 30 percent less than it does in Italy because it isn't taxed.
Duty-free shopping is one of the few economic benefits the Vatican can offer its 1,500 employees. Another 2,500 people who work at the Roman Curia, the bureaucracy that does the business of the Catholic Church, also have access to the Vatican's shops. Salaries at both are low compared with pay scales in Italy.
Still, a steady job at the Vatican is considered prestigious in Rome. Each year, more than 4,000 applicants shoot for a handful of empty spots. Few ever quit their jobs, and firings are extremely rare.
"It's not like the auto industry," says Szoka, a native of Grand Rapids.
The Holy See and the Vatican have endowments that are invested very conservatively and generate modest returns, say advisers to the church. The Holy See's budget is handled by an office called the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, known by its Italian acronym, Apsa.
The office doesn't publish financial figures. But it's estimated that Apsa's total budget is roughly $250 million, a sum which must cover the salaries of 2,500 employees of the Roman Curia. Most of that money comes from the return on its investments, from several hundred apartments it rents out in Rome, many at a below-market rate, and from contributions from local bishops' conferences. The American bishops kick in about $8 million a year, for example.
Szoka's calling
Szoka was first called to the Vatican in 1990 to help straighten out the finances. In Detroit, he had developed a reputation for openness and had been an effective cost-cutter. He closed or consolidated 30 parishes to keep his diocese running at a time when jobs in the local auto industry were disappearing.
When he was appointed to head the Vatican city-state in 2001, he found another headache awaited: traffic. "It was a mess here with all those cars," he says. Though there are only a few streets in the hilly Vatican enclave, they were often clogged. Some people were taking a shortcut through the Vatican to avoid the Roman 8gridlock outside, which enraged the cardinal. He tightened traffic laws and oversaw the construction of two underground garages to ease congestion.
Though fewer than 500 people live inside the Vatican, Szoka must supervise all the functions of a microstate. That includes managing the Vatican's efficient post office, issuing passports, and dealing with a state pension system that he describes as "underfunded." "We're going to have to add a good chunk of money to it," he says.
Future unknown
That's not a job that Szoka is likely to complete. Vatican employees are subject to mandatory retirement at age 75. He submitted his resignation to the pope upon reaching that mark two years ago, but was asked to stay on. Now, as the leadership of the church changes, there will be a new opportunity to re-evaluate the church's conservative approach to investing.
One of the effects of that strategy has been to stash most of its money in dollar-denominated assets, even though the Vatican and the Holy See keep their books in euros. The Vatican doesn't like to quickly move its money in and out of investments, preferring instead a system of stable, steady returns. The depreciation of the dollar against the euro has hit the church hard, Szoka says.
"It's not my money; it's the money of the Holy See. And because of that responsibility, I feel that I have to deal with it in a very conservative manner," he says. "If it were my own money, personally I would be much more aggressive."
Szoka shines as pope's go-to guy at the Vatican
Apr 07, 2005
Michigan native made his mark as top money man. Cardinal Szoka now serves as governor and chief executive of the smallest independent state.
(The Detroit News, July 27, 2000) VATICAN CITY -- It's not often that a cardinal would warrant being called a fixer, but then Michigan's Edmund C. Szoka is not just any cardinal.
When it comes to managing papal money and Vatican bureaucracy, arguably not the culmination of lifelong pastoral training, the 72-year-old Grand Rapids native and former archbishop of Detroit is Pope John Paul II's go-to guy.
"He didn't put it that way," the cardinal says from his spacious second-floor office in the Governatorato, essentially the city hall of Vatican City State. "I assume he had me come here because he thought I could improve the situation."
Szoka has. In the decade since leaving Detroit for the ancient splendor of Rome and Vatican City, Szoka has presided over the turnaround of two papal institutions that at times proved to be temporal millstones to the pope's heavenly work.
The finances of the Holy See, effectively the office of the pope himself, and Vatican City are stronger today than anytime in years. Vatican City, the independent state governed by Szoka since late 1997, now has central accounting systems to manage its $200-million budget and fiber optic cable connecting the heart of the Roman Catholic Church with its sprawling global empire.
"Vatican City State does not have a deficit," Szoka says, careful not to claim too much credit for the widely acknowledged turnaround. "We are self-supporting. We're solvent. This is one of the pope's big problems, but it's not a preoccupation."
It hasn't ever been thus. Financial scandals, including the Vatican bank's involvement in the 1982 collapse of Italy's Banco Ambrosiano, plagued the early years of John Paul II's papacy. He responded with a series of reforms that accelerated in 1990 when Szoka was named president of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See.
"In six years he turned it around from a position of being in debt to having a slight surplus," says Lindy Boggs, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. "He has had to make some tough decisions, but he's very well respected."
Sounds familiar.
At the time of his appointment in 1990, two years after being elected cardinal, critics claimed that Szoka had been called to Rome as penance for the rancor associated with his decision to close or consolidate 30 local parish churches in Detroit. Szoka denied it. His successor, Cardinal Adam Maida denied it, and so did the church.
Szoka admits the bittersweet circumstances of his farewell, punctuated by a front-page story in The Detroit News critical of a plan to supply the cardinal with home furnishings and a renovated apartment in Detroit, still linger. More powerful, though, are the affectionate wishes he still receives from anonymous former parishioners happy to see him on his annual August trips back to Michigan.
"When you're gone, you're gone," he says. "What's surprising to me is that I've been gone 10 years and wherever I go, people know me. I hope I did a good job as archbishop."
Cardinal Szoka, left, with the pope in 1988, caused controversy when he closed local parishes in Detroit.
If he hadn't, would the pope have given Szoka arguably the most important financial job in the world's largest church? And then another one? A decade later, the questions almost answer themselves.
In retrospect, Szoka's move to consolidate parishes in Detroit was an ecclesiastical business response to financial strains caused by demographic shifts. Ten years later, Detroit still has some 80 parishes and no meaningful growth in the ranks of parishioners, according to the Archdiocese of Detroit.
"Cardinal Szoka's position at Vatican City State is a great tribute to his faithful, diligent service to the Holy Father and the Holy See," Maida says. "It's a great honor for the Catholic Church of Michigan to have one of its priests in such close, daily contact with the Holy Father."
As president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, Szoka sees the pope often. Protocol requires him to see the pope off whenever he leaves the Vatican and greet him when he returns. It's not uncommon for Szoka to see the pope an average of four times per week, sometimes over a private dinner punctuated by conversation in the Polish language.
Szoka's Polish roots -- and those of others close to the pope -- have been credited for his rise to powerful positions in the Vatican and Holy See. Maybe so, but Szoka's legacy of success might have something to do with it, too.
The cardinal's knack for managing money and bureaucracy, cornerstones of robust churches, was honed during his nine years as Detroit archbishop and, earlier in his career, financial challenges in the Archdiocese of Marquette.
There, the graduate of Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary found himself "responsible for the finances. It helped me learn a lot of fundamental and basic things."
Michigan crucible
The enduring lessons included accountability, financial discipline, the benefits of centralized control and standardized business practices -- hallmarks of cost-conscious management, whatever the enterprise.
As the first bishop of the diocese of Gaylord, Szoka had parishes and schools, but no offices, no staff, not even a place to live. "It was not easy getting started," Szoka recalls. But the experience helped prepare him for the challenges he would later face in Detroit and Rome.
When Szoka was installed as Archbishop of Detroit on May 17, 1981, the city was reeling from a deepening recession and a continuing exodus of residents to the suburbs. In his nine years there, Detroit's population declined 16 percent -- or by 200,000 residents -- to just above 1 million.
With more churches than his meager resources could support, and scant evidence the trend would reverse, Szoka decided to close, merge or consolidate 30 churches across the city, despite an outcry that reached Rome.
Through it all, Szoka remained a bulwark against attacks on fundamental church doctrine. Like the pope he served, Szoka opposed ordination of women, allowing priests to marry and any softening of the church's strict anti-abortion position.
His conservative views, assailed by liberal Catholics struggling to square their faith with a changing world, culminated in a public struggle with Sister Agnes Mary Mansour. The Mercy nun directed the state Department of Social Services, which dispensed Medicaid abortion funding.
Szoka called the battle, which ended in Mansour leaving her religious order, one of "the most difficult periods" of his nine-year tenure in Detroit.
Finance man
To understand Szoka's career in Rome is to understand, first, what he was -- and what he wasn't.
In his first assignment, from 1990-97, the cardinal was not the chief financial officer of the Vatican, as often described. He was head of economic affairs for the Holy See, meaning Szoka was, in effect, the pope's top finance man.
"We were sort of the general accounting office and the director of the budgets," Szoka says. "My jurisdiction extended to offices that are not part of Vatican City State and that assist the pope in his ministry."
Nor did Szoka's assignment cover the once-troubled Vatican bank or the finances of archdioceses worldwide. His job was to ensure the integrity of the pope's estimated $200-million annual budget, including oversight over the budget of 49 different church entities.
In 1993, two years after taking the job, the financial statements of the Holy See showed a surplus for the first time since 1970.
On Szoka's watch, the Holy See saw an end to 23 years of budget deficits.
As head of Vatican City State, a post he assumed in October 1997, Szoka serves as governor and chief executive of the world's smallest independent state. Only 108 acres in the heart of Rome, Vatican City State claims only a few hundred permanent residents -- virtually all of them somehow associated with the Vatican.
The Vatican maintains its own police force, fire department, post office, gas station, grocery store and pharmacy.
Because Vatican City is independent, it often chooses to sell such goods as gasoline tax-free. For Italians paying more than $4 for a gallon of gas, finding a connection to the Vatican gas pumps is sublime.
Szoka oversees the famous collection of Vatican museums and art works and is responsible for maintenance of such famous buildings as the 500-year-old St. Peter's Basilica. The back of the church, designed by Michelangelo, sits directly opposite Szoka's office window, separated by stands of Italian cedar trees, stone walkways and groomed lawns.
It's all Szoka's responsibility. Last year, Vatican City State booked profits of $2.7 million on total revenue of 357 billion Italian lira, about $180 million at current exchange rates. With an underground parking garage and construction at the Vatican museums complete, Szoka expects this year's profits to rebound to 1998 levels -- about $7.2 million at current exchange rates.
That should please his boss. Four to six times a year, Szoka is given a private audience to brief the pope -- in Italian -- on the state of Vatican City. He sends along a financial statement every year, but otherwise tries not to burden the peripatetic pope with arcane bureaucratic details.
"He's very easy to work for," Szoka says, warming to a question pondered by millions: what's the pope like?
Priests forever
"He is very active," Szoka continues. "He takes a lot of initiative. He's a very deep thinker. He takes a world view that I don't think anyone else has. I have to say I have a genuine love for him. He's the holiest person I've ever met in my life. He's also an intellectual."
It's obvious this is a question Szoka has been asked, and mulled, many times. He says the pope who defied Soviet communism, made nearly 200 foreign trips and still visits simple parishes around Rome essentially is two things: an intellectual and a pastor who ministers to his people.
Always.
"Priests don't die and they don't retire," Szoka says. "They are priests forever."
That doesn't mean Szoka isn't considering retirement. He has to. Under church rules, cardinals must resign from official duties on their 75th birthday, and after their 80th birthday they may not vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.
Until then, Szoka plans to begin his day every morning around 6:30, do his job and try to get to the Vatican gardens for his hour of walking and jogging. And come every August, he plans a trip back to his native Michigan.
"I think we could do more," he says of his work running the Vatican. "But that's the human condition. In this world, we never get to total perfection."
Born: Grand Rapids
Age: 72
Job: President of the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State, making him part of Pope John Paul II's inner circle
Education: St. Joseph Seminary, Grand Rapids; Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit; University of Rome
Experience: President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, Rome, 1990-97; Archbishop of Detroit Archdiocese, 1981-90; Bishop of Diocese of Gaylord, 1971-81; Secretary-Treasurer, Michigan Catholic Conference, 1972-77.
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Religion und Rendite