Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Castel Gandolfo (Agenzia Fides) - This morning, during a ceremony held in the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the staff of the Secretariat of State for the occasion of the appointment of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., former archbishop of Genoa, Italy, as new secretary of State. He succeeds in that role Cardinal Angelo Sodano. Reading out the letter of thanks addressed to Cardinal Sodano the Pope said: “In such significant circumstances, I feel the need to renew to you my most heartfelt thanks for the faithfulness and enlightened competency, the dedication and love you have shown in working for the good of the Church alongside various Successors of the Apostle Peter”. In the letter the Pope recalled the “long and intense service” which Cardinal Sodano rendered the Apostolic See since 1961, expressing his gratitude for the dedication with which he carried out his daily work at the Secretariat of State and the Papal Nunciatures in different countries”, and also for the “the good sense, prudent wisdom and tireless zeal with which ... you have carried out your mission with single-minded concern for the supreme good of the Church”.
Outgoing Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, greeting the Holy Father thanked him for the fraternal meeting and underlined that the staff of the Secretariat of State are “happy to dedicate their daily work to the Successor of Peter” an “animated by a profound spirit of faith they are a team of people who willingly serve the Pope in silence and with discretion”. He thanked in a special way the leading members of the Secretariat of State, “All together- he said - we have managed to work as a team, with a great ecclesial sense that united us in service, first around the venerated John Paul II and now around you called by the Holy Spirit to take the heritage and guide the boat of the Church towards new shores."
“I undertake a special mission, different from those hitherto entrusted to me -the new Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in his address -. I am happy that its undeniable pastoral nature gives continuity my previous missions and fits well into the evident specificity of this office. I also trust that the experience I have gathered in the past, guided by the sagacious hand of Divine Providence will contribute in no indifferent manner to the fulfilment of the task I assume today. I am aware of the heavy responsibility that this brings, and of the gravity and complexity of the questions which, every day, I will have to face. My only ambition is that of putting into practice the motto of my service as a Bishop: 'fidem custodire, concordiam servare', and I am comforted by the conviction that I will have an opportunity to offer a special contribution to achieve this ideal.”
Cardinal Bertone said he knew he could rely “first of all on the sagacious and incomparable guidance of the Holy Father, and also on the competence, experience and diligence of the Superiors of the Secretary of State. I also have great confidence in the irreplaceable and often hidden daily work of the personnel in the Secretariat of State and the Papal Nunciatures with a spirit of sincere and admirable abnegation … Furthermore, this morning I wrote a letter addressed to many enclosed Religious asking their constant prayers of intercession”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 15/9/2006 - Righe 41, parole 567)
