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Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the man Pope Francis chose earlier in his pontificate to be his Secretary of State, says the long-awaited constitution for a reformed Roman Curia is basically finished and is now undergoing a legal review by the Church's canon lawyers.
Curia reform is just one of a number of topics the 66-year-old Italian cardinal spoke about in this exclusive interview with La Croix's permanent Vatican correspondent, Loup Besmond de Senneville.
He also looked at how the Catholic Church continues to deal with the clergy sex abuse crisis, bioethical issues in society and the upcoming Vatican maxi-trial on financial corruption.
The interview took place in Rome just after Cardinal Parolin returned from a visit to France, a country whose bishops and government leaders are hoping to soon be able to host a papal visit.
La Croix: Will the pope come to France?
Cardinal Pietro Parolin: I don't know. There is a plan.
The pope has already expressed his interest to Emmanuel Macron. But I am not able to give a date.
I hope it can be done as soon as possible, since France deserves a visit from the Holy Father.
France has been a partner of the Holy See on a diplomatic level for a hundred years. What is your assessment of relations between France and the Vatican?
Relations between France and the Holy See are positive.
Contact at various levels is very frequent, both here in Rome with the French Embassy to the Holy See, and with the French authorities.
In Paris, the Matignon forum, which regularly brings together government and episcopal officials, is a place for constructive discussions.
We share common concerns, such as ecology, which has become a central theme of the Holy See's international activity, and the management of the pandemic.
But we also have some differences, such as the issues of disarmament and nuclear power.
In a few days, the National Assembly will continue its examination of the law on separatism. How do you understand French secularism?
It is a very sensitive subject in France.
French secularism has characteristics that are not found anywhere else, linked to history, in particular to the French Revolution, but also to the different stages that led to the separation of Church and State, and sometimes to a strong rejection of religion.
All these episodes have left their mark and contributed to marginalizing the religious dimension in social life. This is not good.
The ideal is always to have both autonomy between the political community and the Church, and to have healthy collaboration between them.
The Church and the State have the common goal of contributing to the common good.
As France's presidential campaign approaches, French society is rife with a number of identity-based tensions. Does this worry you?
In a certain sense, tensions are necessary because they allow us to move forward.
It is normal that when an election campaign approaches, certain tensions increase.
France is able to withstand this, because it has a very strong democratic tradition.
What is important is that these tensions do not turn into violent conflicts, into personal attacks that would contribute to a destructive climate.
The bioethics law has just been adopted in France, and some Catholics who are opposed to this development are wondering where they stand. How do you answer them?
This is an area in which discernment belongs to the local Church, that is, to the bishops in communion with those who make up the people of God.
It is important that Catholics be able to make their voices heard, with arguments based on their faith, even in such sensitive debates.
Even if the law has already been passed, they do so in the name of defending the dignity and value of every human life.
But this must always remain a debate of reason, and not drift into ideology.
For several months, the pope has been pleading for us to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to change our model, but the temptation to return to the "world before" is very strong. How can we avoid giving in to this temptation?
It is true that one can have the impression of going backwards.
It is a sign that some people have a very short memory, as if they have forgotten the experience we have just gone through.
As the pope said in Fratelli tutti, we are all part of the same human family and we have a duty to care for one another.
But I believe that we must also be able to accept real changes, to make certain sacrifices.
We cannot continue to live the same lifestyle, exploiting our world as we have done until now.
It is this change that will allow us to achieve a happy life.
Since his election, Pope Francis has undertaken to reform the Roman Curia. Is it functioning better than before?
A great many reforms have been made since the beginning of the pontificate.
In the economic field, for example, we have transferred the management of funds to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) and to the Secretariat for the Economy.
Now it is time for us to start implementing the reform.
In a complex and multi-secular organization like the Roman Curia, change can cause certain difficulties.
But there is a real will to make it an instrument at the service of the Holy Father for the good of the Church.
From now on, we must avoid anything that may have obscured the image of its services in the past. We therefore have a great responsibility.
When will the new constitution be published?
I don't have a date to give you. That depends on the pope.
The text, which aims to give a coherent framework to all the reforms already undertaken, is currently being examined by canonists to adapt the terminology to the juridical character of the document.
The reform also includes the trial announced by the Vatican in a case of risky investments in London. Is this trial a turning point?
I wouldn't say that.
The turning point is actually the reforms that have been made over the past several years. The change is there.
This trial is rather the consequence of previous reforms.
Will this trial be a moment of truth?
I think so, of judicial truth, in any case.
The Lord knows the real truth. The truth established before the tribunal is a human truth.
But I really hope that it can emerge during this trial, for the good of all.
In France, the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church is due to report its findings soon. What do you think is the most appropriate way to deal with it?
It will probably be a great moment of suffering. But we must not be afraid of the truth.
We have to put it in that perspective. And this is also the reason why we asked for the establishment of this commission, to understand what really happened.
We are sad, and I know that many Catholics will be very saddened and scandalized by what they are going to read.
But we have to go through this ordeal.
From this can come a new consciousness to fight against these phenomena and to prevent the repetition of these acts.
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