Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1995 to 2002, Archbishop of Genoa from 2002 to 2006, and as Cardinal Secretary of State from 2006 to 2013. On 10 May 2008, he was named Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati.
Bertone served as Camerlengo from 2007 to 2014. In the period between Pope Benedict XVI's resignation on 28 February 2013 and the election of Pope Francis on 13 March 2013, he served temporarily as the administrator of the Holy See and acting head of state of the Vatican City State. He was considered a contender to succeed Benedict XVI.
Besides his native Italian, Bertone speaks fluent French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. He has some knowledge of English, although he is not fluent, and he can read Polish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
Early life Bertone was born in Romano Canavese, Piedmont, the fifth of eight children. Bertone has stated that his mother was a determined anti-fascist militant of the Italian People's Party, and later a Christian Democrat.
Bertone professed his vows as a member of the Salesians on 3 December 1950 and was ordained a priest by Archbishop Albino Mensa on 1 July 1960. He holds a doctorate in canon law. His dissertation was entitled The Governance of the Church in the Thought of Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758).Zenit. Cardinal Bertone Prefers Activity to Study 15 September 2006 He served as Professor of Special Moral Theology at the Pontifical Salesian University from 1967 until his appointment as Professor of Canon Law in 1976, a post he held until 1991. Bertone was a visiting professor of Public Ecclesiastical Law at the Institute Utriusque Iuris of the Pontifical Lateran University in 1978. He was commissioned by Pope John Paul II to assist Emmanuel Milingo, Archbishop Emeritus of Lusaka, Zambia, in returning to the Catholic Church in 2001. Milingo had left the church to marry Maria Sung of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.
Archbishop and Cardinal On 4 July 1991, Bertone was appointed Archbishop of Vercelli by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated bishop one month later by Mensa, who had also ordained him priest. He held this post until his resignation in 1995 upon being named Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Appointed Archbishop of Genoa on 10 December 2002 and installed on 2 February 2003, Bertone was elevated to the College of Cardinals in the consistory of 21 October 2003, as Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Via Tuscolana.
He later specialized in the relationship between social morality, faith and politics. He also assisted with the revision of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and undertook pastoral work in parishes. In the Jubilee Year 2000, Bertone was entrusted by John Paul II with the publication of the third secret of Fatima.
Bertone was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. He also participated as a cardinal elector in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.
Cardinal Secretary of State
On 22 June 2006, Benedict XVI appointed Bertone to replace Angelo Sodano as the Cardinal Secretary of State. He assumed the office on 15 September. On 26 June 2006 Bertone was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Complaints about Bertone's performance as secretary of state began early in his tenure. He had no prior experience in the Vatican's diplomatic corps.
Two weeks before entering office, asked about reforms of the Roman Curia, Bertone remarked, "After almost two decades, an evaluation of how the dicasteries are organised is more than comprehensible, in order to reflect on how to make the existing structures more efficient for the mission of the Church and eventually to consider whether all of them should be maintained".CathNews. Cardinal Bertone Wants to be Secretary of Church Not State 31 August 2006
On 4 April 2007, Benedict XVI appointed Bertone as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. The duties of the camerlengo are largely confined to administration during the vacancy of the Holy See. On 10 May 2008, he was promoted to the rank of Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati.
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned on 28 February 2013, Bertone, as camerlengo, was the acting sovereign for Vatican City State and administrator for the Holy See until the election of a new pope.
On 13 February 2013, at the last public Mass of Pope Benedict XVI before his resignation took effect on 28 February, Bertone praised Pope Benedict, "We would not be honest, Your Holiness, if we said that this evening there is not a hint of sadness in our hearts. In recent years, your teaching has been a window open onto the Church and the world, which let in the rays of truth and love of God, to enlighten and warm our journey, even and especially at times when clouds gathered in the sky". Bertone continued: "All of us have realized that it is precisely the deep love that Your Holiness has for God and the Church that prompted you to make this act, revealing that purity of mind, that strong and demanding faith, that strength of humility and meekness, along with great courage, that have marked every step of your life and your ministry".
Bertone was the second most senior cardinal-elector in order of precedence among the cardinal-electors who participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, after the presiding cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Bertone himself was seen as a contender to succeed to the papacy, although his chances as a papabile were thought diminished by the perception that he was a "potential scandal in the making". At Pope Francis' inauguration, Bertone was one of the six cardinals who made the public act of obedience on behalf of the College of Cardinals.
Bertone was a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Congregation for the Clergy, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples until his 80th birthday on 2 December 2014.
Controversies
The Da Vinci Code
On 15 March 2005, Bertone was in the news for "breaking the Church's silence" and criticizing Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, saying the book was "shameful and full of unfounded lies", and that believers should boycott the book. Both Bertone and official Vatican spokespeople insisted that Bertone was not speaking as an official representative of the Catholic Church, but it was also noted that Bertone's high placement within the church hierarchy and the fact that he was often named as a potential candidate for the papacy gave his words considerable weight, such that his comments were often reported by various media as an official statement from the Vatican.BBC News. Church Fights Da Vinci Code Novel 15 March 2006 In 2006, the NBC news program Dateline described his statement as "a high-ranking Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film."
Church and sports Bertone suggested in December 2006 that the Holy See "could, in future, field a team that plays at the top level, with Roma, Internazionale, Genoa and Sampdoria." He continued: "If we just take the Brazilian students from our Pontifical universities we could have a magnificent squad".Telegraph. Vatican Wants to Play Priests in Serie A 20 December 2006 Hours later he said "I've got much more to do than cultivating a football squad for the Vatican" and explained that his earlier remark was not intended to be taken seriously.
Defense of Pius XII On 5 June 2007, at a conference announcing the release of a new biography of Pope Pius XII, Bertone defended Pius against claims of indifference toward the Jews during the Holocaust. Bertone condemned this accusation as a "black legend" and "an attack on good sense and on rationality", which has "become so firmly established that even to scratch it is an arduous task". Although he admitted that Pius XII had been "cautious" in condemning Nazi Germany, Bertone stated that Nazi forces would have intensified its program of genocide had the Pope been more outspoken.Catholic World News. Strong Defense of Pius XII by Cardinal Bertone 6 June 2007
Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy
On 16 September 2006, Bertone, after one day as Cardinal Secretary of State, released a declaration explaining that the "position of the Pope concerning Islam is unequivocally that expressed by the conciliar document Nostra aetate" and that "the Pope's option in favour of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is equally unequivocal."Libreria Editrice Vaticana, "Traduzione In Lingua Inglesse" 16 September 2006 He said:Reuters. "Pope apologises to Muslims", 16 September 2006Associated Press. "Pope 'sincerely regrets' he offended Muslims" 16 September 2006
Comments by Patriarch Alexius II On 5 December 2006, Patriarch Alexy II of the Russian Orthodox Church accused the Holy See of an "extremely unfriendly policy" when he said that the Catholic Church was poaching converts in Orthodox lands in Russia and other ex-Soviet republics. Bertone said in response: "We do not want to engage in proselytism in Russia".Zenit. Cardinal Bertone: We Don't Proselytize 5 December 2006
Media In 2007, Bertone "blasted the media for highlighting the Vatican's views on sex while maintaining a 'deafening silence' about charity work done by thousands of Catholic organisations around the world."Moora. Pope's Aide Blasts Church Media Coverage 1 April 2007 He continued: "I see a fixation by some journalists on moral topics, such as abortion and homosexual unions, which are certainly important issues but absolutely do not constitute the thinking and work of the Church."
Proposed excommunication of drug dealers On 14 January 2009, Bertone suggested that the church would consider taking much stronger action against drug dealers. This action might possibly include excommunication. He made a statement about the church's alarm at the "disaster" of drug-fuelled violence on the eve of a trip to Mexico.
Support for universal and free access to anti-HIV drugs On 22 June 2012, in an online news story article by Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service (CNS), it was reported that, in a conference in Rome on the prevention of the transmission of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) from mothers to children sponsored by the lay Community of Sant'Egidio (which runs the DREAM project, a free HIV prevention/treatment program in 10 African countries), the Cardinal Secretary of State urged that full and easy access to antiretroviral drugs be made free worldwide (these are drugs, such as AZT, that can treat, and in some cases, can prevent people from getting, HIV; they do not presently cure HIV once it has infected someone). Bertone acknowledged that the only way this would be remotely feasible, especially in Africa – where the efforts would be most needed and focused – would be through a collaborative effort involving aid groups, governments, donors, medical groups, pharmaceutical companies, and churches.
Our Lady of Fatima
Bertone came under fire by Antonio Socci, Christopher Ferrara, and others for allegedly manipulating the "third secret" of Our Lady of Fatima. In a 2007 address on the release of his book (The Last Secret of Fatima), he emphasized the more private nature of apparitions, urged caution in accepting them, and said "the fullness of [Fatima's] message...touches the hearts of human beings, inviting them to conversion and to co-responsibility for the world's salvation".
Homosexuality to blame for child abuse by priests