Cardinal Parolin: The Diplomat with Papal Potential — and Limitations
Seventy-year-old Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State and the second most powerful figure after Pope Francis since 2013, is often viewed as a natural successor to the current pontiff.
Parolin, originally from the Veneto region, is one of Francis’s close circle of cardinal advisers. He has been responsible for implementing the pope’s reforms and has become a key force behind the Vatican’s diplomacy. Notably, he played a pivotal role in restoring relations between the Holy See and China, culminating in a historic agreement with Beijing on the joint appointment of bishops.
A moderate — though some critics have labeled him progressive — Parolin took on a prominent role during Pope Francis’s illness, even leading a prayer session for the pontiff’s recovery. Some observers interpreted the gesture as a premature show of ambition.
However, Parolin is often seen as overly bureaucratic, lacking the charisma and pastoral warmth of the late Pope John Paul II or Benedict XVI. This perceived absence of pastoral experience could prove to be his Achilles’ heel. Depending on whom you ask, Parolin is seen either as a Trojan horse for progressivism or conservatism.
A report by the College of Cardinals — a review of key papal contenders compiled by conservative journalists Edward Pentin and Diane Montagna — describes him as a “more subtle” progressive, capable of giving Pope Francis’s radicalism a more mainstream tone.
Meanwhile, a more progressive church official told POLITICO that Parolin is “a very humble and gentle man, but people don’t see that he’s actually much more conservative than the pope because of that gentleness.” The official suggested that Francis has begun sidelining Parolin amid “rumors” of his possible candidacy in a future conclave.
Other Contenders: From the Holy Land to the Philippines
Another Italian contender is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, originally from Lombardy and currently the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. At 60, he could benefit from a sense of nostalgia among Italian cardinals eager to see one of their own return to the papal throne.
Pizzaballa has spent over three decades in the Holy Land, speaks Hebrew fluently, and has openly admitted to maintaining contact with Hamas “out of necessity,” which has earned him recognition as a Middle East expert — a potential advantage in today’s geopolitical climate.
He has risen swiftly through the Church’s ranks, in part due to his alignment with Francis’s priorities, including environmental protection and interfaith dialogue. Though he has largely steered clear of public disputes over Church doctrine — making him something of an unknown quantity — conservatives are not strongly opposed to him, as he supports the Latin Mass.
Still, some consider him too young for the papacy, as cardinals are typically reluctant to elect someone likely to remain in office for several decades.
Pope Francis was the first non-European pope since Gregory III, a Syrian who led the Church in the 8th century, and the first ever from the Americas.
Should the College of Cardinals once again look beyond Europe, Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle may emerge as a frontrunner. The 67-year-old former Archbishop of Manila shares Francis’s commitment to social justice and the fight against poverty.
Tagle was a vocal critic of the extrajudicial killings that occurred in his home country under former President Rodrigo Duterte — a crackdown that reportedly left thousands dead and is now under investigation by the International Criminal Court, where Duterte currently faces trial.
