VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Holy See has requested Italy’s approval for a new Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino amid an internal reform that could reassign Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra from the Secretariat of State.
On Thursday, February 26, a request for approval was delivered to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the appointment of Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, currently Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the Italian Republic. The approval of the Italian government is required before the appointment can be formalized.
Nico Spuntoni broke the story in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, and it was later confirmed by other official outlets. Sources indicate this change would be linked to a broader reform initiated by Pope Leo XIV concerning the Secretariat of State.
In 2018, Pope Francis recalled Peña Parra, a Venezuelan prelate, to Rome from diplomatic service in Mozambique, appointing him Substitute for General Affairs — a role that, although officially the second-in-command within the machinery of the Secretariat of State, assumes a pivotal importance not only within the Dicastery but across the entire Roman Curia in practice.
Silere Non Possum reports that Pope Leo XIV has focused his reform efforts on this office rather than on Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “Francis’s mistake was to follow the lead of the newspapers which, ignoring the internal dynamics of the machine, focused their criticism on the top,” the Italian outlet comments. “That is how Bergoglio attempted his major reform awkwardly and from the top down. Leo XIV, instead, has shown that he understands perfectly — despite some considering him inexperienced in curial dynamics — that the real operational fulcrum is not the Secretary of State, but the Substitute.”
READ: Archbishop Viganò urges Italy to reject scandal-ridden Apostolic Nuncio designate
During these last weeks, according to Spuntoni, Peña Parra declined two proposals of new assignment while accepting a third one — allowing him to remain in Rome. In fact, it is not possible to reject more than three of the Pope’s proposed transfers. In this way, Peña Parra would remain close to the Vatican, avoiding reassignment to some remote corner of the world, as Leo had initially proposed — and hoped for.
By staying in Rome, however, the Venezuelan prelate would be able to continue influencing or obstructing the Pope and the Curia to his own advantage. According to Silere Non Possum, Peña Parra “aspires to remain in Rome in order to keep control of the situation.”
Moreover, as Spuntoni has noted, the traditional assignment to Villa Giorgina — the seat of the nunciature in Italy — would place the current Substitute among the likely candidates for the next cardinalates.
The possible appointment has also drawn public criticism from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. In a statement published on his account on X, Viganò said that the “alleged appointment of Edgar Peña Parra leaves one bewildered and scandalized.”
Viganò also recalled that beginning in 2002, during his service as Delegate for Pontifical Representations, he had reported to superiors in the Secretariat of State accusations involving Peña Parra, including the abuse of two minor seminarians and the violent deaths of two homosexual men.
Viganò wrote that the allegations concerning the seminarians were confirmed, following further inquiries, by then-rector of the Major Seminary of Maracaibo, Rev. Enrique Perez, and by a lay committee that submitted documentation to the Secretariat of State.
The archbishop added that his subsequent reports “were ignored” and that, in 2011, Peña Parra was ordained bishop and later appointed archbishop and nuncio while Cardinal Parolin was serving as nuncio in Venezuela. Viganò also stated that he reiterated his accusations in his memorandum of August 22, 2018, and called for Peña Parra to be tried, removed from office, and subjected to canonical penalties. Finally, Viganò urged the Italian government to deny the appointment.
Although Silere Non Possum cannot be accused of belonging to traditionalist Catholic circles, its reconstructions nonetheless confirm a tense climate marked by networks of blackmail and relationships that have never been fully clarified.
“Peña Parra has become one of Bergoglio’s most loyal allies, acting with the typical attitude of someone who feels protected and shielded by whoever holds power,” the outlet comments. “Over the years, he has built a veritable stronghold of power, fully aware of the crucial role the Substitute plays in the governance of the Holy See.”
And further: “Peña Parra, obsessed with scandals such as the Sloane Avenue affair and everything surrounding it, has had his offices swept for bugs with almost weekly frequency. Despite having dodged scandals and problems of every kind, Peña Parra is known within the sacred walls for having cultivated problematic relationships and for an often arrogant attitude.”
Moreover, the Italian outlet does not hesitate to state that “the system of amoral familism — long a hallmark of Bergoglio’s governance — has found in Peña Parra its ideal interpreter. The Venezuelan archbishop has not hesitated to surround himself, both inside and outside the Vatican walls, with Venezuelan relatives and friends, who are often taken on exclusive, so to speak, tours of the sacred palaces.”
