The Pope's new Italian aide
In 1967, shortly before Pope Paul VI made him the Vatican's "Foreign Minister," Archbishop Agostino Casaroli slipped into Poland for a visit. Not long thereafter, to Casaroli's satisfaction, Paul appointed the vigorous and intellectual Archbishop of Cracow, Karol Wojtyla, to the College of Cardinals.
Last week it was Wojtyla's turn. Now Pope John Paul II, he put Casaroli, 64, in line for a red hat by naming him acting Secretary of State. The job, and the hat, will be permanent as soon as the Pope holds his first consistory to create new Cardinals. Since the Secretariat of...