Francesco Coccopalmerio (6 March 1938) is an Italian cardinal. He was president of the

Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, formerly named Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It is distinct from the highest tribunal or court in the Church, which is the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Sig ...

from his appointment by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

on 15 February 2007 until his resignation was accepted by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

on 7 April 2018. He spent his early years in the Archdiocese of Milan and became an auxiliary bishop in 1993. He moved to the Roman Curia in 2000.

Biography

Early life

Coccopalmerio was born in San Giuliano Milanese, Italy, where his parents were living during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, on 6 March 1938 and raised in

Sernio Sernio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about east of Sondrio Sondrio (; lmo, Sùndri; rm, Sunder; archaic german: Sünders or ; la, Sundrium) is ...

, his mother's home town. He was ordained a priest on 28 June 1962 by

Giovanni Montini Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Aug ...

(later Pope Paul VI), then the archbishop of Milan. He received a licentiate in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

in 1963. He received a doctorate in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1968. In 1976 he obtained a doctorate in law at the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1 ...

in Milan.

Archdiocese of Milan

He held positions in the

archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

until 1994. He was professor of canon law at the Faculty of Theology in northern Italy from 1966 to 1999. Since 1981, he has been a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. On 10 April 1993,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Coccopalmerio an auxiliary bishop of Milan with the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of Coeliana. He was consecrated bishop on 22 May of that year. Within the

Italian Episcopal Conference The Italian Episcopal Conference ( it, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana) or CEI is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carr ...

, he is one of the leading voices on legal issues and ecumenical and

inter-religious dialogue Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

. Since 2000, Coccopalmerio has been a member of the

Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...

Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts

On 15 February 2007, he was given the personal title of archbishop and appointed president of the

. Since 2008, at the direction of Pope Benedict, one of his principal responsibilities has been the revision to procedures for handling clergy sex abuse and the applicable punishments. In 2014, he explained: "We want to make this delicate material more accessible, more understandable and easier for bishops to apply." At issue is " Book VI: Sanctions in the Church". Coccopalmerio was reported to have been one of the senior cardinals who, in preparing to announce the lifting of the excommunications of four leaders of the

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the S ...

in January 2009, failed to take account of recent reports that one of them, Bishop Richard Williamson, was a

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

. He was appointed a five-year renewable term as a member of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...

on 23 December 2010. On 18 February 2012,

created him

cardinal-deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

San Giuseppe dei Falegnami San Giuseppe dei Falegnami (Italian language, Italian, "St. Joseph of the Carpenters"), also called San Giuseppe a Campo Vaccino ("St. Joseph at the Cowfield", an old name for the Roman Forum), is a Roman Catholic church located next to the Roman ...

. On 21 April 2012, Cardinal Coccopalmerio was named a member of the

, the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...

, and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. On 22 December 2012, he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

. He can hold these memberships until his 80th birthday. At the Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization in October 2012, Coccopalmerio argued that ecumenical efforts to further unify Christians across sectarian lines could play a pivotal role in countering the ongoing "de-Christianization" of Europe by presenting "an extraordinary sign to Islam" of Christian solidarity.

2013 Papal Conclave

In the meetings of cardinals that preceded the papal conclave of March 2013, Cardinal Coccopalmerio proposed to create a moderator of the Curia, a prelate who would identify inconsistencies and devise methods of ensuring consistency among departments of the Roman Curia that sometimes contradict one another. The idea was widely appreciated by some cardinals but some were wary that such an appointment would act as a "vice-pope" that would effectively set Vatican and Curial policy or duplicate the already considerable authority of the Substitute in the Secretariate of State, who already fills the role of the Pope's "chief of staff". In advance of that conclave, he said: "It's time to look outside Italy and Europe, in particular considering Latin America." He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that elected

, and was mentioned in the Italian press as a possible pope. According to one report, he received more votes in the conclave than any other Italian cardinal because of his proposal for reform of the Roman Curia.

Synod on the Family

On 27 August 2014, Pope Francis named him to a working group tasked with speeding up the process for assessing the nullity of a marriage. Its work resulted in changes implemented by Francis in September 2015, which eliminated obligatory appeals, eased the dismissal of appeals in certain instances, and instituted a shorter process in some cases. Following the first session of the Synod on the Family held in October 2014, he expressed disappointment that not all the participants addressed the pastoral needs of those "who are suffering through problems connected to their relationships" and instead "showed that they simply wanted to reaffirm the doctrine". He provided an example: He also endorsed the idea of access to the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

for some Catholics in irregular marital situations. He offered the example of a woman who lives with a man who has three small children by a wife who abandoned him. He imagined her coming to Communion "during her father’s funeral Mass, or the day of one of the children’s confirmation". Fearing the consequences of asking her to abandon the man and the children, he asked: "So would it really be totally impossible to admit her to communion? In admitting her to communion, would I be going against the doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage? I really don’t think so: In fact, this has to do with a case of exception."

Roman Curia work under Pope Francis

In January 2015, Pope Francis named Coccopalmerio to a new board of review within the

that reviews appeals from clergy found guilty of sexual abuse of minors. In 2015, Cardinal Coccopalmerio questioned the scope of the authority given to the Secretariat for the Economy and its prefect Cardinal Pell. These questions involved not the demand for transparency in all financial operations, but the consolidation of management under the

Secretariat for the Economy The Secretariat for the Economy ( it, Segreteria per l'economia) is a dicastery of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Description Pope Francis established the secretariat in ...

. In 2017, he said provisions of '' Amoris Laetitia'' allow people in irregular marriage access to the sacraments only if they recognize their situation is sinful and desire to change it. The fact that such a couple also believes changing the situation immediately by splitting would cause more harm and forgoing sexual relations would threaten their current relationship does not rule out the possibility of receiving sacramental absolution and Communion.

Resignation

A month after Coccopalmerio's 80th birthday, Pope Francis accepted his resignation and named

Filippo Iannone Filippo Iannone (born 13 December 1957) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts since April 2018. He has been a bishop since 2001 and an archbishop since 2012. He is a m ...

to succeed him. On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest.

Affairs and allegations

The Capozzi affair

In June 2017, news surfaced that at some point during the month, Msgr. Luigi Capozzi, the private secretary to Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, had been arrested by Vatican police after illegally using

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

at a gay orgy party at his (Capozzi's) Vatican apartment. He was afterwards hospitalized at the Roman Pius XI clinic so that he could detox. After that, he had a short period of retreat at a nearby monastery and then spent time at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. Despite the fact that Capozzi resided in the apartment, the apartment was owned by Coccopalmerio. Prior to the arrest, Coccopalmerio had also recommended having Capozzi appointed as a Bishop. A

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

article dated 24 July 2019 revealed that following his arrest, Capozzi was ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation therapy and was no longer in the Vatican, but rather a spiritual retreat somewhere in Italy.

The Inzoli affair

In th
October 2018 issue
of the German Catholic journa
Herder KorrespondenzBenjamin Leven
a German theologian and editor of the said journal reported that, according to his own sources, it was Cardinal Coccopalmerio who approached the Pope in favor of the child abuser Don Mauro Inzoli in order to have him partially reinstated as priest. Leven also alleged that Coccopalmerio is known in Rome for generally opposing the removal of culprit priests from the priesthood, which for him is akin to the "death penalty".

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coccopalmerio, Francesco 1938 births Living people 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Alphonsian Academy alumni Members of the Apostolic Signatura Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts 20th-century Italian titular bishops Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI 21st-century Italian cardinals Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints