Leo XIV Sends Vatican Diplomat to UNESCO - Catfight in the Vatican
Over the past three years, Monsignor Campisi served as Assessor for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, acting as the second-highest official in the office under Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra.
Monsignor Campisi, who is from Sicily, is the first assessor to leave without being elevated to archbishop.
In February, shortly before Pope Francis was admitted to hospital, Monsignor Campisi was placed at the head of the newly created Commission for Donations to the Holy See. This body was established to coordinate the Vatican’s fundraising activities. As president, Campisi oversaw its initial structure.
Francis’ loyalist and protégé
Monsignor Campisi was a rising star under Pope Francis.
Ordained in 2002, he joined the Vatican diplomatic service in 2010. From his promotion to Assessor in October 2022, Campisi’s career path was closely aligned with the priorities of Francis.
Stewardship of the donations commission was presented as further confirmation of papal confidence.
Strained Relations within the Secretariat of State
However, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his second man, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, were less than enthusiastic about the style and influence of Monsignor Campisi. Rumours of friction with his immediate superior, Peña Parra, are widespread.
Some observers view today's appointment as a means of removing a controversial figure from the Secretariat of State.
The pro-homosexual website SilereNonPossum.com portrays Monsignor Campisi as being part of Francis's 'divide-and-rule' tactics, accusing him of arrogance and disloyalty towards his superior, Archbishop Peña Parra [publicly accused of homosexuality].
SilereNonPossum.com adds that, besides Francis another key protector of Campisi was Monsignor Luigi Cona. However, Monsignor Cona was reassigned in 2022 as Apostolic Nuncio to El Salvador, nearly 10,000 kilometres away from Rome.
Picture: Roberto Campisi, Edgar Peña Parra, Luigi Cona © Vatican Media, #newsZziftopeds