Leo XIV Promotes a Nuncio Removed by Ratzinger — Loyalist of Abu Dhabi Document
LaRazon.es writes on July 25 that the nomination is only awaiting formal endorsement from the Spanish Government, and adds that Monsignor Pioppo was the preferred pick of Pope Francis.
Francis had sent the former Spanish Nuncio Bernardito Auza, a Philippino, away to the European Union in March 2025. The reason: Nuncio Auza didn’t approve of Francis’ choosing of bishops.
Early life and formation
Archbishop Pioppo was born on 29 September 1960 in Savona, Liguria, Italy.
He was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Acqui on 29 June 1985 and holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology and a degree in canon law.
Entering the Holy See’s diplomatic service in July 1993, he served at nunciatures in South Korea and Chile, as well as in the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Close alliance with Cardinal Angelo Sodano – anti Ratzinger
Piero Pioppo served as the private secretary to the then-Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano (1927–2022).
In the summer of 2006, Sodano sent Pioppo to Genoa to convince Cardinal Bertone not to accept the position as new Secretary of State under Benedict XVI. Sodano and Pioppo failed.
During the 2006 interregnum, Sodano made his last decision: Piero Pioppo was appointed as “prelate” to the Vatican Bank. Italian media interpreted the move as Sodano's attempt to maintain influence over Vatican financial oversight.
By appointing his secretary, "Sodano kept the institute under his shadow," said Gianfranco Svidercoschi, the former vice director of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.
In September 2006, when the replacement took effect, Sodano refused to vacate his office rooms. It was only after a year that he finally moved out, while the officers of the Secretary of State remained on his side.
The rivalry between Cardinals Sodano and Ratzinger stemmed from their differing ecclesial models. They also clashed over the case of Father Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Sodano protected the homosexual perpetrator and blocked Ratzinger’s investigations.
Before Msgr. Pioppo's appointment in 2006, the post at the bank was vacant since 1993. It remained vacant after he left in 2010. Only in June 2013, Pope Francis appointed the homosexual Monsignor Battista Ricca, also a Vatican diplomat, on that post.
Benedict XVI. sends Pioppo away to Africa
On 25 January 2010, Benedict XVI appointed Pioppo as archbishop and nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
Italian commentator Gerald Posner suggested that Pioppo's appointment was a way for Cardinal Bertone to remove the Sodano loyalist from the Vatican.
In July 2012, LaStampa.it described Pioppo as part of Sodano's network, alongside the nuncios Luigi Ventura (France), Pietro Parolin (Venezuela), and Gabriele Caccia (Beirut).
On 8 September 2017, Pope Francis appointed Pioppo as Nuncio to Indonesia.
Promoter of the Abu Dhabi Heresy
At the Indonesian Bishops Conference in November 2019, Pioppo endorsed Francis’ heretical Abu Dhabi document: “This document is particularly important for Indonesia, where the search for peace, harmony and coexistence is a challenge we must face together.”
“Indonesia,” said the nuncio, “is really a place in which we can carry out and practise the shared expectations of the Abu Dhabi Declaration, namely fraternity among human beings.”
#newsPomdwkhbxj