Pious Trash: Cardinal Angelo Sodano Finally Gets Dumped
On December 21, 2017 Cardinal Angelo Sodano celebrated the funeral Mass for fugitive Cardinal Bernard Law. Over the protests of many, the Mass was celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica. In his homily, Sodano said, “unfortunately, each one of us can sometimes lack in fidelity to our mission. That is why, at the beginning of every Mass, we say the ‘Confiteor.’” This prayer begins, “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned.” 
On December 21, 2019, the same day it was reported that Cardinal Sodano had shielded sexually abusive clergy in the Legion of Christ, Pope Francis accepted the 92-year-old cardinal’s resignation as dean of the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis used the occasion to express “my gratitude, including in the name of the members of the College of Cardinals, for the precious and punctual service he (Cardinal Sodano) has offered as dean for many years with availability, dedication, efficiency and a great ability to organize and coordinate.”
“For some three decades he was the man in the Vatican no one dared cross,” said Robert Mickens, the editor-in-chief of La Croix International. “Even the popes he served were careful to gain his consent because of the loyalty he commanded from any key people at all levels of the Roman Curia.”
In the December 21, 2019 report the Legion of Christ identified 33 priests and 71 seminarians as sex abusers. The report stated that Cardinal Sodano was the one who led efforts to cover up reports of abuse when he served as the Vatican’s Secretary of State. Many of the reports of abuse involved the notorious predator priest, Marcial Maciel Degollago, the founder and director general of the Legion of Christ. Maciel was respected by many within the Vatican, including Pope John Paul II, as a prolific fund raiser and seminarian recruiter. Near the time of his death in 2005 he was publicly revealed to be a thief, drug addict and serial sexual abuser of young men and boys. Marcial maintained sexual relationships with at least two women and fathered six children. He sexually abused two of his sons.
For many decades, Cardinal Sodano’s chief priorities have been power and money. Money from the Legion flowed to Sodano in the form of gifts and honoraria. “Cardinal Sodano was a cheerleader for the Legion,” said one of the ex-Legionaries. “He’d come give a talk at Christmas and they’d give him $10,000.” “It was very clear that Angelo Sodano was going to do everything in his power to protect both Maciel and the Legion of Christ,” said Glenn Favreau, an advocate for ex-Legionaries who was ordained a deacon in the order and worked at its offices in Rome. “Sodano came over with his entire family, 200 of them, for a big meal when he was named cardinal,” recalled Favreau. “And we fed them all. When he became secretary of state there was another celebration.”
His family also benefited from his position and connections. A nephew, Andrea Sodano, was involved in a real estate business with Raffaello Follieri, who was jailed in New York in 2008 on charges of fraud and money-laundering. A major part of his business was buying up church and parish properties at fire sale prices to pay for lawsuits by sex abuse victims. The Follieri Group’s business claimed connections to “senior members of the Vatican hierarchy.” Follieri misused investor funds to pay Andrea Sodano for engineering studies and services he never performed. In exchange, Sodano’s nephew traveled with Follieri to pitch church officials, and gain access to the Vatican grounds, attending a service with the Pope, get his picture taken with the Pope, and arrange for private tours of the Vatican gardens and museum. Marical also hired Andrea Sodano as a building consultant for projects. Legionaires overseeing one project complained to Marciel that Sodano’s work was late and poorly done; they were reluctant to pay his invoices. Marciel yelled at them: “Pay him! You pay him!”
How was Pope Francis finally able to get rid of Sodano? In 2005 Pope Benedict tried and gave up, keeping him as Secretary of State. Were the claws of this rapacious bird finally too weak to tear and rend and hang on any longer? The Legion’s own report finally did the job. 
I can’t shake the image of Cardinal Sodano as a scarlet festooned Don Fanucci, the Black Hand leader in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and The Godfather Part II movie. Fanucci’s character is based on the personality of Ignazio Lupo, a real-life Black Hand gangster and mafioso specializing in extortion, robbery and murder. “You and your friends should show me some respect,” Fanucci threatened Vito Corleone. “You should let me wet my beak a little…Now don’t refuse me. Understand, paisan? Understand, paisan?…Tell your friends I don’t want a lot. Just enough to wet my beak. Don’t be afraid to tell them!” Fanucci did quite well until the day he threatened somebody tougher. Surprise! He took a bullet to the head.