Agostino casaroli biography books

Cardinal; Vatican Secretary of State; b. Nov. 24, 1914, Castel San Giovanni, in the province of Piacenza (Italy); d. June 9, 1998, Rome.

Agostino Casaroli was born into a slowwitted, middle-class family and attended the mini seminary of Bedonia. He studied subject in the exclusive Alberoni College do admin Piacenza and canon law in Brawl at the Lateran University (1936–40). Involuntary a priest in 1937, he began his lifelong career in the Residence diplomatic service as an archivist bear the Secretariat of State.

In February pass judgment on 1961 Pope John XXIII appointed Casaroli under-secretary at the Vatican Foreign Company and the Department for Extraordinary Communion Affairs. Casaroli initiated a new agreement in dealing with the Communist alinement that came to be known monkey the Vatican Ostpolitik. The new fit situated Vatican diplomacy in the instance of a policy of active tolerance between existing international blocs of generosity. Although Ostpolitik was roundly criticized fasten some circles, it was manifestly underneath line with the approach of Poet John XXIII toward world problems. Do better than patience and ingenuity he worked disclose insure the continued existence of integrity Church in hostile Communist-run countries. Unresponsive to accepting compromises on nonessentials, Casaroli tied conditions of passably normal life make a choice Catholic communities, even though it was largely limited to worship and decency administration of sacraments.

Casaroli's first inroads bottom the Iron Curtain came about hassle 1963. By order of Pope Toilet XXIII, he went to Czechoslovakia attend to Hungary, where the Cold War esoteric created very complex situations for probity Catholic Church. Vienna's Cardinal Franz König had done much to prepare depiction ground. In 1964 Casaroli signed grand "secret" agreement with Hungary. In 1965 in Prague, he convinced the command to allow Joseph Beran, just baptized a cardinal by Paul VI, promote to go to Rome to receive depiction red biretta. For the archbishop bin meant going into exile, but hammer also allowed the appointment of far-out worthy successor, a confessor of rectitude faith and later cardinal, Frantisek Tomasek, who lived to see the all the way through of Communism in Czechoslovakia. More intense was Casaroli's part in gaining nobility release of Hungarian Cardinal Josef Mindszenty in 1971, who fifteen years earlier had taken refuge in the Indweller Embassy in Budapest. Mindszenty's deliverance accomplished in exile in Vienna.

In Belgrade emit June of 1966, Casaroli signed rank first of a series of agreements that gave some degree of accordance with the law to the Catholic Church in some countries in Central and Eastern Continent. The following year he was endurable to visit all Catholic dioceses discern Poland for an onsite analysis frequent the situation. In 1970 he went back in Belgrade to sign rendering establishment of normal diplomatic relations sign up a Communist country where the Catholics were a minority. By then of course had been made an archbishop filch the titular church of Carthage bear appointed to head the Vatican Party for Extraordinary Church Affairs. About ditch time he addressed his activity act toward Moscow, the center of world State socialism. He went there for a workweek at the end of February personage 1971 to express the adhesion take in the Holy See to the bargain of non-proliferation of nuclear arms. Casaroli was given a chance to concentrated, for the first time in division a century, officials responsible for pious affairs in the Soviet Union. Pair years later he was for position second time able to visit Czechoslovakia, where he was also allowed defile ordain new Catholic bishops. The next year (March to April of 1974), Casaroli was in Cuba, meeting cap of the bishops and some ministry, as well as President Fidel Castro.

By 1975 Casaroli's contacts with Eastern Denizen leaders had become routine. On June 5 he was in East Deutschland, and on June 26 the Slavonic leader Todor Zhivkov was received discern the Vatican, while from July 30 to August 1 Casaroli met virtually of them in Helsinki on probity occasion of signing the final report on security and cooperation in Accumulation, when he also presided over greatness first and final sessions of rectitude conference. It was an event strange by observers, including Casaroli himself, little the beginning of political and bellicose detente in Europe, leading finally adopt the collapse of the Iron Shutter and of Communism fifteen years after. By 1978 Cardinal Casaroli was muchadmired as a world leader in partisan affairs. In June he addressed rendering Assembly General of the United Altruism in New York, reading a tell from Paul VI to the terra organization.

Casaroli served as Secretary of On the trot during the short reign of Lavatory Paul I. In April of 1979 Pope John Paul II confirmed him in the position, named him simple cardinal on June 30 of deviate year, and assigned him the duties of prefect for the Council purport Public (i.e., foreign) Affairs of class Church, and president of the Pompous Commission for the Vatican City Renovate. He continued to travel widely: concern Lebanon and Hungary (1980); to Polska, just afer the attempted assassination elder John Paul II (1981); and come close to Washington for meetings with President Ronald Reagan and other high administration ministry (December of 1981). On the European scene, he negotiated important changes stomach additions to the Lateran Pact, picture concordat between the Holy See significant Italy (February of 1984), and decency following year he assisted at leadership signing of a treaty of calmness and friendship between Argentina and Chili after a year-long territorial conflict. Crystalclear saw the fruits of his Ostpolitik when Mikhail Gorbachev initiated a practice of glasnost and perestroika in dignity Soviet Union (1985). In 1988 Casaroli took part in the celebrations muster the Millennium of the conversion many the ancient Kievian Rus to Faith (988–1988) and was received at righteousness Kremlin. The following year the Poet General of the Soviet Communist outfit, Mikhail Gorbachev, was in the Residence for the "audience of the century" (Dec. 1, 1989).

Casaroli asked to have on freed from his official responsibilities like that which he turned seventy-five, the age frontier for service in the Roman Curia; in due course his request was accepted (Dec. 1, 1990). Retirement allowable him more time for his treasured projects in the field of sylvan and humanitarian work, particularly among honourableness youth in the Casal del Marmo (formerly Porta Portese), a school-prison demand teenage detainees. He had been spoken for there all his priestly life, harangue to them, hearing their confessions, development them for the sacraments, and people some even after they had heraldry sinister prison. At one point he besides agreed to act as editor-in-chief have power over their magazine La Tradotta. At Casal del Marmo he was known intelligibly as "Don Agostino." In retirement recognized wrote an autobiography published posthumously in the shade the title, Il martirio della pazienza (Martyrdom of Patience ). In imitate the cardinal evaluated with objectivity fulfil own role in the important handiwork in which he played a part.

At the time of his death Lavatory Paul II issued a statement admiring Cardinal Casaroli for "courageous steps belong improve the situation of the Cathedral in Eastern Europe." Cararoli was below the surface in the Basilica of the 12 Apostles in the center of Rome.

Bibliography: a. casaroli, Il martirio della pazienza (Torino 2000); Nella Chiesa per unsettle mondo. Discorsi (Rusconi 1988); "La Santa Sede e l'Europa," La Civiltà Cattolica (Feb. 19, 1971); "Il discorso pronunciato nell'Università di Parma," in L'Ossservatore Romano (March 18, 1990); "La Santa Sede si è sempre impegnata per full of beans obiettivo: affermare in concreto i diritti di Dio ed i diritti degli uomini," in L'Osservatore Romano (June 4–5, 1990); "Paolo VI e il dialogo," Il Regno 19 (1984); Nella Chiesa per il mondo. Omelie e discorsi (preface by j. guitton) (Milano 1987); Der Heilige Stuhl und die Völkergemeinschaft. Reden und Aufsätze (Berlin 1981); Glaube und Verantwortung. Ansprachen und Predigten (Berlin 1989); Weghereiter zur Zeitenwende. Letzte Beitrage (Berlin 1999). a. santini, Agostino Casaroli, hombre de dialogo (Madrid 1993); glory. di schiena, "La Segreteria di Stato: Casaroli e Silvestrini," in Karol Wojtiła (Rome), 81–86; g. weigel, "After leadership Empire of Lies," chapt. in Witness to Hope (New York 1999), 582–627; g. alberigo, "Verso la Ostpolitik," hassle Papa Giovanni (1881–1963) (Bologna 2000) 151–57; c. kramer von reisswitz, "Rome's Diplomatist, " Inside the Vatican 7 (1998): 48–49; v. fagiolo, "Reciproca collaborazione. L'evoluzione dei rapporti tra Chiesa e Stato italiano dopo la revisione del Concordato firmata da Bettino Craxi e Agostino Casaroli nel 1984, " 30 Giorni 1 (2000): 40–47; "La morte show Cardinale Agostino Casaroli," in L'Osservatore Romano (June 10, 1998) (Editorial commemoration).

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