Pope Francis names 2 DDF officials bishops—and bypasses a #2 prelate

July 30, 2024

Pope Francis has appointed two officials of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith as bishops and has conferred on one of them the personal title of archbishop. In doing so, he passed over one of the dicastery’s two secretaries, or second-ranking officials.

The Pontiff named Msgr. John Joseph Kennedy, a 56-year-old Dublin priest who works as secretary for the disciplinary section, a titular bishop, but conferred on him the personal title of archbishop.

The Pontiff also named Msgr. Philippe Curbelié, the dicastery’s undersecretary since 2022, a titular bishop. Bishop-elect Curbelié, 55, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Toulouse, France, and was an official of the Congregation for Catholic Education from 2012 until 2022.

The Pope, however, did not appoint Msgr. Armando Matteo, the secretary for the doctrinal section, as a bishop—creating the anomalous situation of a bishop who is an underling assisting a higher-ranking priest in his work for the dicastery.

In his 2022 apostolic letter Fidem Servare (CWN coverage), Pope Francis split the dicastery into a doctrinal section and a disciplinary section, each led by a secretary. The dicastery’s top-ranking is the prefect—since 2023, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. The second-ranking officials are the two secretaries; below them on the organizational chart is the undersecretary.

Until 2022, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had one secretary. During the pontificates of St. Paul VI, St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI—and early in the pontificate of Pope Francis—the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was routinely appointed a titular archbishop, if he was not an archbishop already:

• the future Cardinal Paul-Pierre Philippe (secretary from 1967-73) was already an archbishop at his appointment
• the future Cardinal Jean Jérôme Hamer (secretary from 1973-84) was named a titular archbishop on the day of his appointment
• the future Cardinal Alberto Bovone (secretary from 1984-95) was named a titular archbishop in the month of his appointment
• the future Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (secretary from 1995-2002) was already an archbishop at his appointment
• the future Cardinal Angelo Amato (secretary from 2002-08) was named a titular archbishop on the day of his appointment
• the future Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer (secretary from 2008-17) was named a titular archbishop on the day of his appointment
• Archbishop Giacomo Morandi (secretary from 2017-22) was named a titular archbishop on the day of his appointment. He now leads an Italian diocese (rather than archdiocese), but retains the title of archbishop.

In 2022, the routine appointment of archbishop secretaries ended:

• In 2022, Msgr. Kennedy was named secretary of the disciplinary section. Two years later, he was named a titular bishop (rather than archbishop), but given the personal title of archbishop—presumably as a public sign of papal favor.
• In 2022, Msgr. Matteo was named the secretary for the doctrinal section. Two years later, the Pope chose not to name him a bishop—presumably as a public sign of papal disfavor.
• In 2022, Msgr. Curbelié was named undersecretary of the dicastery. Two years later, the Pope has named him a titular bishop—the first undersecretary of the dicastery to have been named a bishop while serving as undersecretary—again, presumably a public sign of papal favor.

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