Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka
At the helm of the Vatican, former Detroit archbishop manages a ministate
By John Thavis Of Catholic News Service
Published in The Michigan Catholic News June 4, 2004
VATICAN CITY —As chief executive of the world's smallest state, Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, formerly of Detroit, has to deal with problems faced by bigger nations -- including potential terrorism, economic downturns and energy shortages.
But Vatican City has unique challenges, too. Where else do parking lot excavations routinely unearth tombs and Latin inscriptions from the time of Emperor Nero?
Cardinal Szoka's job is to make sure things run smoothly in the 109-acre Vatican City State. That means counting revenues, fixing up buildings and channeling tourists through the Vatican Museums.
He's responsible for everything from easing traffic flow to installing surveillance cameras. Security, not surprisingly, is a growing concern. The walled Vatican City is considered a small but inviting target.
"We have a good surveillance system, with cameras that cover the entire city as well as the interior of the basilica. And in the barracks of our Vatican police, two policemen watch the monitors 24 hours a day," the 76-year-old cardinal said in an April interview.
The cameras have helped nab purse snatchers and other petty thieves.
"One night they caught some guy trying to come over the wall," Cardinal Szoka said. He said security also has been tightened at the Vatican Museums, making lines longer outside the entrance.
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| Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka gathers with some of the members of the Vatican Police Corps. In the background is a rear view of St. Peter's Bascilica. | Increasing security was one of the less controversial moves Cardinal Szoka has made at the helm of the governor's office. Other changes have provoked some heated discussion, if not dissent.
The American cardinal has banned smoking in all Vatican offices and corridors. He has wired Vatican City with fiber optics and standardized the city-state's nine different computerized bookkeeping systems under a single local area network.
He has taken aim at the cars that were clogging the narrow streets of Vatican City. After completing an underground parking complex, he restricted vehicular access and reduced parking in other areas. He even managed to clear out a major parking lot right next to St. Peter's Basilica.
"That was one of the most difficult changes I made. People had been used to parking there and didn't want to give it up," he said. Cardinal Szoka, the former archbishop of Detroit, was called to the Vatican in 1990 to head the economic prefecture and help balance the annual budget.
In 1997, Pope John Paul II named him head of the commission of cardinals that governed Vatican City State. Established under a treaty with Italy in 1929, it is a sovereign nation that is distinct from the Holy See but united with it in the person of the pope.
Since then, Cardinal Szoka has changed titles and increased his executive authority, implementing a major modification of Vatican City's fundamental law. He is now "president of the government of Vatican City State," which means, basically, that he can call the shots.
The pope maintains supreme authority over all aspects of life in Vatican City, but rarely intervenes directly in its affairs, Cardinal Szoka said.
In his hillside office overlooking the back of St. Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Szoka said one of his biggest challenges is finding the revenues to pay for operating costs of the city-state. There are buildings to maintain, fire and police departments to fund, electrical energy to purchase and some 1,500 employees to pay.
"We're responsible for a whole lot of things that don't generate income," he said. The city-state holds valuable property, but of course cannot sell it or even rent it, since most tenants are Vatican offices.
Vatican City buys most of its electricity from Italy, though it maintains two generators for emergencies. They were fired up during an Italian blackout last year, and within a few minutes the pope's apartment and major Vatican offices had lights again.
Cardinal Szoka said one main revenue generator is the Vatican Museums, where visitors pay about $15 for entry. The Vatican also has a supermarket, clothing stores, gas stations and a pharmacy that sell to employees and the diplomatic corps at the Holy See.
The Vatican maintains its own train station, where supplies from the outside world are regularly unloaded. Last year, Cardinal Szoka noticed that the station's terminal was largely empty, so he transformed it into a three-story, high-end department store. Shoppers can pick up Armani suits, Swiss watches and Cuban cigars—all duty free, since Vatican City imposes no taxes.
Every source of income helps, Cardinal Szoka said, because Vatican City struggles to balance its budget. Despite its reputation for wealth, the city-state has "less than a year's operating budget" in reserve, he said. Its investments are mostly in dollars, so they've taken a big hit when translated into euros at the end of the year. And the introduction of the euro in Europe was accompanied by huge price increases that have affected the Vatican and Italians.
As an American in charge of a predominantly Italian milieu, Cardinal Szoka has had to make peace with some cultural differences, especially when it comes to deadlines and organization.
"In the United States, our big emphasis is always on efficiency and getting it done fast," he said. The Italian approach may seem less efficient, but in the end is often produces a better product -- usually without the built-in obsolescence found in the United States, he said.
The cardinal lives in what might be the equivalent of a "governor's mansion" in the middle of the Vatican Gardens. He said it's been wrongly described as a sumptuous palace with seven bathrooms; for the record, there are four, and "none of them have gold faucets or gilded ceilings," he said.
Cardinal Szoka is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination in June, and he plans to celebrate at the Vatican and in his native Michigan.
He said he doesn't know how long he'll keep running Vatican City. When he reached the normal retirement age of 75 more than 18 months ago, he submitted his resignation to the pope as required by Church law.
"The answer I got back was: For now, keep working. And I haven't heard anything since," he said.
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