Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the “Vatican Godfather,” who for three decades was the man no one dared to cross, has died aged 94. His influence and power, though discreet, were pervasive, and all the stronger for being nearly invisible. In the words of an onlooker “he practiced Machiavellian politics on a breathtaking scale.” He was implicated in many Church scandals but never brought to book.
He shielded numerous abusers, most notoriously Marcial Maciel, the Mexican priest who founded the Legionaries of Christ, renowned for his financial corruption, multiple illegitimate families, drug abuse, and sexual abuse of seminarians and his own children. Maciel was only cast out when Ratzinger became Pope and up to the end Soldano who had been on the receiving end of Maciel’s generosity refused to acknowledge there was a case to answer. On the day of Soldano’s final exit from high position in the Vatican in 2019, the Legion investigation reported that 33 priests and 71 seminarians had sexually abused minors over the last 80 years.
Pope John Paul II who elevated Soldano to the prime role of Vatican Secretary of State also bears heavy responsibility for Maciel not being brought to justice during his term.
In 2010 Soldano was still castigating from the pulpit the “petty gossip of the moment” about priest abuse. He also stopped investigations into the Vienna Cardinal Groer accused of multiple instances of abuse over decades.
Soldano was born 23 November 1927 in Rome and was a late Scorpio or Sagittarius Sun square Neptune; with an ultra-determined, secretive (and vengeful) Water Grand Trine of Mars, Moon, Mercury in Scorpio trine Pluto in Cancer trine Jupiter in Pisces. His Sun was conjunct his indefatigable and can-be-destructive Mars/Saturn midpoint with his Neptune square which is perverse and toxic. Not short of confidence or undeserved luck but spiritually suspect and ruthless.
His synastry with the Vatican, 7 June 1929 11 am chart, is fascinating with his mob-boss Mars in Scorpio conjunct the Vatican South Node pulling it back to less evolved levels. And his bull-in-a-china-shop Gemini North Node was conjunct the Vatican Sun.
Marcial Maciel Degollado, 10 March 1920, was born two months before Pope John Paul 11 and had the same Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Leo which can have a compassionate, visionary side but also an inclination to over-promising, overlooking what it prefers not to see and being scandal-prone. Maciel was a Sun Pisces with a formidable and potentially cruel Water Grand Trine of Mars in Scorpio trine Pluto trine Uranus, formed into a Kite by an autocratic Uranus opposition Saturn. His Mars in Scorpio would chime with Soldano.
When the final investigation was carried out in the abuses under Maciel’s reign after his death a Mexican Archbishop blamed Vatican authorities for defending him over the years in “a very large criminal cover-up” and a “criminal silence.”
Soldano was probably single handedly the key blocker over the decades of Vatican reform – though the mystery is why he was allowed to maintain his grip through various popes.
I wonder if Pluto’s passage through Aquarius will bring about much needed reforms, some crisis as well as upheaval in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Pluto in Aquarius during the years 1532 – 54 saw the spread of Protestantism throughout Europe enabled by the technology of the printing press and increasing literacy in the population. For the first time as a consequence of Martin Luther’s criticisms of corruption and abuse of power in the Catholic Church people were able to express their dissatisfaction of this formally infallible institution which had so much control over their lives and choose to worship within a new framework.
Moreover in the year 1532 when Pluto began its transit through the sign, Henry VIII defied Rome by divorcing Katherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, disolving the monasteries and conviscating their assets and income for the Crown. I wonder if the redirection of resources is a Pluto in Aquarius thing? Pluto is also riches and the unequal distribution of resources is interesting in this context because it brings to mind the French Revolution of the most recent Pluto in Aquarius during late 18th century and the Revolution’s disgust towards the power and wealth of the Catholic Church. (It’s also to be noted that Uranus is discovered during this period). And in our own time we have witnessed an ever increasing gap between rich and poor. It surely cannot sit well with most that the Vatican owns vast quantities of wealth, far, far beyond its needs.
Since I’m not Catholic, it seems inappropriate for me to suggest how other people should apply their faith. But I continue to be flabbergasted, as I’ve been my whole life, at the enormous depth of depravity and child abuse perpetrated by some people in the name of Jesus.
Can it be that his real mission was to injure the Catholic church and what better place to do it than from inside, perhaps his draconic chart would shed more information on this unpleasant character.
I have long thought that the cover-ups of pedophilic priests involved the demonic. This destroyed countless innocent lives, the reputation of the Church and the finances of dioceses such as in Pittsburgh because all the lawsuits against it.
Personally, making the decision about who should be Pope shouldn’t just be left to the decision making of Cardinals. But I doubt if the vast majority of Roman Catholics will ever get a look in.
Like all mob bosses, he probably had leverage over each Pope that kept them on a short leash. My mother never let my brother become an altar boy, and my sister and I were never to be alone with Father Whatsis during our CYO years. I never understood until years later what that was all about. That was a long time ago. I’m a grandmother now and my mother is long gone. But she must have heard stories from back in the day.
Wow what a chart he has and it would seem a very accurate one.
Without any doubt there will be a new face in hell for breakfast tomorrow. “As you sow so you shall reap.” does not necessarily apply to what happens in this life, what is done in this life for good or ill is carried over to the spiritual realm.
Religion is a business with its banks … cant go against business and banks … religion is simply the facade/shell
…a shield and a sword. Kind of makes Depp and Amber looks like newborn pups.