Congregation for Bishops

The Congregation for Bishops is a Roman Curia department led by Cardinal Tutino. Its place in the narrative is defined less by its formal duties than by the controversy surrounding its prefect: the late Pope had reportedly intended to remove him, while scrutiny of the department’s finances and of senior officials’ conduct sharpened the conflict over accountability within the Church.

Leadership and controversy

Tutino enters the narrative as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. He had been publicly criticized for spending half a million euros to combine two apartments into a residence large enough for three nuns and a chaplain. After private emails were leaked, he became preoccupied with discovering who had disclosed them; his furtive manner and conspicuous use of a cheap plastic holdall mark his arrival at Casa Santa Marta amid that public fallout.

The late Pope’s plans for senior Church officials give the scandal broader significance. Jacopo Baldassare Lomeli believes Tutino would have been removed in the New Year, part of a wider intended reshaping of the hierarchy. The episode places the department’s leadership within a Church administration facing questions about whether resources and offices serve the poor and the faithful or the comfort and interests of those who govern.

Financial oversight and institutional conflict

The controversy surrounding Tutino belongs to a larger struggle over financial transparency. The late Pope had demanded proper accounts, disclosed finances, competitive tenders for building work, and receipts; he also brought in accountants and management consultants to examine files. The review reached the first floor of Casa Santa Marta, where the investigators had their own offices. These measures provoked resistance within the Curia, while press leaks exposed allegations that officials were diverting funds intended for the poor to personal benefits, including apartment renovations and first-class travel.

Documents hidden in the late Pope’s bed later give material form to the oversight problem. Among them are financial statements, transfers, and apartment addresses, alongside an APSA report estimating the property portfolio at more than €2.7 billion while assigning it a book value of €389.6 million. The report says that only 56 percent of the property appears to be in paid occupancy and suggests that much of the income is not properly declared. These findings are not attributed specifically to the Congregation for Bishops, but they illuminate the wider financial environment in which Tutino’s department and the Curia operate.

Narrative significance

The Congregation for Bishops links the administration of Church leadership to the novel’s conflict over stewardship. Tutino’s public scandal makes the private conduct of a senior official a matter of institutional trust, while the late Pope’s transparency campaign shows how attempts at reform meet entrenched resistance and further disclosures. The department consequently stands within a broader question raised by the financial investigations: whether the Church’s officials are accountable for the resources and authority entrusted to them.