Pope Names Vatican 'prime Minister'

Pope Benedict XVI today gave the Vatican a new "prime minister" - Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who led the Catholic church's onslaught on the best-selling The Da Vinci Code.

His appointment followed more than a year of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring at the highest levels.

Though orthodox in his doctrinal thinking, Cardinal Bertone is known as a genial man with a human touch. As archbishop of Genoa in 2004, he swapped his robes for a sheepskin coat to do the live commentary for a Serie A football match between the Genoa side Sampdoria and Juventus.

Cardinal Bertone was a top aide to Joseph Ratzinger when he was in charge of the church's doctrinal "ministry" before becoming Pope last year.

As secretary of state, the cardinal will head the most important department in the Vatican administration, responsible for both coordinating with the various national churches and diplomatic contact with foreign states.

Though the Pope does not have a cabinet, the secretary of state's influence and his watching brief over other Vatican departments make him a head of government.

Cardinal Bertone will take over in September from another Italian cardinal, Angelo Sodano. He has held the post for 15 years and, at 78, was already three years past Vatican retirement age.

In March last year, Cardinal Bertone first signalled alarm over Dan Brown's global bestseller when he branded its claims "shameful and unfounded". He suggested that Catholic bookshops should not stock the novel, which is based on the theory that Jesus had a family with descendants alive today.

Today, the Pope also accepted the resignation of an American cardinal, Edmund Szoka, as governor of Vatican City. His successor is an Italian archbishop, Giovanni Lajolo, who until now has been the church's chief diplomat.