Is Cardinal Czerny being sidelined to make way for Cardinal Cobo?
Succession at the Dicastery for Integral Human Development: Is Cardinal Cobo headed to Rome?
This morning, the Pope received in audience the Reverend Sister Alessandra Smerilli, F.M.A., secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, along with Cardinal Fabio Baggio, C.S., undersecretary of the same organization. In the official photograph of the meeting, one notable absence is that of Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery.
No explanation has been offered. However, his absence has not gone unnoticed. Czerny will turn eighty in 2026, and although retirement in the Curial structure is not always immediate or automatic, the approaching age limit for active service has already sparked speculation about his succession.
A name starting to be mentioned: Cardinal Cobo
Among the possible candidates, the name of Cardinal José Cobo, Archbishop of Madrid, is beginning to be mentioned with some insistence. His profile fits perfectly with the dicastery's lines of action: strong involvement in social issues, sensitivity toward migration, interreligious dialogue, and care for our "common home." All of this is embellished with the language of inclusion, so valued in certain circles within the Curia.
Cardinal Cobo has made these issues the backbone of his ministry, both in Madrid and previously in his auxiliary episcopal work. His name is being heard with growing interest in Rome, and many believe he would fit seamlessly into the current structure and orientation of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.
The Logic of Promovetur ut Amoveatur
In certain ecclesiastical circles—as in other powers—the Latin formula "promovetur ut amoveatur" is well-known: someone is promoted precisely to remove them from their current position. Although not always applicable, in the case of Cardinal Cobo, some see his possible transfer to Rome as an elegant way to resolve a situation that is perceived with growing concern in Madrid.
Many faithful in Madrid—particularly those linked to the liturgical and doctrinal tradition of the Church—do not hide their bewilderment at some of the current archbishop's pastoral attitudes, and view with resignation the horizon of two decades under his government. For them, a curial promotion would be more than a change of destination: a providential liberation.
What today's gesture suggests
The Papal audience without Prefect Czerny, but with his closest collaborators, can be read as more than a simple protocolary omission. In Rome, gestures matter. And so do absences.
In short, there are no appointments yet, but there are signs. Czerny's successor is approaching. Cobo enters the scene. And ecclesiastical logic, often more symbolic than explicit, begins to outline the succession in one of the key dicasteries of this pontificate.
Cathcon: Pope Leo has made clear how the unity of the Church is a priority (given the Francis fragmentation effect). However, just prior to the Conclave, Cardinal Czerny gave an interview to America Magazine.
What do you say to those who say publicly that we must now find a Pope who brings back unity to the church and end the confusion?
You can say it in public or in private, but I’ve said it already in public. Unity is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the church, who is conducting its mission to evangelize through a church that goes out of itself. Unity is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Unity is a great gift, a very important gift, but it cannot be a strategy. It cannot be a program.
This may explain why he is so near the departure door.
The putative ascendancy of Cardinal Cobo will not be unnoticed by Archbishop Gänswein.
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