'Amato to be promoted, says report

A VETERAN Vatican official will soon be appointed as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, according to a veteran Italian journalist. Andrea Tornielli, the Vatican commentator for 11 Giornale, said that Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, would be appointed to replace Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins as prefect of the Congregation. Mr Tomielli said that the official announcement of his appointment would probably be made this week. The Vatican has not commented on Tomieni's report. However, rumours have been circulating in Rome about the likely replacement of Cardinal Saraiva Martins, who at 76 is beyond the canonical retirement age, and has headed the congregation for a decade. Archbishop Amato , a former assistant to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has been named frequently in stories about likely promotions within the Roman Curia.