The cardinal mediated in the Balkan wars and vigorously opposed the George W. His tenure covered a good portion of the pontificate of John Paul II, who once described him as “my first and precious collaborator.” As Parkinson’s disease and other ailments debilitated John Paul II, Cardinal Sodano, along with the pope’s private secretary, played an outsize role in running the church.
Cardinal Sodano served as secretary of state, the second-highest-ranking position in the Vatican after the pope, for 16 years.
