Pope Names Australian Bishop as Vatican’s Top Legal Advisor

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Anthony Randazzo of Australia to lead the Vatican's legal department. The 59-year-old canon lawyer will oversee church law interpretation and legal matters for the Holy See.

Pope Leo XIV announced Wednesday his selection of an Australian bishop to fill a crucial Vatican position as the Holy See’s top legal advisor.

Bishop Anthony Randazzo, who currently leads the diocese of Broken Bay, will head the Dicastery for Legislative Texts. This department handles the creation and interpretation of Catholic canon law while offering legal guidance on various issues, including matters concerning Vatican City State.

The 59-year-old Randazzo replaces Archbishop Filippo Iannone, who was reassigned by Leo in September to his former position overseeing the Vatican department that reviews episcopal appointments.

Prior to his episcopal appointment, Randazzo earned his canon law degree from the Jesuit Pontifical Gregorian University and spent five years working within the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This department handles clergy sexual abuse cases from around the globe.

The Australian Catholic Church faces a troubled history regarding clergy abuse scandals and institutional cover-ups.

During his tenure as a young bishop within the Congregation’s office, Randazzo handled the aftermath of these crises, including the period when Australia’s Royal Commission investigated decades of child sexual abuse by priests and subsequent episcopal cover-ups. The commission’s findings revealed that 7% of Australian Catholic clergy faced abuse allegations from 1950-2010, with 4,444 individuals reporting victimization.

Leo himself holds expertise in canon law, making his choice of an English-speaking legal specialist knowledgeable about the church’s serious failures in abuse crisis management potentially significant. Though Leo has not signaled intentions for reform, canon law experts, survivors, and outside observers have criticized the canonical framework and its role in these problems.

Additionally, a recent Vatican financial case involving a cardinal has exposed weaknesses in the city state’s antiquated criminal and procedural legal codes.

Randazzo expressed appreciation for Leo’s confidence in a Wednesday Facebook statement, noting he will spend the next three months in Australia before relocating to Rome.