Pope Leo XIV names Australian Bishop Anthony Randazzo as the Vatican’s chief legal expert, signaling a potential shift in handling canon law issues.
Newsroom (25/03/2026 Gaudium Press) Pope Leo XIV has filled one of the Vatican’s most consequential posts by appointing Bishop Anthony Randazzo of Broken Bay as prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, the Holy See’s top legal office. The move, announced Wednesday, places the 59-year-old Australian canon lawyer at the center of the Catholic Church’s complex legal and disciplinary system.
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts oversees the drafting, interpretation, and implementation of canon law—the sprawling in-house legal code that governs nearly every dimension of Catholic life, from marriage to discipline of clergy. The office also advises on civil matters affecting Vatican City State. Randazzo succeeds Archbishop Filippo Iannone, who was recently reassigned by Pope Leo XIV to lead the Vatican’s department responsible for vetting new bishops.
Before becoming a bishop, Randazzo studied canon law at Rome’s Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University and spent five years at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—the powerful office that handles doctrinal oversight and, crucially, clergy sexual abuse cases from around the world. His tenure coincided with the turbulent years when Australia’s Royal Commission investigated decades of sexual abuse by priests and cover-ups by bishops. The commission’s findings were staggering: 7 percent of Australian priests were accused of abuse between 1950 and 2010, representing 4,444 alleged victims.
For Pope Leo XIV—a canon lawyer himself—the choice of an Anglophone expert steeped in the lessons of the Church’s mishandling of abuse is seen by some insiders as symbolically significant. While Leo has offered no sign of immediate reform, critics inside and outside the Vatican say the Church’s canonical framework remains a barrier to justice, often protecting institutions over victims. Many have called for a modernization of the system that governs ecclesial accountability.
Randazzo’s appointment also comes amid broader questions about Vatican legal structures. The recent financial misconduct trial that saw a senior cardinal convicted exposed weaknesses in the tiny state’s archaic criminal codes and procedures, underscoring the need for systematic legal updates across all Vatican jurisdictions.
In a brief statement posted to his Facebook page, Bishop Randazzo expressed gratitude for the pope’s confidence. He said he plans to remain in Australia for three months before relocating to Rome to begin his new role.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Crux Now
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