Pope Leo granted a private audience to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández on Friday, October 10, in what is understood to be his ninth official meeting in his role as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The meeting with the Cardinal, who was a key ally of Pope Francis, shows continuity at the heart of the Vatican between the two papacies. According to InfoVaticana.com, Cardinal Fernández “is close to Pope Leo XIV, who has chosen to keep him in his position at the head of the doctrinal dicastery.”
Cardinal Fernández entered the meeting with Monsignor Armando Matteo, his doctrinal secretary, showing that the encounter was not merely ceremonial but tied to ongoing work within the doctrinal office.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, known affectionately as “Tucho,” is a theologian by training and former rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. He rose to prominence for his accessible pastoral style and emphasis on theology rooted in lived experience.
Having collaborated with Pope Francis since their days working together at the Argentine Bishops’ Conference, he is generally considered to have contributed to the former pope’s encyclicals and exhortations. In July 2023, Pope Francis appointed Fernández to the prefecture, a move that initially drew both praise and criticism. He was made a cardinal at the September consistory, meaning he participated in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Under Pope Leo, Fernández’s continued leadership of the doctrinal dicastery is seen as a gesture of continuity, showing a desire to maintain pastoral engagement while balancing doctrinal oversight.
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who led the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017, has confirmed that the Vatican’s doctrinal office once held a file outlining theological concerns about Fernández. The file, reportedly compiled when then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio appointed him rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in 2009, was said to contain reservations about aspects of his earlier writings.
A second senior Church source corroborated the existence of the file, though its contents were never made public. In comments to the National Catholic Register on 5 July 2023, the then Archbishop Fernández played down the issue, explaining that the concerns were based on accusations that “were not of great weight,” and that after an exchange of letters with Vatican officials in which he “clarified” his “true thinking,” everything “was resolved serenely.”
Under Cardinal Fernández’s leadership, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith produced the document Dignitas Infinita, which condemned violations of human dignity, including digital exploitation, gender theory, abortion, and discrimination against women and people with disabilities.
(Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
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