 He was the assessor of most of the cases done by the Holy Office during these years and knew Pope Pius XII personally.Parente was archbishop of Perugia from 1955 to 1959, when Pope John XXIII made him one of the highest-ranking officials of the Holy Office.When this was renamed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965, Parente became secretary, but he was viewed by Paul VI as too outspoken in personality to be given the job of prefect - which was given to the lesser-known but friendly and tactful Yugoslav Franjo Šeper.