Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals are laying out plans to completely overhaul the Roman Curia, underlining its role of “service to the universal Church and the local churches”, the Vatican spokesman has said.
As the Pope and his eight cardinal advisers were about to begin their final session on Thursday, Fr Federico Lombardi said major themes of discussion were the responsibilities of the Vatican Secretary of State, the revamping of the world Synod of Bishops, and the Vatican’s attention to the role of the laity.
Fr Lombardi said the group’s agenda was partially dictated by the Pope’s own timetable. Pope Francis has named Archbishop Pietro Parolin to be his Secretary of State and has given him an October 15 start date, so it made sense to discuss how the Pope and cardinals see his role in a renewed Curia.
Under the terms of Blessed John Paul II’s constitution Pastor Bonus, a 1988 reform of the Curia, the Secretariat of State includes two sections: one section deals with foreign relations and the other deals with internal Church matters. “Pastor Bonus” said the Secretariat was to “foster relations” with other Curia offices and “coordinate their work”.
Fr Lombardi said the Pope and the cardinals emphasised the role of the Secretariat of State as “the Secretariat of the Pope”, and said the discussions included “the hypothesis of a new figure – the ‘moderator of the Curia'” to ensure greater communication and cooperation among the Curia offices.
The discussions, Fr Lombardi said, were going clearly in the direction of an apostolic constitution to replace Pastor Bonus, and not simply “cosmetic retouches or marginal modifications” of the 1988 document.
Possible changes to the organisation of the world Synod of Bishops, which has been a periodic gathering of bishops from around the world to discuss a specific theme of Church life, were moved to the top of the meeting’s agenda because the Synod Council will meet at the Vatican next week, the spokesman said.
Fr Lombardi said the Pope is expected to decide the theme for the next synod “in the coming days”.
The eight cardinals – six of whom currently serve as diocesan bishops – brought to the meeting with the Pope suggestions they received from Church leaders around the world. One of the topics mentioned most often, Fr Lombardi said, was concern for the role of the laity in the Church and the world.
The Pope and his cardinal advisers talked about “how to ensure that this dimension of the Church’s reality is more adequately and effectively recognised and followed in the governance of the Church”, Fr Lombardi said.
The vast majority of the Catholic Church’s 1.2 billion members are lay people, the spokesman said. Their activities and needs are followed by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, which is “very active”, he said, but does not have the profile or authority of a Vatican congregation, such as those for bishops, for priests and for religious.
Pope Francis has asked his eight cardinal advisers for advice on the Vatican’s finances, as well, Fr Lombardi said, but the theme was not treated in depth at the October meeting because Pope Francis also appointed several special commissions to look into specific aspects of the Vatican’s finances.
At the end of their meeting, council members announced they would hold their second meeting with the Pope on December 3 to December 5, and they planned to meet again at the Vatican in February “so that the work of the council, especially in this initial phase, can proceed quickly”, Fr Lombardi said.
The eight members, who represent six continents, are: Cardinals Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, retired archbishop of Santiago, Chile; Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo; Sean O’Malley of Boston; George Pell of Sydney; Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State; and Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.