The C9’s work on Curia reform and the first proposals for change have been presented in the Vatican. Müller says doctrine-related tasks cannot be passed on to the Bishops’ Conferences.
In their first working session this morning, the 165 cardinals from all over the world who are attending the Consistory convened by Francis (and taking place between today and tomorrow in the Vatican) to discuss the reform of the Roman Curia, heard the report on the plan put together by the C9 (the nine-member Council of Cardinals that is advising the Pope). One particularly important element that emerged from today’s presentation is the potential creation of two new congregations that would assimilate at least of the Pontifical Councils currently in existence: one would be in charge of laity, family and life and the other of charity, justice, peace and – a new addition – environmental and human ecology. The first proposed amendments were presented in the 12 speeches that followed. According to the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine for the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, doctrine-related tasks cannot be passed on to the Bishops’ Conferences.
Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi gave an overview of this morning’s work – which began with a brief introductory speech by the Pope and the dean, Cardinal Angelo Sodano – at a briefing in the Vatican newsroom. C9 coordinator, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, introduced the discussions by giving a summary of how the nine-member council came into being – one month after Francis was elected Pope – and the work it has done so far. The Council’s secretary, Mgr. Marcello Semeraro, read out the preparatory document that cardinals were sent ahead of the Consistory, illustrating first “the guiding principles that inspired the work for the reform of the Roman Curia”. Among the points touched upon, were “the problem of relations with the various Bishops’ Conferences”, internal coordination, “the quality of personnel” and the issue of the “presence of lay people serving in the various dicasteries”). The Bishop of Albano The Bishop of Albano then explained the “theological and ecclesiological” significance of the announced merging of many of the existing Pontifical Councils into two congregations, “in order to show that the intention is not just to take a certain number of bodies and put them together for organisational purposes”. So the move is towards a congregation that will deal with lay, family and life affairs and would be the Pontifical Academy for Life’s “reference point”: this would be one way to emphasise “the importance of the laity”, but Fr. Lombardi excluded the idea of lay people being placed at its helm. Another congregation would deal with issues relating to charity, justice and peace, as well as health pastoral care (though according to some speakers the latter could be included in the list fields covered by the first dicastery, along with life and family), migration and a new sector that is to be developed: the environment and protection of creation, seen from the angle of human and environmental ecology, not only from a social angle,” Fr. Lombardi added.” “We see that there is an increasing awareness and growing importance of the study of these subjects and we will be given more pointers in the encyclical the Pope is working on,” the Vatican spokesman told journalists. This congregation would be the reference point for the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Caritas Internationalis.
Regarding the timeframe, Fr. Lombardi indicated that the work would not be complete before 2015. Mgr. Semeraro also spoke about the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus”, which was the fruit of a “complex procedure” (initial outline, consultation of Bishops’ Conferences, cardinals and dicasteries, cardinals’ commission) and could be used, at least partly, as a reference point. “There is nothing to stop specific points from being implemented as an experiment during the course of the reform process, adding them later to the final draft.”
One of the 12 individuals that spoke at today’s meeting was apparently Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He said there are certain doctrinal roles that cannot be passed on to the Bishops’ Conferences. Pope Francis had spoken about a transferral of duties to the Episcopal Conferences, in the “Evangelii Gaudium”. He wrote: “a juridical status of episcopal conferences which would see them as subjects of specific attributions, including genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated. Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church’s life and her missionary outreach.” But in the document cardinals discussed this morning, there were no specific references to this.
The draft did suggest the future possibility of no longer automatically elevating secretaries of dicasteries to the episcopal dignity. Having secretaries without episcopal dignities would not only reduce the number of Roman Curia bishops but it could also be a good antidote to careerism. Some speakers expressed their uncertainty regarding this point.
Some presidents of Pontifical Councils which are to be merged were particularly keen to stress the need to move quickly with the Curia reform process. Some talked about possible mergers for the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization: a merger with the Congregation for Bishops was suggested.
Discussions returned once again to the question of the “moderator curiae” figure - proposed by Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts – which was modelled on the coordinating figure introduced in many diocesan curiae. The C9 discussed and evaluated the various opinions expressed regarding this proposal but excluded it. In fact it did not feature among the proposals presented in the draft delivered to cardinals before the Consistory. This morning Coccopalmerio put the proposal on the table again, explaining its use. The “moderator curiae’s” duties would in fact be carried out by the Secretary of State and the substitute Secretary of State.
Fr. Lombardi emphasised the focus some speakers gave to the fact that “it is not just the Curia helping the Pope in his governing tasks but also the College of Cardinals and the Consistory, the Synod of Bishops, and a way needs to be found to make the most of these bodies”. Meanwhile, “two or three other speeches reflected on the words “synodality” and collegiality”, affirming that “collegiality” is more suitable term than “synodality””. In an interview with Vatican Radio Cardinal Murphy O’Connor stated: “We have held a Synod almost every year, but I think we need to work on this further so that the Synod is not just a consultative body but has the authority to work closely with the Pope.” Answering the questions put to him during the briefing, the Vatican spokesman said that the possibility of a third body being created alongside the two congregations (which would deal with culture, Catholic education, the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Observatory and the Vatican Archive) was not discussed in today’s meeting. Nor were the alleged disagreements between the newly-created Secretariat for the Economy and other bodies such as Propaganda Fide, regarding balance sheets.
The Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, is expected to give a speech tomorrow. Today, the cardinals’ meetings continue until 5pm. They will resume tomorrow at 9am through to 5pm. On Saturday the Pope will create 20 new cardinals in an Extraordinary Consistory in St. Peter’s at 11am. At 11am on Sunday there will be a mass with all cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica.
