The eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals charged in advising Pope Francis in the governance of the Universal Church has begun today in the Vatican. Also known as the C9, the council is studying the plans for reforming the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” on the Roman Curia.
During their last meeting from June 8-10, the cardinals examined a draft Preamble of the new Constitution, and an update of the financial reforms, which was presented by Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.
The Council also approved a request by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, President of the Commission for the Protection of Minors, who requested that the competence to receive and investigate complaints of the episcopal abuse of office belongs to the Congregations for Bishops, Evangelisation of Peoples, or Oriental Churches, and that there is the duty to report all complaints to the appropriate Congregation.. The Pope also mandated the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors.
The Council of Cardinals consists of the following nine prelates: Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State; Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago, Chile; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich; Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo; Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy; Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.
