The Council of Cardinals has assured Pope Francis of their “total support.”
The so-called ‘C9’ did so by issuing a press release reacting to the “recent events” of animosity against the Pope, including postings in Rome criticizing the Pontiff.
The 18th meeting of the Council of Cardinals is taking place in the Vatican, Feb. 13-15. The C9, as the group is commonly called, is studying the plans for reforming the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” on the Roman Curia.
The note stated: “Following the recent events, the Council of Cardinals expresses its total support of the Pope’s work, assuring at the same time its full adherence and total support of his person and his Magisterium.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Coordinator of the Group, thanked the Pontiff for his words, when greeting the Roman Curia on December 22, 2016, “recognizing, encouraging and giving orientation” for the Council’s works.
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.
