Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, has reiterated that Pope Francis and the Council of Cardinals are continuing to discuss curial reform.
During a briefing held this afternoon in the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican spokesman informed journalists about the 17th Session of the “Council of Cardinals,” often called the “C9,” which began Monday and ended this afternoon in the Vatican.
Director Burke noted that the members and the Pope participated in all its meetings, with the only exception being the Pope this morning due to his weekly General Audience, the last before Christmas.
The majority of consultations were again devoted to further considerations on the various dicasteries of the Curia, the subject of previous meetings, in view of the new apostolic constitution. Special attention was paid to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide), the Secretariat of State, the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
“Two key issues, the director explained, have emerged as guidelines of the reform to the dicasteries: missionary thrust and synodality.”
The Cardinals have already finished the study of other departments (Doctrine of the Faith, Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Causes of Saints and Promotion Unit of the Christians) and they delivered their final proposal to the Holy Father.
The Vatican spokesman also shared that a considerable amount of time was devoted to the plans of two new dicasteries.
American Cardinal Kevin Farrell spoke of the Congregation for the Laity, the Family and Life dicastery, as its prefect, and focused primarily on the role of the laity. He also invited everyone to re-read the letter of Pope Francis to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, which was sent in March.
Also, Cardinal Turkson presented a plan for the Dicastery at the Service of Integral Human Development, which he will lead. This entity will incorporate the current competences of Justice and Peace, Cor Unum, Health Care Workers, Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
As usual, updates were given by prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal Pell, on its latest developments, and by Cardinal O’Malley who presides over the Commission for the Protection of Minors, on its latest activities.
This afternoon, the prefect of the Secretariat for Communication, Msgr. Dario Viganò will report on the progress of reforms of the Holy See system of communication.
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.
The next session of the Council of Cardinals is scheduled for Feb. 13-15.
