A three hour meeting, Monday, between Pope Francis and the heads of department discussed proposals for Vatican Curia reform.
The Vatican released little information about the meeting; Vatican spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, reminded journalists that meetings between Pope Francis and the department heads were six-monthly events.
Lombardi however confirmed the meeting took three hours and that Bishop Marcello Semerano, Secretary of the Council of Cardinals (C9) gave a presentation on the issue of Curial reform.
Lombardi told media the department heads “spoke and gave their observations” about the planned reforms and future C9 meetings will consider their comments.
When asked if there might be an announcement of some changes after the next C9 meeting, Lombardi was non-committal. “We will see at the next meeting”, he told reporters.
The next scheduled C9 meeting is 9, 10, 11 December.
News of Monday’s meeting has raised speculation in Catholic media about how wide-ranging Pope Francis’ curial reforms might be, several commentators speculating the Holy Father might dissolve or merge certain congregations and raise the importance of others.
Rorate Caeli reports the discussion will see the four Pontifical Councils – Justice and Peace, Cor Unum, Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, and Pastoral Care of Health Workers – merged into one body with the name “Charity and Justice”, and two other Councils – the Pontifical Council for the Family, and for the Laity merging into a single body.
The blog speculates the formation of a third body to coordinate all the organs of communication of the Holy See including, Radio Vaticana, L’Osservatore Romano, Pontifical Council for Social Communications and perhaps others.
Little comment surrounds the five remaining Pontifical Councils: Promotion of the Unity of Christians, Interpretation of Legislative Texts, New Evangelisation, Inter-religious Dialogue and Culture.
There is similarly little being said about the nine Congregations of the Curia: Doctrine of the Faith, Divine Worship, Causes of Saints, Bishops, Clergy, Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Catholic Education, Eastern Churches, and Evangelization of Peoples.
Pope Francis recently appointed Cardinal Robert Sarah as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Sources
- News.va
- NCR
- Rorate Caeli
- Image: Vatican Radio
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News category: World.
