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The Pope’s advisory council of cardinals is to focus on the possible decentralisation of the Church’s structures.
In a press release on Saturday, the Vatican announced this and gave an update on the council’s meeting last week.
In their next meeting in February, the so-called C9 council, which advises the Pope on Church governance, will reflect on an October speech by Francis that called for a “health decentralisation” of the Church.
On October 17, during the synod of bishops discussing the family, Pope Francis called for a more “synodal” Church that listens to people on every level.
Referring to Evangelii Gaudium, the Pope said then he could not substitute the ability of bishops around the world to discern the problems facing Catholics in their regions.
The Pope added that he was aware “of the need to proceed with a healthy ‘decentralisation’”.
Saturday’s Vatican statement said: “In its reflections, the [C9] council has noted the importance of the Holy Father’s October 17 discourse, in occasion of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops,”
“The [C9] council has recalled the need to deepen the significance of that discourse and its importance also for the work of the reform of the Curia, so much so as to decide to dedicate a specific session to it during their upcoming meeting in February, 2016,” the statement continued.
The C9 council’s membership includes Cardinal George Pell from Australia.
At their meeting at the Vatican last week, the prelates continued to discuss a new “Laity, Family and Life” office.
They also spoke about a proposal to create another new Vatican office for “Justice, Peace and Migration.”
The latter office would likely combine the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace with other offices to create one larger, centralised Vatican dicastery.
The C9 council also received an update from Cardinal Sean O’Malley on the work of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
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News category: World.
