This was "Pope Francis' personal choice. It strays from the usual dynamic through which these decisions are taken," a Vatican official speaking under the condition of anonymity told Catholic News Agency.

"The appointment of the commission," explained the official, "is in order to understand if the Institute for Religious Works fulfills the mission of the Church in its current structure, or if it needs to be reformed."

The possibility of a reform, or even of an abolition of the Institute for Religious Works — as the bank is formally known — was raised during the pre-conclave meetings of cardinals in March.

"Among other things, observers say the move indicates that Francis intends to take a personal interest in the bank as opposed to relying on others to make decisions in his name," wrote National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen.

"Observers say it's too early to know precisely what reforms might result, but it appears to suggest openness to changes that go beyond the merely cosmetic."

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told new media that "the appointment of the pontifical commission is part of the process of thinking about a more general reform of the Curia" and also "in view of the meeting of the commission of eight cardinals in October 1-3."

The five members of the new commission are retired Vatican archivist Cardinal Raffaele Farina (chairman); Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue; Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Monsignor Peter Bryan Wells, assessor for the Secretariat of State, who will serve as secretary to the new commission; and Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard Law School professor and former US ambassador to the Holy See.

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

Vatican Information Service

National Catholic Reporter

Image: CBC News

The discussion will include "unity and diversity in the Church, and the origins and current interpretations of ministry and ordination, and the nature and role of authority and the episcopacy", the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a press release.

The bishops said the last topic is a direct response to Pope John Paul II's 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint, in which he invited other Christian leaders to help the Pope think about the ministerial role of the bishop of Rome.

"We now have the opportunity to reflect together on what it means to be the Church, Christ's body in and for the world," said a joint chair of the dialogue, the Rev. Cynthia Campbell of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

"I know that this will be an opportunity for spiritual growth for the participants, and we pray for the Church as a whole."

The agreement on baptism between the Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ was the result of six years of study and consultation by scholars during the Catholic-Reformed dialogue that began in 1965.

It marked the first time the Catholic Church in the United States has ever signed such an agreement, although Catholic bishops' conferences elsewhere in the world have done so.

The five denominations agreed to recognise each other's baptisms when water and the Trinitarian formula of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" are used.

In 1993 the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity called for ecumenical agreements about baptism, so that "the various Churches and ecclesial Communities arrive as closely as possible at an agreement about its significance and valid celebration".

Sources:

Catholic News Service

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (study on the Church)

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (agreement on baptism)

Image: Journey into the Son