I have covered almost every synod since.

It has never been easy.

Meetings of the synod are usually closed, and the information released to the press is carefully controlled.

The Vatican wishes to project an image of prayerful harmony in which the bishops exchange ideas with no conflict.

The media, on the other hand, thrives on conflict. You will never read a headline saying, "Participants love one another; everything is fine."

Covering the Synod on Synodality has been especially difficult.

Pope Francis does not like the press, especially the Western media, which, he believes, only writes about issues of concern to the Global North.

Thus, at the 2015 Synod on the Family, the coverage focused on Francis' intentions for divorced and remarried Catholics.

• Can they get annulments?
• Can they go to Communion?
• And can married couples practice birth control?

There was little concern for the plight of

• refugee families,
• human trafficking,
• forced marriages of families broken by the need for men to migrate to find work to support their families.

Likewise, at the Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region, in 2019, the Western media's focus was on the possibility of ordaining married men to deal with the shortage of priests in rural communities in the Amazon.

And many thought might open the door to married priests everywhere.

Little attention was given to the Indigenous people in the region who were being displaced and killed in order to provide beef, lumber and minerals to the industrialised world.

Nor did the importance of the Amazon rain forest as a consumer of carbon dioxide get much attention.

At the current synod, the media is no less fascinated by hot-button issues put on the agenda by Catholics in the Church's global listening sessions that kicked off the synod:

• blessings for gay couples,
• the prospect of married priests
• and women priests and deacons.

For Francis, the synod is about a new way of being a Church, a path for overcoming divisions through conversations in the Spirit and a new way of making decisions in the Church through discernment.

Secrecy - not great communication

Every synod has had an antagonistic relationship with the media.

Journalists are suspicious by nature.

The media suspects people are hiding something, and the less you give reporters, the more suspicious they become.

Francis has acknowledged that the Vatican has tightly controlled earlier synods.

At the 2001 synod on the role of the bishop, called by John Paul II, Francis was named a "relator" — a papal-appointed coordinator — and he recalled being told what topics could not be discussed.

If they were discussed, he was told, they should be left out of the public reports. At the first synod he oversaw as pope, he encouraged the members to speak boldly and not worry about what people thought.

Despite the general gag order, information about the synods generally got leaked to the Italian press.

Many observers see in this a method for officials of the Roman curia, the bureaucrats of the Church, to control the narrative of the synod. Stop the bishops from talking to the press while at the same time secretly giving stories to the curia's favourite journalists.

There is some logic to confidentiality for synodal discussions. Secrecy promotes free debate and allows members to speak without fear of retribution from their hostile government.

How much material is made available to the press has varied from synod to synod.

At some, nothing was made public except the final report.

At others, speakers could release part of their addresses but not the full texts.

Some American bishops have responded by dropping the first sentence, the one greeting the pope and the synodal members, then publishing the rest.

Some synods even released the reports from the small group discussions. These reports gave a summary of the discussions but never told who said what.

I found them very helpful in writing stories on the synod.

Vatican's pots and pans communication strategy

At the Synod on Synodality, major addresses have been open to the press, but, sadly, the reports from the small group discussions remain secret.

In addition, the major addresses have been more on process than substance, which gives the media little to talk about.

Without access to the small group discussions, the press is not able to get a feel for what is going on in the synod.

The Vatican approach to the press is the equivalent of telling people what pots and pans are in the kitchen without letting them watch the chef cook the meal.

Eventually, the synod may serve a delicious meal, but no one will know how they did it. No one will learn how to cook.

Since releasing the reports from the small groups in the past did not harm the synodal process, it is incomprehensible why Francis refuses to allow it for this synod.

Without anything to write about, the media is giving attention to the sideshows and demonstrations happening outside the synod.

I have chosen to look elsewhere, writing about

• Laudate Deum, the pope's new document on global warming,
• or to cover the byplay leading up to the synod: the "dubia,"
• or questions raised by five conservative cardinals,
• and the retreat talks given to the synodal members by the Dominican Timothy Radcliffe prior to the synod.

Francis does not 'get' Western media

Francis does not understand when it comes to the media, you either feed the beast or the beast eats you.

You either control the narrative, or the narrative is controlled by anyone who grabs the media's attention.

In the past, it was the progressive press that saw conspiracies everywhere.

Today, it is the conservative Catholic media that believes that everything is being controlled by a cabal of liberal theologians and officials.

Perhaps the pope should lock up the press and force them to do a month of prayer, conversation in the Spirit and discernment. That would be fun to watch.

• Thomas Reese SJ is a senior analyst at Religion News Service, and a former columnist at National Catholic Reporter, and a former editor-in-chief of the weekly Catholic magazine America. First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

He has again started off the month with a bang by naming Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of La Plata (Argentina) as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).

Fernández, (pictured) who will be 61 in July, has been one of Francis' most trusted theological advisors and ghostwriters, going back to the days when the pope was still the cardinal-archbishop of Buenos Aires.

He closely collaborated with then-Cardinal Bergoglio in writing the final document at the 2007 conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) in Aparecida.

A former president of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, "Tucho" - as he is familiarly called - is also understood to have been the principal author of Evangelii gaudium (the Joy of the Gospel), the apostolic exhortation that is the programmatic document of Francis' pontificate.

Traditionalists sure to be angry

Fernández replaces Cardinal Luis Ladaria, the 79-year-old Spanish Jesuit who has been prefect since 2017.

The Argentine theologian also becomes the president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and head of the International Theological Commission.

By bringing Fernández to Rome, the pope now has another key ally in one of the most important Vatican offices. This should greatly boost the 86-year-old Francis in helping clear internal opposition to his ecclesial reforms.

But the appointment of the new DDF prefect is also certain to infuriate Catholics who are not in agreement with the pope's vision of the Church.

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in May 2015 Archbishop Fernández raised the ire of traditionalists when he said the People of God would not tolerate any attempts by a future pope to reverse the changes Francis has already brought to the Church.

Immediately afterwards, Sandro Magister, a veteran Italian journalist who has been one of the vaticanisti most critical of the current pontificate, belittled Fernández' qualifications as a serious theologian. He egregiously mocked him for stating - correctly, by the way - that the Roman Curia was not an "essential part of the Church's mission" and that "cardinals could disappear", too.

Magister claimed the archbishop had signed his own death warrant by taking on the curia and specifically for criticising Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who was still prefect of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

It now seems ironic that it was exactly six years ago to the day from Fernández's appointment when Francis dropped another July bombshell by refusing to renew Müller for another five years as prefect.

The German, who was only 69 years old and still six years from retirement, has held no other post since Francis dismissed him in 2017.

"To promote and encourage, not to condemn"

In announcing Fernández's appointment, the Holy See Press Office released an unusually long curriculum vita for the new doctrinal chief.

And even more unusually, it published his full bibliography of books, essays and articles. In addition, it made public a personal letter Pope Francis wrote to his fellow Argentine, in which he urges the new DDF prefect to help promote the faith rather than condemn heresies.

"The dicastery over which you will preside used immoral methods in former times. They were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, it persecuted possible doctrinal errors," the pope says.

"What I expect from you is without a doubt something very different," the pope adds, in a letter that quotes Evangelii gaudium extensively.

Francis goes on to praise Fernández for his theological and pastoral experience, saying he's confident the new prefect is "very capable of bringing theological knowledge into dialogue with the life of the holy People of God".

While pointing out that the DDF also has the task dealing with the most serious clergy sex abuse cases, the pope says the main task of the doctrinal office is to "guard the faith" and "become an instrument of evangelization" that helps the Church "enter into conversation with the people of the world in a context that is unprecedented for the history of humanity".

"Hacer lío!": dropping bombshells

Francis urges the new DDF prefect to promote a theology that "convincingly" presents God as "the God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and summons them to fraternal service".

Pope Francis loves to tell young people: "Hacer lío!", a Spanish phrase that can mean anything from "shake things up" to "make a mess". And the appointment of Victor Manuel Fernández is certainly part of his own penchant for dropping bombshells in the month of July.

It all began in his first months as Bishop of Rome when - on July 1, 2013 - the Holy See Press Office announced he would be flying a week later down to Lampedusa.

Lampedusa is the island off of Sicily that had become emblematic of the unfolding crisis of African migrants and refugees, many who were perishing at sea in an attempt to reach Europe. The July 8th visit would set the tone for the rest of the pontificate.

But three days before leaving on that dramatic day trip, Francis did something else that shocked some Catholics but delighted many others.

He approved the canonization of John Paul II and the beatification of Alvaro de Portillo, the second prelate of Opus Dei.

Halting the Old Latin Mass

Who can forget the surprise announcement on July 4, 2021 that the Jesuit pope had been taken to Gemelli Hospital and that same Sunday afternoon underwent the first of now two abdominal surgeries?

But the real bombshell came a week after he returned from his hospitalization. That's when released his "motu proprio" Traditionis custodes. This effectively overturned Summorum Pontificum, the "motu proprio" Benedict XVI issued in 2007 to allow for an unfettered celebration and promotion of pre-Vatican II Mass.

The following year - on July 13, 2022 - Francis dropped another bombshell by appointing three women to be members - members, not mere consultants - of one of the most important Vatican offices, the Dicastery for Bishops. This was the second shock in as many years for Catholic traditionalists.

Sacking two cardinals

On July 27, 2018 the Vatican announced that the pope had accepted Theodore McCarrick's resignation from the College of Cardinals.

Francis actually forced McCarrick to resign after the former archbishop of Washington had been credibly accused of sexually abusing adolescents and seminarians. The pope also forced him out of active ministry and sentenced him to a life of prayer and penance. McCarrick was eventually removed from the clerical state altogether.

And, of course, there was the previously-mentioned announcement on July 1, 2017 that Francis had decided Cardinal Gerhard Müller would not be extended as the Vatican's doctrinal chief.

It could not be foreseen back then that Francis would eventually give the post to his Argentine friend and theological aide. Yes, this is certainly another bombshell. But don't think for even one moment that it will be the last.

• Robert Mickens is the La Croix International Editor. Each week he publishes the Letter from Rome, unravelling the issues and policies that are alive in the Vatican and within the Church.
• First published in La Croix International. Republished with permission.

The past several weeks surely have been extremely frustrating for Pope Francis.

First of all, his tireless and ever more urgent appeals for an end to the fighting in Ukraine, which began in late February with Russia's invasion of the country, have been completely ignored.

And he's had absolutely no success in convincing Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, to denounce the war or convince Vladimir Putin to agree to an Easter ceasefire.

Francis keeps repeating that he's willing to do everything he can to help stop the war, but he has to know in his heart of hearts that (as it's been said here before) there is no role for the Roman pope in the Russia-Ukraine mess.

That must also be extremely frustrating for him.

But whether the war ends tomorrow or drags on for a very long time, there is another issue that is bogging him down. It's his advanced age and questionable health.

Cancelled appointments and scaled-back ceremonies

The head of the Holy See Press Office on Friday told journalists that Francis had cancelled all his pre-scheduled appointments for the day in order to have some necessary medical check-ups.

The press officer did not give any details, but in an interview with an Argentine newspaper that was published on the same day, the 85-year-old Jesuit pope revealed that the nagging problem he's been having with his right knee is a torn ligament.

The knee ailment has hobbled him for several weeks and it even forced him to skip or scale down processions and certain other physical activities during the liturgies of Holy Week.

Most notably, Francis did not even preside at the Easter Vigil, but sat among the assembly. The next day he was able to lead the Mass in St. Peter's Square but had to sit for most of the "Urbi et Orbi" Message that he delivered afterwards.

And a few weeks earlier, during an April 2-3 trip to Malta, the pope had to use hydraulic lifts to board his flights and even to visit a below-ground shrine.

Extra weight and major surgery

The bum knee is not the only health issue that is dogging him. Francis also has said that he suffers from sciatic nerve pain, and it is obvious to all that he's a lot heavier than he was nine years ago when he was elected Bishop of Rome.

In addition to all that, he underwent a major operation last July when surgeons removed about one-fifth (13 inches) of his large intestine. He remained hospitalized for ten days but was quick to resume normal activities without further convalescence.

The exact state of the pope's health is not clear because Francis doesn't like to reveal any more than required. He was extremely secret last July, for example, over releasing details about his surgery.

But he impressively soldiers on under obvious physical limitations, giving little indication of the aches and pains he feels.
Doing more and keeping people off balance

This pope clearly likes to keep people guessing — and off balance -, which appears to be part of his way of governing and surviving as a total outsider in ecclesiastical Rome and the Vatican.

For instance, after last July's surgery there were rumors floating around that Francis had cancer and some surmised that they did not originate with the pope's "enemies", but with the pope himself!

And his response was to give more live and recorded addresses, meet more people, hold more audiences and get back to traveling.

He's made three international trips since the surgery (Hungary-Slovakia, Iraq and Malta) and has four more on his calendar for the coming months — Lebanon in mid-June, South Sudan and DR-Congo in early July, Canada a few weeks later, and Kazakhstan in September.

Is this just another way to show that he is healthy or is the sign of someone who is in a race against the clock?

If it is the latter, then expect Francis to do a lot more than just hopscotch around the globe.
Major appointments to be made

One of the most urgent matters of business is revamping the top leadership in the Roman Curia in order to ensure the reform that goes into effect on Pentecost Sunday (June 5) is carefully and enthusiastically implemented.

The pope will also be creating new cardinals soon. There are currently 117 electors, but that number falls to 110 by the end of the year. If he sticks to the 120-limit set by Paul VI, he will have ten slots to fill.

But popes are free to change the number of electors if they choose and they can also modify the rules and protocols in place during the sede vacante (interregnum between one pontificate an another) and the conclave.

Just about every pope who has lived more than 33 days has done so and it is expected that Francis will also. There is an urgent need to precisely define the process by which a Roman Pontiff freely resigns and codify the rights and duties of a former pope.

Bound and determined

Finally, keep an eye out for further changes to the Synod of Bishops, possibly to give it a more deliberative role in universal Church governance or even transform it into a body that is not just for the hierarchy and the ordained.

Francis has launched an audacious experiment called "synodality" in an effort to truly awaken all the baptized (i.e. the so-called laity) and make them active participants in how the Church operates.

The Synod itself will likely have to be further modified to enhance and facilitate this development.

The pope is getting old and his health is naturally declining. But he is trying mightily not to show signs of slowing down.

Though the clock is ticking, Francis is convinced there is still a lot more do. And he seems bound and determined to get it done.

• Robert Mickens is La-Croix International Editor in Chief. He has lived, studied and worked in Rome for 30 years. Over that time he has studied at the Gregorian University, worked at Vatican Radio and been the Rome correspondent for the London Tablet. He regularly comments on CNN, the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Such was the case of a top Roman Curia official on March 19, just a few hours after Pope Francis had published his new apostolic constitution to fully reorganize the Church's central bureaucracy.

He was more than willing to give his views on the reforms the Argentine pope is putting into places - but, naturally, only on the condition of anonymity.

"I've heard a lot of people here lately who have been quoting a passage from the Book of Exodus: 'There came to power in Egypt a king who knew not Joseph'," the official said.

That phrase in the Old Testament marked a turning point for the chosen people. The new pharaoh forgot about Joseph, once the most powerful man in Egypt, and decided to subject the Israelites to slavery.

But what does this biblical story have to do with the pope and the Curia?

"It's simple," our source said.

"These people are eager for an about-face. They hope that once Pope Francis is gone, the next pope will forget everything he put in place and all the people he relied on."

That's a revealing interpretation of how some people in the Roman Curia are resistant to any sort of change and are hoping the end of the current pontificate comes quickly.

No doubt, the pope decided to publish his new constitution without giving any prior notice as a way to counter this resistance.

Even inside the Vatican itself, only a few officials knew beforehand of the document's release.

As one Vatican source mused: "It was a way to prevent it from being blocked."

Source

• Loup Besmond de Senneville has been a journalist with La Croix since 2011 and permanent correspondent at the Vatican since 2020.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Nor is it true that an internal analysis of the economy given to Pope Francis places the Vatican's annual deficit at risk of growing by 175 percent.

Guerrero, who is the prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy was responding to claims made by Italian newspaper Il Messaggero on Sunday.

In fact, he says the secretariat's most optimistic scenario anticipates "a 25 percent decrease in revenue" while "the most pessimistic (averages to) around 45 percent."

Il Messaggero also said Francis told curial heads to be frugal, stop hiring new employees, eliminate superfluous costs and to not make new trips or organise new conferences.

While not denying the meeting took place and agreeing measures to cut costs have been discussed, Guerrero says the Vatican's focus is "to find a way to ensure our mission" and determine "what is and what is not essential."

What needs to understood, however, is the Vatican economy "cannot be completely measured merely in terms of deficit or cost. We are not a business, we are not a company.

"Our objective is not to make a profit. Every dicastery, every entity performs a service. Every service has associated costs. Our approach must be the maximum sobriety and the maximum clarity. Our bottom line is in view of mission."

Since the church carries out its mission thanks to the offerings of the faithful, he said, the Vatican must "manage our finances with the passion and diligence of a good family man."

Nevertheless, "there are three things that are not in question, not even in this moment of crisis: employee salaries, aid for people in difficulty and support for the churches in need. No cut will affect those who are most vulnerable.".

The Vatican's "bottom-line mission" encompasses communicating what the Pope does in 36 languages, through radio, TV, the internet, social media, a newspaper, a printing house, a publishing house, the press room (and so on). This uses about 15 percent of the budget.

Guerrero says other expenses include: the Nunciatures - small embassies of the Gospel, which defend the rights of the poor through international relations. They absorb 10 percent of the budget. Then there are the Oriental Churches, that are often persecuted (10 percent); another 8.5 percent is spent on the poorest Churches, on the missions.

In addition, funds are spent on the protection of the unity of doctrine, the causes of the Saints, the conservation the "heritage of humanity" such as the Vatican Library and Archives, building maintenance - another 10 percent and taxes about six percent of the budget (17 million).

"Between 2016 and 2020, both income and expenses have been constant: revenue, in the region of 270 million (euros), expenses averaged around 320 million, depending on the year.

"In any case, unless there is some extraordinary income, it is clear that the deficit will increase," Guerrero says.

Source

• Vatican News
• Catholic News Service
• Image: America Magazine

Pope Francis and the council of cardinals propose all activity in the Roman Curia should be united under a simple mission: evangelisation.

The new constitution, "Praedicate Evangelium" ("Preach the Gospel"), is expected to set up a new "super dicastery" for evangelisation that would give it prominence among all Vatican bodies.

This would mean a lesser role for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly the Holy Office of the Inquisition, the oldest institution in the Curia and known as "La Suprema".

For years it policed theologians, set out the boundaries of Catholic doctrine and vetted all major Vatican documents.

Under Francis, the congregation has taken more of a back-seat role.

"Pope Francis always emphasises that the church is missionary. That is why it is logical that in first place we have put the Dicastery for Evangelisation and not the Doctrine of the Faith," said Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, the coordinator of the council of cardinals.

"In this way the Holy Father has sent a significant message of reform to the people of God."

The new constitution puts evangelisation at the heart of the Roman Curia's mission. This means every aspect of Catholicism's civil service must flow from it.

The changes also send a signal to dioceses around the world to follow suit.

Along with evangelisation, the constitution makes clear that the Curia is there to serve both the pope and the local church. This means that diocesan bishops are going to be placed at the same level as prefects in Vatican departments.

Other changes in the new constitution include the establishment of the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors as part of the Curia.

This would give the child-protection body greater authority and make it more effective. One of the difficulties the commission has faced to date has been a lack of any legal status in the Vatican.

In addition, it is rumoured that the constitution will set up a new dicastery that carries out charitable works in the name of the pope.

Source

• America Magazine
• Chicago Catholic
• Image: NCR

"Inside the Closet" will be released in eight languages across 20 countries next Wednesday - the same day as the Vatican conference on sexual abuse opens.

French journalist and author Frédéric Martel spent four years researching the book, which its British publisher Bloomsbury says is a "startling account of corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of the Vatican".

Bloomsbury's promotional material also says the book "reveals secrets" about celibacy, misogyny and plots against Pope Francis, and uncovers "a clerical culture of secrecy which starts in junior seminaries and continues right up to the Vatican itself".

Martel, who is a former adviser to the French government, conducted 1,500 interviews while researching the book.

Those he interviewed included 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 papal ambassadors or diplomatic officials, 11 Swiss guards and more than 200 priests and seminarians.

Martel's defenders say his book will reveal the problems of a dysfunctional clerical culture that is in denial about sex.

Others argue the timing of the book's publication will once again unfairly conflate homosexuality with sexual abuse of children and intensify a witch hunt against gay priests.

Martel's research is said to reveal that some gay priests accept their sexual orientation and a number maintain discreet long-term relationships. Apparently, some live more extreme double lives through casual encounters and the use of male prostitutes. Others are in denial about their sexuality.

He is also said to argue that the intra-church battles of recent decades should be read through a closeted gay paradigm.

Those with knowledge of "In the Closet" say Martel reserves his harshest criticism for senior figures in the Church who have attacked homosexuality yet are secretly gay.

• The Tablet
• The Guardian
• Image: The Times

Members of the Council (known as the C9 because there are nine cardinals making up the papal advisory group) advise the pope on Church governance and reform.

Its work places a special emphasis on the reform of Pastor Bonus, the apostolic constitution which governs the Roman Curia.

Papal spokesman Greg Burke says Francis sent letters to Cardinals George Pell, Francisco Javier Errazuriz and Laurent Monsengwo at the end of October to thank them for their service to the Council over the past five years.

The letters followed a request the Council made in October for its work, structure and composition to be reviewed, "especially in light of the advanced age of some members."

The Vatican says "considering the phase of the Council's work, the appointment of new members is not expected at the moment."

Francis appointed the C-9 in 2013 to help him reform the Vatican and reorganise its bureaucracy.

That work is coming to an end, with the finalising of a new document outlining the work and mission of the various congregations that make up the universal government of the church and its 1.2 billion members.

Source

• Stuff
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Crux Now

As Massimo Faggioli recently pointed out, it could be one of the most significant structural changes Pope Francis makes in a determined effort — contested by some members of the hierarchy — to bring about a more decentralized and synodal Church.

The Jesuit pope has spent his entire pontificate working on curia reform with the help of an international group of senior advisors called the Council of Cardinals (C9).

When he announced the establishment of this unprecedented body just four weeks after being elected Bishop of Rome, he said its purpose was "to advise him in the government of the universal Church and to study a plan for revising the apostolic constitution" that defines the curia's purpose and structures.

Most observers made little of the C9's primary mandate (to advise the pope on governing the worldwide Church) and focused almost exclusively on its second and more specific task at hand — re-writing the apostolic constitution.

They foresaw the project's completion within a year or so.

Instead, the reform has not yet been concluded despite the fact that Francis has been in office just a few months shy of six years.

During this long period those who eagerly want the reform have expressed frustration with the 81-year-old pope for not acting more swiftly.

But, in actual fact, Francis has been rolling out major changes in the Vatican structures all along. By reducing and merging a number of offices, for example, he has already begun changing the complexion of the curia.

Because of this, once an all-encompassing reform is finally unveiled, it may not seem to be as jolting. But with a pope who has not been afraid to make startling changes, that may not be a safe bet.

We'll all find out soon enough.

It's all but certain that before Francis begins the 7th year of his pontificate next March, the first Roman "outsider" to be elected pope in over a hundred years (the first since Pius X not to have studied or worked in Rome) will have issued a document that is likely to radically re-shape the Catholic Church's central bureaucracy.

Praedicate Evangelium

A substantial "final" draft of the new apostolic constitution on the curia was already under study by last summer. Greg Burke, head of the Holy See press office, told reporters in June that it has also been given a provisional title — Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel).

In the months since then the heads of the various Vatican offices have had the opportunity to review the draft and make further recommendations and comments.

The contents of the text, however, have been kept under wraps.

One thing we know for certain is that Pope Francis wants to decentralize decision-making authority in the Church.

And that means many Vatican offices — especially the congregations that have traditionally acted as minders of the local dioceses, Church institutions and Catholic individuals around the world — are likely to lose real power.

"The dicasteries of the Roman Curia are at the service of the pope and the bishops. They must help both the particular churches and the bishops' conferences. They are instruments of help," the pope said in September 2013 in a major interview with Italian Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro.

"In some cases, however, when they are not functioning well, (these offices) run the risk of becoming institutions of censorship," Francis said. He then proclaimed words that sent shockwaves through the Vatican: "The Roman congregations are mediators; they are not middlemen or managers."

The pope gave that interview as he was putting the final touches on his most important document to date — the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium, his blueprint for Church reform and renewal.

"It is not advisable for the pope to take the place of local bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound ‘decentralization,'" he wrote.

"Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church's life and her missionary outreach," he said. Continue reading

The department will oversee papal diplomats' selection and work, career advancement and working conditions.

Named the "Section for the Diplomatic Staff of the Holy See", the new department will be led by Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawlowski.

About 300 priest diplomats will be overseen by the department.

The move is part of Pope Francis's Roman Curia reform.

In part it is seen as a sign of his appreciation of Vatican diplomacy and its ambassadors' work.

It is also suggested that two recent allegations of diplomats' sexual misconduct and other cases of ambassadors misrepresenting the pope influenced the decision.

Francis wrote to the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, about the new department.

He said he needs to "assure more fraternal attention and prompter human, priestly, spiritual and professional accompaniment to [diplomats]."

Vatican diplomats include heads of mission and collaborators.

Francis's letter also said the department will help priests preparing for diplomatic work at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

Graduates may be posted outside the Vatican or may remain at the Secretariat of State before being ordained as archbishops.

Those ordained as archbishops can serve as papal nuncios.

The role of papal nuncios is another item being reviewed by Francis and his advisory body of cardinals.

Within this, finding better ways of supporting the nuncios is being considered.

At present, nuncios' work includes representing the Pope in any given country and helping draw up shortlists for appointing bishops.

Source

• The Tablet
• Vatican Radio
• Image: YouTube

He has not given any reasons for his unexpected departure from the post, which he has held for just two years.

His role was to help ensure transparency in the Vatican's finances.

In a statement, the Vatican said:

"It is noted that Doctor Libero Milone yesterday presented his resignation to the Holy Father from the position of Auditor General.

"The Holy Father accepted it. Thus concludes, by common agreement, the relationship of collaboration with the Holy See.

"While it wishes Doctor Milone every good for his future activity, the Holy See informs that, as soon as possible, a process will be activated to nominate a new director for the Office of Auditor General."

Although neither Milone nor the Vatican has given any reason for Milone's resignation, unnamed sources claiming to have knowledge of the situation say there had been a "clash of operational styles" between Milone and the departments his office audited.

The Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) has been particularly affected, the sources say.

APSA is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the funds necessary for the Roman Curia to function".

It manages the Vatican's real estate holdings, pays Vatican employees' salaries, acts as a purchasing office and human resources department, and manages the Vatican's financial and stock portfolio.

Source

• National Catholic Register
• Catholic Herald
• Reuters
• Image: Catholic Herald

True, he has not changed the church's position on birth control, celibacy, women priests and gay marriage, but he has fundamentally changed how we see the church in five ways.

First, the pope has called for a new way of evangelizing. He tells us that the first words of evangelization must be about the compassion and mercy of God, rather than a list of dogmas and rules that must be accepted.

He speaks daily of the compassion and love of God. Our response, he says, is to show compassion and love to all our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and marginalized. He not only talks about it; he does it by reaching out to refugees, the homeless, and the sick.

Previous popes wrote about the "new evangelization" in an abstract and boring way. This pope communicates in a way that grabs people's attention with his words and actions.

His message is the message of the Gospel — it is about the Father's love for his people and their responsibility to love one another. He does not obsess over rules and regulations. He is more interested in orthopraxis (how we live the faith) than orthodoxy (how we explain the faith).

Second, Pope Francis is allowing open discussion and debate in the church. He is not scandalized by disagreements, even over doctrine. It is impossible to exaggerate how extraordinary this is.

Only during Vatican II was such a debate possible. Ironically, conservatives who attacked progressives as dissenters under earlier papacies have now become dissenters to the teaching of Pope Francis. Continue reading

Sources

• Article by Fr Thomas Reese sj, senior analyst for National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Religion News Service

Born in Ireland in 1947, Farrell has served as bishop of Dallas since 2007.

Starting Sept. 1, he'll become the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.

Farrell's older brother, Bishop Brian Farrell, currently serves as Secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

As a fun fact, the younger brother, created a bishop a year before his elder, has been quoted saying there's "still some of that sibling rivalry" between the two.

The statutes for the office now headed by Farrell were announced last June, and the office comes from the merger of two current Vatican departments: the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family.

The Pontifical Academy for Life will also be connected to this new department.

The decision to put these three together has garnered the new office the label of "mega-dicastery."

The Vatican statement announcing Farrell's new position gave no indication as to where Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, currently head of the Council for the Laity, will go to next.

Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, until now head of the Council for the Family, was appointed new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and a close Francis adviser, released a statement on Wednesday describing the appointment as "welcome news" given Farrell's "demonstrated pastoral skills and his recognized administrative abilities."

Farrell and Wuerl worked together in DC in 2006-2007, where the new Vatican official served as an auxiliary bishop before being transferred to Dallas.

Source

• Crux
• Image: cruxnow.com

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a member of the Pope's council of cardinals, spoke at a conference in Dublin, Ireland.

The cardinal later told CNS, "When you see the institutions and the organisation of the Church, there must be a new relationship between laypeople and clerics."

Cardinal Marx said he had told Pope Francis on a several occasions, "We have to de-clericalise the curia and bring in more competent laymen and women and make the Church professional".

In his conference speech, the cardinal said he believes the Christian faith is "the religion of the future".

It is not a religion dealing in "magic" things, he said.

"It is instrument for a better world and that must be shown, and so it is very important that the Church has a positive view of the modern world," he said.

Cardinal Marx said the Church must provide formation to its members to deal with the complex issues in pluralist societies.

But this must be "without forgetting" their faith sources and principles.

In his speech, Cardinal Marx admitted there were episodes in history "when the Christian faith wasn't on the right side".

But he stressed that "in the future we want to be there in the development of a society which is based on values and responsible freedoms" based on the Church's social doctrine and Christian anthropology.

He said that Church teaching could help the economic world "think beyond capitalism" and challenge an outlook which assesses results only in economic terms.

After his speech, Cardinal Marx suggested the Church should not oppose civil unions.

But he said "marriage is another point".

He said that the "history of homosexuals in our society is a very bad history because we have done a lot to marginalise them, and so as Church and as society we have to say, ‘Sorry.'"

On Sunday, Pope Francis was asked about Cardinal Marx's comments about an apology to homosexual people.

The Pope said there are plenty of other groups who probably also deserve a Church apology.

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Crux
• Image: Catholic News UK

Marie Collins, an abuse survivor, referred to commission's proposal that a Vatican tribunal be set up hold bishops to account for their handling of abuse cases.

This was approved by the Council of Cardinals and the Pope, but it stalled.

"It was announced in the press, then it went to be implemented and that's where the brick wall is," she said.

Ms Collins said the same thing happened with the commission's proposals for the training of new bishops.

Continue reading

This is among the recollections of Jesuit Fr Silvio Fausti who was the late Cardinal Martini's confessor and spiritual guide.

Fr Fausti died on June 24, but his views are expressed in a video interview on the Italian news website Gli Stati Generali.

Vatican Insider reported that according to Fr Fausti's reconstruction, Cardinal Martini apparently handed his votes over to Cardinal Ratzinger in order to avoid "foul play" which attempted to eliminate both in order to elect "a thoroughly obsequious member of the curia, who didn't make it".

According to Fr Fausti, there had apparently been a scheme to elect a curial cardinal.

"Once the ploy had been unveiled, Martini went to Ratzinger in the evening and said to him: tomorrow, you agree to become Pope with my votes . . . He said to him: you accept, you have been in the curia for 30 years and you are intelligent and honest: if you manage to reform the curia great, if not, you step down."

Vatican Insider journalist Andrea Tornielli qualified Fr Fausti's account of the conclave.

Tornielli wrote that the only organised group trying to persuade other cardinals was behind Cardinal Ratzinger.

He noted that Cardinal Martini was ill with Parkinson's Disease and had agreed to be considered as a candidate, but only as a "flag-bearer", in order to allow his supporters to count how many there were.

Tornielli noted that the second "favourite" in the 2005 conclave was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was to be elected Pope France in 2013.

The journalist wrote that the Martini camp went over to Ratzinger to prevent an impasse, which could have eliminated both Ratzinger and Bergoglio and could have led to new candidates emerging.

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• Image: The Guardian

Archbishop Georg Ganswein told a German website that to speak of "curial reform" is "somewhat of an exaggeration".

"I personally can see no significant reason which would necessitate a reform of the Curia at the moment," he said.

"One or two changes may be made, but that is part of the normal run of things."

Archbishop Ganswein is also the personal secretary of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Reform of the Roman curia has become a key theme in Pope Francis's drive for change in the Church.

Continue reading

It should be moving faster.

The College of Cardinals met in consistory on Feb. 12-13 to review the progress made so far and to discuss future reforms.

The cardinals heard from the nine-member Council of Cardinals, which has been spearheading the reforms for Pope Francis.

The greatest progress has been made in reforming the finances of the Vatican, which has mainly focused on where the money is — the Vatican bank, the Vatican City State, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples.

A new Secretariat for the Economy was also created to supervise Vatican finances.

Financial reform is the easiest

Reforming Vatican finances is a priority for Pope Francis, who listened to the complaints about financial scandals from the cardinals at the time of his election.

In theory, this is the easiest part of Vatican reform.

Financial reform is neither rocket science nor theology; it is simply good management practices developed by businesses, governments, and nonprofits to provide transparency and accountability.

It requires clear procedures, training of employees, and proper supervision.

Applying all of this to the Vatican is a challenge, but everyone knows what is required.

There may be resistance, but strong, steady leadership can prevail. This does not mean that scandals will end. In the short run, there should be more scandals as the bad actors are caught by the new system.

Curial reform more questions

Reforming the Roman Curia, the part of the Vatican that helps the pope in his Petrine ministry, is more difficult.

The Roman Curia is made up of the Secretariat of State, nine congregations, 12 councils, three tribunals, and a host of commissions, academies, institutes and other offices.

Each of these was created in response to a perceived need or priority of a previous papacy.

Reforming the Roman Curia requires a theological vision for the Petrine ministry, a sense of what the church needs today, and a practical understanding of how to organize people to implement it.

First, what is the theological vision of the Petrine ministry? Is the pope an infallible, absolute monarch in whom all wisdom resides, or is he first among equals who acts collegially with the college of bishops?

If it is the former, then all important decisions will be referred to the pope or to those to whom he has delegated decision-making power in the Curia.

Any issue that is in doubt must go up the chain of command.

If it is the latter vision, then the church needs a system for encouraging discussion and consensus building in the college of bishops. Here, the Curia is in service to the pope and the college of bishops; curial officials are not decision-makers.

Second, what are the needs of the church today? Does the church need more stability or change, unity or pluralism, clearer teaching or better witness? Should it be challenging or accommodating, devotional or prophetic?

Another way of asking this question is: What are the pope's priorities? What does he want to focus on, and what does he want to delegate to others?

Third, all of this has to be organized into offices with people with specific responsibilities.

Management experts note that different types of organizations are organized differently. An entrepreneurial startup is not run like an established utility. An emergency room is not a factory. The Department of Motor Vehicles is not the Marines. A business office is not a research lab.

Why it's difficult

Reform of the Roman Curia is difficult because there is no consensus on the Petrine ministry, the needs of the church today, or the practical issues of management.

Perhaps the first place to start is by asking Vatican officials and local bishops what issues are being decided in Rome that should be decided at the local, national, or regional level.

For example, if a priest and his bishop agree that the priest should be laicized, why does his case have to go to Rome? Do liturgical translations have to be micromanaged in Rome?

This was one of the issues raised by the cardinals as they met in consistory on Feb. 12, according to Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi.

He reports that they discussed the notion of subsidiarity, or how the Roman Curia might share and divide responsibilities between local dioceses and bishops' conferences. But no details were given.

If this ever gets beyond the discussion stage, it will have a profound impact on the Vatican congregations, which have much of the decision-making authority in the Vatican.

But instead of discussing the congregations, the focus of attention during the February consistory was shifted to the councils, which have little decision-making authority.

The 12 pontifical councils were formed after the Second Vatican Council, and most were set up to help implement the council. Most have names that reflect the prominent issues of the council: laity, Christian unity, family, justice and peace, migrants and refugees, interreligious dialogue, culture, and communications. Many dioceses in the United States also opened offices to deal with at least some of these topics.

A pontifical council is headed by a president, usually an archbishop but sometimes a cardinal. Under him is a secretary and undersecretary, plus a staff.

Each council also has an advisory board of cardinals, bishops, and sometimes laity.

They can also have lay and clerical consultors.

In fact, most of the pontifical councils act like think tanks rather than bureaucracies.

They have little decision-making authority.

The Council for the Laity has the canonical authority to approve the statutes of international Catholic lay organizations, and that is about it.

For the most part, councils only have the power to exhort and persuade, not to order.

So what do these councils do?

For the most part, they talk, write, and publish on the topics of their competencies. They receive visitors interested in these topics, and they attend international meetings on the topics.

In all of these ways, they push the pope's views on these topics with bishops, clergy, and laity as well as in the international arena, but they don't have the authority to force anyone to do anything.

Anything they want to publish must be reviewed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and by the Secretariat of State.

There is a proposal to merge some of these councils into two congregations, one dealing with laity and one dealing with justice, peace and the environment. It is hoped that this will reduce staff and make the offices more efficient.

The first congregation will be created by merging the current councils for laity and family.

The second congregation will be created from merging the old councils for justice and peace, health care, migrants and refugees, and include a new office for safeguarding creation.

The creation of these two congregations is being presented as a major reform. "Now the laity will have a congregation just like the clergy, bishops, and religious," it is asserted.

Only cardinals could think this is a big deal.

The laity certainly do not care.

The only real difference here will be that a congregation must be headed by a cardinal while a council can be headed by an archbishop.

A layperson will not be able to head the Congregation for the Laity, but could head an office, like an office for the family, within the congregation.

The most likely result of these mergers is that less will be done. Fewer documents will be written, fewer conferences will be attended, fewer initiatives will be taken because there will be fewer employees, and their initiatives will have to go through another layer of review before seeing the light of day.

Keep Cardinals and Archbishops to minimum

In my opinion, the best result of these mergers is that there will be three fewer positions that must be filled by archbishops and might be filled by cardinals in the Curia.

Anything that reduces the number of archbishops and cardinals in the Curia is good.

On the other hand, there will be two more positions that must be held by cardinals. That is bad.

Pope Francis will be dead before we see real reform

That it took the Council of Cardinals two years to come up with this reshuffling of boxes on the organizational chart simply shows they really don't know what they are doing.

It should have taken two months to develop this plan, not two years.

At this pace, Pope Francis will be dead before real reform hits the Curia.

A conspiracy theorist would say that getting the Council of Cardinals to focus on this reorganization was a way of distracting them from any real reform in the Curia.

Let the cardinals talk about the councils. Keep them away from the congregations.

Fr Thomas Reece SJ
Fr Reece is a senior analyst for NCR and author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church

Reprinted with permission from Fr Reece's blog on NCR

Some of those who spoke at a consistory said there is a need for an enhanced role for laity, particularly women.

Dozens of cardinals spoke about the work of the Curia, and many of them stressed the need for decentralisation and collegiality.

The consistory was discussing proposals for Curia reform proposed by Pope Francis's "C9" Council of Cardinals.

The Pope told the assembled cardinals that reform is not an end in itself.

Rather, it is about promoting a more effective evangelisation, a fruitful ecumenical spirit and a strengthening of unity in the Church, he said.

It is understood that significant reform will not be announced before 2016.

Continue reading

Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus Souraphiel from Ethiopia said the Catholic Church is a great institution with presence around the world.

He voiced particular concern about people in East Africa who are being displaced from their homes by mining operations.

"These people need to be heard," Cardinal Souraphiel said.

He said society is increasingly looking to the Church "for leadership and for being a voice, especially for the voiceless, for the marginalised".

The prelate's remarks came in response to a question about what he wants most from Pope Francis's expected reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.

A consistory of cardinals will look at reforms proposed for the Roman Curia.

Continue reading