The programme for the meeting of eight cardinals
in charge of advising the Pope on the “government of the universal
Church” and studying " a project of revision of the Apostolic
Constitution Pastor bonus on the Roman Curia” has been set.
But before
the three-day work session with Francis (1-3 October) begins, next week
cardinals will hold a number of informal meetings to set straight as
many details as possible and make the meetings in which the Pope will
actually be present, more fruitful.
Readers will recall that last 13 April, exactly a
month after his election to the papacy, Bergoglio appointed a group of
eight cardinals from across all continents: Giuseppe Bertello (the
group's only Italian Curia member), Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (the
group’s only emeritus member), Oswald Gracias, Reinhard Marx, Laurent
Monsengwo Pasinya, Sean Patrick O’Malley, George Pell and Andrés
Rodríguez Maradiaga. Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga is also the group
coordinator, while Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano (Italy), will
function as secretary.
Over the past few months, cardinals have been in
touch with one another, bouncing ideas and suggestions off each other
and above all, collecting material and requests from their respective
Episcopates.
But the Pope’s closest collaborators, the members of the
Roman Curia were not excluded from this process either. All heads of
dicasteries presented reform proposals or at least proposals to improve
coordination between Curia offices and their activities.
At last
Tuesday’s inter-dicasterial meeting, convened by Francis, everyone
present gave a summary of the proposals given. So the Curia itself is
playing a key part in the global rethinking of its activities.
There are two main issues the group of eight
cardinals is set to discuss with the Pope.
The first is to do with some
questions relating to Church life: collegiality, the relationship
between the central Church in Rome and local Churches and between the
Curia and Episcopal Conferences and the potential reform of the Synod of
Bishops.
Episcopates from across all continents have gathered heaps of
material, requests and suggestions regarding this issue.
The second big issue is the reform of the Roman
Curia, which does not include the reform of the Vatican bank (IOR).
The
IOR issue is something the group of eight cardinals will not be dealing
with directly as there is another commission in charge of this, headed
by Cardinal Raffaele Farina.
The ideas being discussed include
streamlining the Curia which has often been seen as a central government
body of the Church instead of a body there to assist the Bishop of Rome
in his universal ministry.
The streamlining process could involve the
merging of some pontifical councils (some of these could, for example,
could be merged into a new Congregation for the Laity). The Secretariat
of State’s structure is another issue.
During their meeting with the Pope, the eight cardinals will also have to decide whether to create a new role, that of the moderator curiae,
as proposed by Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio. There are others who
are in favour of this.
Such a figure would share the Vatican Secretariat
of State’s responsibilities in that the latter would be in charge of
international relations, while the moderator curiae would have
the task of coordinating the Curia.
But some have pointed out that
streamlining should mean doing away with certain positions and roles,
not adding new ones.
Aside from collegiality, the relationship between
centre and periphery and the reform of the Roman Curia, another emerging
issue is pastoral care for marriage.
During the press conference on the
return flight to Rome after World Youth Day in Rio, Francis answered a
question about remarried divorcees, saying: “I believe that we need to
look at this within the larger context of the entire pastoral care of
marriage. And so … one of the themes to be examined with the eight
members of the Council of Cardinals with whom I will meet on 1-3 October
is how to move forward in the pastoral care of marriage, and this
problem will come up there.”
The Pope also added that the pastoral care
of marriage was an issue that should have been examined further in a
Synod.