For the record: C9 Secretary claims that Curia reform proposals to be complete "within a few months".

As the "C9" (the Council of Cardinals) begins its 21st meeting today Vatican Radio has posted an interview with the Secretary of the C9, Bishop Marcello Semeraro (Pope Francis and the C9: Interview with Council Secretary). The following passage from this interview is posted here, for a record of events. (Our emphases.)

Asked about the progress of the reform, Bishop Semeraro said the reform is more than three quarters done, at least with regard to the work of the Cardinals. That is, he said, it is almost to the point where the Cardinals are able to present their proposals to the Holy Father. “I think that within a few months this revision will be more or less complete,” he said, and “then the Pope will have at his disposition the proposals that regard all the Dicasteries and I would expect him to decide how and when to actuate them.” He noted that Pope Francis has preferred, up to this point, a more gradual reform, with a kind of “breaking-in” period, which allows for corrections that are inevitably called for as the reform moves from theory to practical reality.

We can be certain that the reform of the Curia, should the Lord God in His inscrutable providence allow it to be completed and put into effect, will entail the even greater weakening and loss of authority of the Congregations (soon to be merely "Dicasteries") for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDWDS), vis-a-vis the bishops's conferences. We already saw a preview of this two days ago with regards to the CDWDS. It is highly unlikely however that Francis will stop at liturgical decentralization, when he already endorsed the very concept of the decentralization of doctrinal authority in the programmatic document of his pontificate, Evangelii Gaudium. (See our 2015 post Doctrinal "devolution" to the bishops' conferences? Francis already endorsed it in 2013.)

En attendant GodotTagle to replace Müller as CDF Prefect?

 

Tagle singing at a concert, 2012. 

To the recent reports from other sources that Cardinal Müller has already offered his resignation from CDF, Rorate can now add, from its own very well-placed sources, that there is a plan at the highest levels to replace Müller as Prefect of CDF with no less than the Asian "Pope Francis", the man seen by many as Francis' dauphin, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. 

Müller, appointed Prefect in July 2012, has been effectively marginalized in the past years over the Family Synods and most importantly over Amoris Laetitia. Questions about his future in the Roman Curia have been persistent through the years. It remains to be seen whether he will eventually be sent back to Germany to take the still-vacant see of Mainz (traditionally a red-hat see), or be tossed to a ceremonial position, or whether, like Stanisław Cardinal Ryłko last year, he will simply be retired long before turning 75.

Tagle's own theological oeuvre is very thin and his academic reputation rests mainly on the essays he wrote as part of the Bologna School's History of Vatican II. It is his slick promotion by the mainstream Catholic media, his reliably progressivist views (couched in "moderate" language) coupled with his stint at the International Theological Commission and the patronage he received from Joseph Ratzinger, first as CDF Prefect then as Pope, that have combined to give him an aura of learning far beyond what is supported by his real output. His election as President of both the Catholic Biblical Federation (in 2014) and Caritas International (in 2015) and his designation as one of three Delegate Presidents of the Extraordinary Synod of 2014 further guaranteed his prominence in the universal Church. 

Should this latest plan come to pass, Cardinal Tagle, who will turn 60 in June, will have an enviable "CV" for a conclave frontrunner: a long stint (more than 15 years and counting) as diocesan bishop then archbishop, followed by a stint as head of a Curial dicastery.

In the two previous Februaries Don Pio Pace wrote for Rorate long articles on the growing Tagle candidacy for the next conclave, articles worth reading now more than ever: 

"THE SUCCESSOR" - Rome in Pre-Conclave mood: What will come after the Bergoglio Papacy? (February 2015)

Exclusive Op-Ed: Pio Pace: "Conclave Preparations: Watch Out - Great Editorial Manoeuvres Signal Cardinal Tagle" (Feb. 2016)

"Mercy" for conservatives: Bishop Oliveri resignation "accepted", Bishop Lafitte out of the Curia, Cardinal Rylko and Bishop Clemens in "limbo" with the disappearance of their Pontifical Council.

1. Today (September 1, 2016) the statutes of the new "Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life" come into force. The new Dicastery is led by Bishop Kevin Farrell (formerly of Dallas) as Prefect; it has as yet no Secretary (a position that can be filled by a layman). The same statutes decree that as of today, the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family are deemed suppressed.

The former President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Kasperite-leaning Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia (71), was appointed President of the Pontifical Academy for Life only two weeks ago -- for some initial analyses on the implications of this appointment, read this and this. The appointment ensured that Paglia remains within the Roman Curia. In contrast, the Secretary (since 2009) of the Pont. Council for the Family, Bishop Jean Lafitte (64) was appointed Prelate of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in July last year. Bishop Lafitte had openly opposed the Kasper proposal in the aftermath of the Synod of 2014, reiterating this opposition and his firm defense of traditional Catholic views on the family in a book of interviews published last year as "The Choice of the Family". With the disappearance of the body of which he was Secretary until yesterday, Bishop Lafitte is now effectively out of the Curia as well.

Unlike the top two officials of the Pontifical Council for the Family, it is not yet clear what positions (if any) will next be assigned to the last President and the last Secretary of the now-defunct Pontifical Council for the Laity. The former President of this Council was Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko (71), and the Secretary was Bishop Josef Clemens (69). Both were appointed to their positions by John Paul II in 2003, and since last year Rylko had been the longest-serving head of a Curial dicastery. Meanwhile, Clemens had been one of the longest-serving Bishop-Secretaries in the Curia.

Rylko had been a diocesan priest of Krakow and was ordained to the priesthood in March 1969 by then-Cardinal Wojtyla. Clemens, on the other hand, was then-Cardinal Ratzinger's personal secretary from 1984 to 2003. Neither is outspoken, but both are considered to be reliably "conservative" in their views on doctrine and morals.

For the record: "Dicastery for promoting Integral Human Development" established.

Since 2014 (see this report) the merging of four Pontifical Councils --  Justice and Peace, “Cor Unum”, Health Care Workers, and Migrants and Itinerant Peoples -- into a "super-Congregation" had been widely expected. The super-Congregation was initially expected to be named the "Congregation for Charity and Justice". 

Today (August 31) the new body was formally established through the Apostolic Letter Humanam Progressionem. It was named, not after "Charity and Justice" (which at least are the names of virtues), but as the "Dicastery for promoting Integral Human Development" -- a name that can only be described as unmistakably secular.

The first paragraph of Humanam Progressionem duly mentions the Gospel, but is marked by this secularized, "NGO" tone:

In all her being and actions, the Church is called to promote the integral development of the human person in the light of the Gospel. This development takes place by attending to the inestimable goods of justice, peace, and the care of creation. The Successor of the Apostle Peter, in his work of affirming these values, is continuously adapting the institutions which collaborate with him, so that they may better meet the needs of the men and women whom they are called to serve.

Various news sources name Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson --  current President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and known for the enthusiasm with which he has promoted Laudato Si (which he recently called the "Rerum novarum of the 21st century") -- as the head of the new body. He will turn 68 in October of this year. The last President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers (Archbishop Zimowski) died last month at the age of 67, the Presidency of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" has been vacant since Cardinal Sarah was transferred to CDW, and the President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, Cardinal Veglio, is already 78 years old.

For the record: On Curial reform and Church decentralizationSecretariat of State and Congregation for Divine Worship face reform

NB: "G-9" and "C-9" are both used to refer to the Council of Cardinals.

***

Amidst everything that has been happening in the Church and the outside world, the latest meeting of the Council of Cardinals from February 8 to 9 went almost unnoticed. However this may yet prove to be one of the most important of the Council's meetings so far.

The Vatican Bollettino for February 9 carried a brief report by Fr. Lombardi on this meeting, while on the same day News.Va carried a fuller report (G-9 meeting: Decentralization and the new dicasteries). The short meeting had a full agenda. As previously announced it involved discussions about decentralizing the Church. 

Der Spiegel interviews Mosebach: "What's concerning about Francis is this atmosphere of an Entirely New Church"

“This Pope is creating a certain atmosphere”

[" Whatever breaks from continuity is not good for the Church"]

Romain Leick and Walter Mayr

Der Spiegel

May 23, 2015

Author Martin Mosebach thinks it dangerous that Pope Francis serves emotions above all else and is making his mark through his appearances at the cost of the Church.

***

The Georg Büchner Award winner Mosebach, 63, is a conservative, sometimes even reactionary, Catholic. Mosebach has spent many years looking at the role of the Church in the modern world. In his 2007 book “The Heresy of Formlessness”, he criticised the effects of the Second Vatican Council which ended in 1965 and brought about a new orientation to the Catholic Church. In 2014 he published his novel “Das Blutbuchenfest”.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Mosebach, you have spent the last year in Rome. Have you been able to connect with the general enthusiasm for this Pope?

Mosebach: I remember the moment in March 2013 when a cardinal informed the waiting crowds that a new Pope had been elected who called himself Francis. At that moment I knew what problem would face the Church.

A Permanent Synod and Expanded Council of Cardinals for the Catholic Church?

The Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR) published an interview last Friday with Bishop Franghískos Papamanólis, the President of the Greek Episcopal Conference, that made its ad limina visit last week. Most of the interview is about the political and economic situation of Greece and the state of Catholicism (which is almost entirely of the Roman Rite) in that country, but towards the end touches on the ongoing reform of the Curia and Francis' push for 'synodality' in the Church. (The following translation of the final portion of the interview is courtesy of a theology professor and friend of this blog.)

The meeting with the Holy Father lasted an hour and 25 minutes. What else did you talk about?

“Ecumenism is close to the heart of the Pope and he suffers much because its importance is not being fully understood. I believe that the first thing to do would be to purify the structures in a way so that a right way of believing corresponds to the right way of operating. Even in the Catholic Church there are many things to correct and the Pope understands this well. To purify the structures is that which the Holy Father would want to do with the reform of the Curia. Many traditionalists within it, who are the expression of strong and powerful churches, do not understand the conditions in which the Catholic Church struggles in many nations of the world. Go and talk to the bishops of other Continents and listen to the things that they would say to you . . .” 

First, you cited the reform of the Curia, have you and the Pope spoken about it and in what terms? 

"We have spoken to the Pope of synodality, of a permanent Synod. How to do this should be studied, and it is here that the experience of the permanent Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church could be of help in understanding. How to render permanent the Commission of Eight Cardinals should be studied, expanding it before anything else (ampliandola innanzitutto). The reform of the Curia is not able to limit itself to increasing or diminishing the dicasteries, or replacing personnel.  The true reform of the Curia is the purification of its structures."

The Church Today: The grave risk of a way of looking at things that is merely sociological and immanent

In ruins

Mario Faverzani

Corrispondenza Romana

January 7, 2015

In the aftermath of the statement of the bishop of Antwerp, Msgr. Johan Bonny, in which he declared himself in favor of a “formal recognition” of homosexual and bisexual relationships, we have a new little morsel to chew on, with respect to the upcoming Synod on the Family, in an interview published in the on-line edition of the weekly Paris Match,  given by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in Honduras.  Maraiaga is considered by observers as sort of a “vice-Pope”.  He is hardly a protagonist who takes positions that are outside the official box, and he is squarely with those who see the possibility of granting the Sacraments to the divorced and remarried, even at the cost of aligning himself against Cardinal Müller without any seeming anxiety on his part.  He found himself at the center of a cyclone after the press charges raised by the American Life League of the United States which showed that the powerful organization managed by him, Caritas International, turns out to be providing leadership to the World Social Forum, which is actively involved in the promotion and protection of the so-called “civil and sexual rights” based on gender ideology, the agenda of the LGBT alliance, a push to end discrimination against homosexuals, a universal liberalization of access to abortion and to various reproductive technologies, global control over population growth, Marxism, feminism, environmentalism, and so forth.

French analyst: Pope Francis' harshness betrays his growing isolation and weakness within the Church

Prof. Odon Vallet, a liberal historian of religion who is highly influential in France (he is the "progressive" go-to man for analyses of Catholic current events in French media), has already been quoted in Rorate before. This is the interview granted by him to French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche on the Pope and the Curia.

"Pope Francis has 90% of the Curia against him"

Le Journal du Dimanche

December 23, 2015

INTERVIEW - Historian Odon Vallet interprets pope Francis' very harsh words for the Curia, the group of influent personalities in the Vatican. On Monday [December 22, 2014], the Pope presented a list of the 15 "infirmities" that affected the interior of the Holy See, including "spiritual Alzheimer's" and "existential schizophrenia". Odon Vallet is a historian of religions and the author of "God and religions in 101 Q & As" [Dieu et les religions en 101 questions-réponses], [published by] Albin Michel, and he sees a pope who is isolated and weakened.

Congratulations to Pope Francis on his exercise in self-criticism - It was Benedict XVI who had a huge relationship problem with the Roman Curia

Let us be honest: it was Benedict XVI who was hated by most of the Roman Curia. Francis is as loved there as he is in the wide secular world -- hence, no Vatileaks... and no sign whatsoever of a future abdication.

So his criticism of the Curia is and should also be understood, almost 2 years after his election, as a kind of self-criticism. The Papacy, the Curia, and the Church at large have gained considerably from a Pope who admits himself to be not a superior outside analyst, but as someone who is as responsible and involved with the Curia as the "sick" Curials themselves (2014 Christmas Address to the Roman Curia). We are quite sure Francis would be glad to be seen, with this address, not as someone hovering over the lesser people, but as a beacon of humility and strong self-criticism -- as the essential gear of the Roman Curia and robust representative of all its characteristics that he has quickly become.

For the record: The new papal interview [Updated]

The full article, with comments and circumstances, is available at La Nación, Argentina's oldest daily. Below, just the excerpt containing the published portion of the interview itself:

...

-The first Latin American Pope, that is a great honour for all Latin America. What do you expect from Latin America?

New Prefect of CDW: Cardinal Sarah

As reported in today's just-released Vatican bulletin:

Pope Francis has appointed Robert Card. Sarah, until now President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", as the new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Cardinal Sarah had distinguished himself as one of the strongest conservative voices at the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops this year. 

Also, as previously predicted on La Croix and other sources, a meeting between Pope Francis and the heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia took place today.

***

From a 2012 address on the 50th anniversary of Vatican II, in Lyon (France):

La Croix: Second phase of Curia Reform to be discussed on Monday

Deckchairs in the Titanic (Promenade deck)

As reported on La Croix a few days ago and echoed on Periodista Digital the Pope has summoned the heads of Curial dicasteries to a meeting on Monday, where the second phase of Curial reform will discussed. Apparently this phase will consist of the consolidation of at least some of the Pontifical Councils. (The first phase is the reshaping of the  Holy See's economic and financial services, whose most significant chapter so far has been the establishment of the "Secretariat for the Economy" now headed by Cardinal Pell.)

"Franciscans of the Immaculate: ideas imposed by decree" Yes, even "mercy", without holiness and justice, becomes injustice

by Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

July 30, 2014

"Thanks and Appreciation for Activity as 
Volunteer Helper of the People's Police" (East German Medal)

A well-informed Vatican journalist, Marco Tosatti, has brought to light a new and astonishing case: [Rorate translation]

Some days ago, the Carabinieri arrived at the home of Francesco Colafemmina, one of the most assiduous Catholic writers on sacred art, with a summons for him and his wife on an apparently serious judiciary charge. It regards an accusation made by Father Alfonso Bruno of the Neo-Franciscans of the Immaculate, against the blog “Fides et Forma”, of which Colafemmina’s wife is the user-holder.

First great change in Roman Curia:Pope establishes Secretariat of Economic AffairsCardinal Pell to head Secretariat Text of Motu Proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens

The first major change made by Pope Francis in the permanent structure of the Roman Curia is the establishment of a Segreteria per l'Economia (Secretariat for the Economy) to oversee and assemble all financial and economic operations of all administrative affairs of the Holy See - details to be known shortly in a motu proprio published this afternoon in the Tuesday edition of L'Osservatore Romano.

This Economy Secretariat, under an overseeing Council (8 prelates, 7 laymen), will be headed by a Prefect, Cardinal George Pell, up to now Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, and one of the eight members of the Council of Cardinals. [Update: Pell will leave his position in Sydney in March.]

Updates throughout the day.

_____________________

First Update (1300 GMT): Press release of the Holy See Press Office:

Business as usual in the Roman Curia

Fr. Michael Brown and the ways of the Curia whose shenanigans compelled Pope Ratzinger to leave:

OK I may have misunderstood but I thought the situation was as follows. The conclave gathered after the unfortunate resignation of pope Benedict XVI. He was the greatest Supreme Pontiff since his namesake Benedict XIV but was overwhelmed by the corruption he saw in the Church and so decided to throw his hat in. The conclave are of the opinion that one of the Great Problems is the Roman Curia. It is full of self-obsessed Promethean Neo-Pelagians only concerned with how they can make further progress up the greasy pole and is a scandal. So step forward Cardinal Bergoglio who has what it takes to do the job and is elected on the understanding that he will reform the Curia.

So what happens? To overcome the great evil of clergy careerism it is decreed that the title of Monsignor will be abolished for all below the age of 65 to prevent clergy working to procure a handful of purple buttons. Hurrah, they say this man means business. But wait: this applies to the whole Catholic world except the Roman Curia where it will be business as usual and priests over the age of 35 who have completed five years service will automatically become Monsignors. Well that shows the Curia they`d better change their ways.

Looking forward to the next reforms!

The College of Super-Cardinals

It would be hard to overstate the importance of the new body gathered by the Pope - the one that, due to its characteristics and direct dependence on the Pontiff, we chose to name the Pope's "Privy Council".

It is a characteristic of bureaucracies to expand indefinitely: "Parkinson's Law works everywhere," as Mikhail Gorbachev once wryly remarked. If it is confirmed, as it seems likely, as a permanent feature of the reorganized structure of the auxiliary organs of the papacy, after the approval of the reform this new organ itself will study, then its position will depend on what exactly the new arrangement of the Curia will be. Will most existing organs be extinguished, or will they linger on as merely or mostly decorative positions, as so many curial offices once relevant?

It is very likely this new Council will subsist - it was obviously something very much in the mind of the voting Cardinals in the past conclave. Was its establishment part of the electoral negotiations?... A future and more detailed history of the conclave will probably one day reveal it.

To understand what structure mostly inspired the creation of the new Council, one does not have to look further than the Society of Jesus itself. As it is currently constituted, the "Jesuit Curia" is composed of "general counsellors" the majority of whom are Regional Assistants:

When Father General is in Rome, he begins every day meeting with his “General Counsellors”.

The election of those counsellors shows a balance of power between the newly elected Superior General and the General Congregation who has elected him.

Fr. General is the one who appoints (now nine) Regional Assistants, and several other General Counsellors.

The General Congregation elects four Assistants “ad providentiam”. Their function is to assist the Superior General on behalf of the whole Society. The assistance called for deals with external matters “such as clothing, food and any expenditure touching upon the General’s person”, preventing him “from going beyond measure in labours or excessive severity”, and attending “to his soul in case necessity might arise”.

Among the General Counsellors there is a Counsellor for Formation and Fr. General’s Delegate, responsible for the governance of the international Jesuit houses in Rome.

One curiosity? While some form of continental representation was obviously on the Pope's mind as he assembled his Privy Council, as it happens in the Jesuit Curia, the three nations with the largest number of (nominal) Catholics  - Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines - are not represented in this group of Super-Cardinals.

[Note: image just a (not very) artistic rendition.]

BREAKING - RELEVANT: The Pope's Privy CouncilPope establishes committee to counsel him in the Government of the universal Church and to study reform of the Roman Curia

COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE

The Holy Father Francis, taking up a suggestion that emerged in the course of the General Congregations before the Conclave, has established a group of Cardinals to counsel him in the government of the universal Church and to study a project of revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus [of Pope John Paul II] on the Roman Curia.

This group is made up of:

- Card. Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State;

- Card. Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa, Archbishop emeritus of Santiago de Chile (Chile);

- Card. Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay (India);

- Card. Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising (Germany);

- Card. Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo);

- Card. Sean Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Boston (U.S.A.);

- Card. George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney (Australia);

- Card. Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras), functioning as Coordinator;

- H.E. Bp. Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano [Italy], functioning as Secretary.

The first collective meeting of the group is scheduled for October 1-3, 2013; nevertheless, His Holiness is henceforth in contact with the mentioned Cardinals.

[Bollettino. As always, unless otherwise indicated, translation by Rorate. This is our 5000th post: thank you so much for your readership!]

See also: The College of Super-Cardinals