Given the current health situation, yesterday afternoon, May 6, 2021, an online meeting of the Council of Cardinals was held, to discuss the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new Apostolic Constitution on the Reform of the Curia, reported the Holy See Press Office on Thursday afternoon, May 6, 2021.
The members of this body, created in 2013 to help the Holy Father in the Reform of the Roman Curia, were linked from their respective countries of residence. This was the case of Cardinals Oscar A. Rodriguez Maradiaga, Reinhard Marx, Sean Patrick O’Malley, Oswald Gracias, and Fridolin Ambongo Besungu. Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Giuseppe Bertello did the same from the Vatican, as well as the Council’s Secretary, Monsignor Marco Mellino. Pope Francis followed the works connected from Casa Santa Marta.
After the Pontiff’s greeting, various current topics were addressed, each Cardinal describing the situation in his region, regarding the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, and the Church’s commitment to health, economic recovery and support to the neediest.
Reform of the Curia
Then the members of the Council debated the method of work to be implemented for the revision and correction of some normative texts, after the future coming into force of the new Apostolic Constitution, as well as the new prospects opened by the text, which is now being written.
This new Apostolic Constitution on the Reform of the Curia, with the provisional title of Praedicate Evangelium, will replace John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, in force since June 28, 1988. The next meeting of the Council of Cardinal is planned for June.
Pope Francis has stressed reform in several areas of the Church in recent days.
Urging continued reform and transparency, this morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Pope on March 27 presided at the inauguration of the 92nd Judicial Year of the Vatican City State Tribunal. In his address to the group, the Holy Father acknowledged the hard work of the judiciary and the reforms made in recent years. He pointed out that further legal reforms are needed in criminal law and especially in the financial arena.
And in another reform, Vatican Tribunals now can try Cardinals and Bishops as a result of a new Apostolic Letter “motu proprio” issued April 30, 2021, by Pope Francis.
