Vatican City, Jan 7, 2021 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- A new book provides further information from the archives of Venerable Pius XII, including the Vatican’s attempts to oppose the actions of Nazi Germany through diplomacy during World War II.
“On… […]
Vatican City, Jan 7, 2021 / 03:33 pm (CNA).- The draft of the delayed document that will reform of the Roman Curia gives the Vatican’s Secretariat of State a more prominent place in the workings of the Church’s central governing bureaucracy. But during the year 2020, Pope Francis moved in the opposite direction.
In fact, within the span of a few months, the Secretariat of State has been gradually divested of all of its financial power.
In September, the Pope appointed the new commission of cardinals of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) – the also called “Vatican bank.” For the first time, the Secretary of State was not among the cardinal members. Nor is the Secretariat of State represented in the Commission on Reserved Matters that the Pope established in October via the first Vatican procurement law. In November, the Pope decided that the Secretariat of State should transfer all its funds to APSA, the equivalent of a Vatican central bank.
In December, Pope Francis spelled out how the handover should occur, clarifying that the Secretariat of State will be under the constant oversight of the Vatican’s leading financial operations watchdog, the Secretariat for the Economy, which has been renamed the “Papal Secretariat for Economic Affairs.”
These moves are in direct contrast with the Roman Curia’s draft constitution, Praedicate Evangelium, which continues to be revised by the Council of Cardinals.
Indeed, the document’s draft proposes the establishment of a real “papal secretariat” within the Vatican Secretariat of State, which would take the place of Pope Francis’s private Secretariat and coordinate the various bodies of the Roman Curia. The papal secretariat would, for example, summon the periodic interdicasterial meetings and even bring dicasteries together to work on specific tasks or projects when needed.
If Praedicate Evangelium remains essentially as it appears to be in the draft version that circulated last summer, then the piecemeal reforms that Pope Francis has introduced will make the new regulations old and outdated as soon as they are promulgated.
If, on the other hand, the draft is being heavily amended to match to what Pope Francis has been doing, then Praedicate Evangelium will not see the daylight any time soon. Instead, it will continue to be under examination for an even longer time, putting the Church in a state of “reform as you go.”
In other words, rather than setting reforms in stone with a binding document like Praedicate Evangelium, as previous popes have done, reforms will come via Pope Francis’ personal decisions, which several times have overturned his previous ones.
That is why the path of Curial reform has been characterized, until now, by many as back-and-forth.
First, it was the Secretariat for the Economy seeing its powers shrinking.
Initially, Pope Francis understood Cardinal George Pell’s reformist ideas and supported a significant recasting of financial control mechanisms. The first phase began with establishing the Secretariat for the Economy in 2014.
But by 2016, Pope Francis embraced the cause of the Secretariat of State, which argued that Cardinal Pell’s approach to financial reform did not take into consideration the Holy See’s particular nature as a State, not a corporation. The opposite views escalated into a fight when the Secretariat for the Economy signed a contract for a massive audit with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The auditing contract was signed in December 2015 and scaled down by the Holy See in June 2016.
After reducing the scope of Cardinal Pell’s audit, the Secretariat of State regained its central role in the Roman Curia, while the Secretariat for the Economy was weakened. When Cardinal Pell had to take a leave of absence in 2017 to go back to Australia and face infamous allegations, of which he was later acquitted, the Secretariat for the Economy’s work got stalled.
Pope Francis appointed Fr. Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves to replace Cardinal Pell in November 2019. Under Fr. Guerrero, the Secretariat for the Economy regained power and influence. Simultaneously, the Secretariat of State got caught in the scandal that followed by the purchase of a luxury real estate in London.
With the decision to take any financial control from the Secretariat of State, the pope returned to his original vision of a strong Secretariat for the Economy. The Secretariat of State has lost any sense of autonomy since its financial operations are now transferred to APSA. Now, every financial move by the Secretariat of State falls directly under the Secretariat for the Economic oversight.
The transfer of funds to APSA seems to recall Cardinal Pell’s project for Vatican Asset Management. APSA, as the Vatican Central Bank, has been become the central office for Vatican investments.
So far, after the latest papal moves, the Secretariat of State is the only Vatican department with a former financial autonomy that has lost it. Pope Francis’ decision has not yet involved the Congregation for the Evangelization of People –which handles, among others, the massive funds of the World Mission Sunday- and the Vatican City State Administration, which also have financial autonomy.
But many Vatican observers agree that no dicastery can now consider itself safe from Pope Francis’ on-the-go reform, since the pope already proved himself ready to change direction unexpectedly, and to do it very quickly. In the Vatican, there is already talk of “a permanent state of reform,” rather that the definitive one that should have come with Praedicate Evangelium.
In the meantime, the dicasteries’ activities are at a standstill, while Curia members wonders if the Curia reform document will ever be out. The Secretariat of State is the first victim of this situation. But most likely it won’t be the last.
Vatican City, Jan 7, 2021 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Fifteen new Swiss Guard recruits have arrived in Rome to complete their basic training.
The recruits for the world’s oldest standing army — having already completed required military training in Swit… […]
Vatican City, Jan 7, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Australia’s financial crime watchdog said Thursday that it is conducting a “detailed review” of Vatican-linked transfers worth $1.8 billion.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis… […]
Vatican City, Jan 6, 2021 / 06:35 am (CNA).- Pope Francis called Wednesday for peace in the Central African Republic following a disputed election.
In his Angelus address on Jan. 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the pope expressed co… […]
Vatican City, Jan 6, 2021 / 04:45 am (CNA).- As he celebrated Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Wednesday, Pope Francis urged Catholics to devote more time to worshiping God.
Preaching in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 6, the pope sai… […]
Vatican City, Jan 6, 2021 / 03:01 am (CNA).- As of the first month of 2021, the College of Cardinals is composed of 229 members, 128 of whom are under the age of 80, and therefore eligible to vote for the next pope in a future conclave.
It was St. Paul VI who established, on Nov. 20, 1970, that cardinals aged 80 and over could not participate in the process for electing a pope.
Paul VI wrote in his motu proprio Ingravescentem aetatem that “the higher good of the Church demands that we consider the problem of old age also in relation to the eminent office of Cardinals, for which we have shown special concern several times in the past.”
The office of cardinal “is indeed a matter of an office with particularly serious and delicate tasks,” the pope stated, “both because of the very singular connection which binds it to Our supreme responsibility at the service of the whole Church, and because of the high responsibility it entails in the vacancy of the Apostolic See with respect to the universal Church.”
Paul VI declared that after reaching the age of 80, a cardinal loses the right to elect the Roman Pontiff and, therefore, the right to take part in the conclave.
In 2021, six cardinals of the Catholic Church will lose this privilege: three from Africa, two from Europe, and one from Oceania. Four of the six were given the red hat by St. John Paul II in his last two consistories, in 2001 and 2003.
The first cardinal to turn 80 years old in the course of the year — on Feb. 27 — will be Gabriel Zubeir Wako, archbishop emeritus of Khartoum. He was made cardinal by St. Pope John Paul II in 2003.
On March 8, Cardinal Wilfried Fox Napier of Durban, will lose the right to vote in a future conclave. He was also made a cardinal by John Paul II.
Also made a cardinal in 2003, Cardinal George Pell, former prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, will turn 80 June 8.
On July 19, Cardinal Maurice Piat of Port Louis will have his 80th birthday. He was given the red hat by Pope Francis in the November 2016 consistory.
Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, will reach age 80 Aug. 18. He received the red biretta from Pope Francis’ first consistory, held in February 2014.
The last cardinal to turn 80 in 2021 will be Angelo Scola, archbishop emeritus of Milan. St. John Paul II made him cardinal in the 2003 consistory, when Scola was patriarch of Venice.
The continental breakdown of the College of Cardinals is that 108 hail from Europe, 54 of whom are electors. There are 16 North American cardinals eligible to vote, out of a total 26. There are nine cardinals from Central America, of whom seven are electors. South America has 25 cardinals, 14 of whom have voting rights. Asia is represented by 27 cardinals, of which 16 are under age 80. There are 28 African cardinals, 17 of whom are electors. Oceania has four cardinal electors and two non-electors.
Hannah Brockhaus contributed to this report.
Vatican City, Jan 5, 2021 / 05:10 am (CNA).- Pope Francis will not baptize babies in the Sistine Chapel this Sunday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Holy See press office announced Jan. 5 that the newborns would be baptized instead in their home p… […]
Vatican City, Jan 4, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Australia’s Catholic bishops are considering raising questions with the country’s financial watchdog authority about whether any Catholic organizations were among the recipients of billions of Au… […]
Vatican City, Jan 4, 2021 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Archbishop Georg Gänswein urged Catholic journalists Monday to act with the courage of EWTN founder Mother Angelica.
Preaching at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 4, the personal secretary to Benedict XVI also encouraged those working in Catholic media to convey “the essence of the Christian message” in the spirit of Renaissance artist Michelangelo.
“In doing so, imitate Mother Angelica and Michelangelo. Be brave like Mother Angelica! And reach for the stars like Michelangelo,” Gänswein said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, which published the full text of the archbishop’s homily.
Mother Angelica began broadcasting from a converted garage in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1981. By the time of her death in 2016, EWTN had become the largest religious media network in the world.
The Mass, attended by EWTN employees, took place in the Chapel of the Pietà, which houses Michelangelo’s celebrated sculpture of Mary cradling Jesus Christ after the Crucifixion. The artist carved the image out of Carrara marble in 1498–1499, when he was 24 years old. It is the only artwork he ever signed.
Referring to the Pietà, Gänswein said: “The creative act of the sculptor is the removal of everything unnecessary, as we see here. In this respect, sculptors are particularly similar to God, who often only takes away the unnecessary in order to create something new.”
“Michelangelo also removed everything superfluous from the marble block from Carrara, in which this sculpture had been hidden for millions of years. In this sense, this marvel just had to be freed. It was, so to speak, the invisible essence in this raw marble block that Michelangelo recognized and exposed with his genius.”
“Finally, I can and will recommend this technique to you as Catholic media people.”
The 64-year-old archbishop told a German magazine last month that he was “grateful to God that 2020 was over.”
Gänswein, from the Black Forest region of Germany, is prefect of the Papal Household, but has been on leave from his duties as prefect since February in order to be able to dedicate his time exclusively to the former pope as Benedict XVI’s private secretary.
Following treatment for kidney problems in September, Gänswein told the magazine Bunte that he had had a “clarifying, very fortifying and encouraging meeting with Pope Francis” about his removal from active duty as prefect, which he stressed he knew was not a “punishment.”
Gänswein celebrated Christmas and the New Year with the Pope Emeritus at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where the two men and four Italian nuns reside.
In his homily on Monday, the archbishop urged journalists to imitate Michelangelo’s approach to sculpture by omitting “everything unnecessary in your reporting that all media report on anyway.”
“Instead, keep getting to the essence of the Christian message and make it as free as the young Michelangelo, without any competition,” he said.
“Because in all news on Earth — about all tragedies, catastrophes, wars or pandemics — the most important essence is always the good news of the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.”
“It is precisely this message that we see here before us. Therefore, never cease to tell about it above all and to expose the beauty of this news to the best of your ability.”
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