Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Top Vatican jobs: The ‘Francis effect’ on the Roman Curia

Top Vatican jobs: The ‘Francis effect’ on the Roman Curia

Last updated on: November 11, 2014 at 12:03 am by CNA Daily News

Top Vatican jobs: The ‘Francis effect’ on the Roman Curia 2014-11-11T00:03:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Rome, Italy, Nov 10, 2014 / 05:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The latest round of major appointments to top positions in the Vatican hierarchy shows that change is afoot as Pope Francis puts his stamp on the Roman Curia.

But the transitions are clearly designed to bring about a change of mentality more than a simple restructuring of Vatican departments.

On Nov. 8, Pope Francis carried out a series of appointments that look to be a prelude to the complete reshaping of the curia.

The Pope has named British Archbishop Paul Gallagher at the Vatican's secretary for Relations with States, replacing French Moroccan Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

Archbishop Mamberti, in turn, moves to the Church’s highest court, the Apostolic Signatura, where American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke is outgoing to the Order of Malta.

Each move reveals more about Pope Francis' vision for the Church.

A change in diplomacy

Archbishop Gallagher's appointment as “Secretary for Relations with States” signals that a new diplomatic course is underway with Pope Francis.

Gallagher is a long-standing diplomat, who has served in the nunciature of the Council of Europe and as the papal ambassador, or nuncio, to Burundi and Guatemala. Most recently he was serving as nuncio to Australia. He is considered an astute, open-minded and humble worker.

He has also been chosen because of his ability to fulfill the new diplomatic criteria: Church diplomats under Pope Francis are being urged to reduce the distance between themselves and mainstream society, engaging the secular world more in conversation.

A member of the Pope’s diplomatic corps told CNA Nov. 9 that they have been asked “to seek to understand situations and try to adapt to them in order to bring the light of the Gospel to them.”

Sources say Archbishop Gallagher was the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s first choice for the position as his second-in-command.

His appointment comes at a crucial moment in the Vatican, as the new Cardinal George Pell-led Secretariat for the Economy and the Secretariat of State are defining their reciprocal competencies.

By the end of this month, a meeting of the heads of Vatican departments with Pope Francis will likely give a final shape to the Curia reform that, among other things, led to the creation of the Secretariat for the Economy.

Sources maintain that the agenda of the meeting does not include an open discussion. They expect the unveiling of the plan for streamlining the Roman Curia, which would go into effect after the next meeting of the Council of Cardinals, scheduled for Dec. 9-11.

A change in court

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti was moved from his post as the Secretary for the Relations with States to the Apostolic Signatura, often called the Church’s “supreme court.”

Archbishop Mamberti was appointed as “foreign minister” post in 2006. He was one of the first picks of the Secretariat led by former Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The archbishop was widely expected to be transferred to a new post under Cardinal Parolin's leadership. The Apostolic Signatura is a soft exit.

Mamberti arrives to the position as the Vatican reexamines the steps that lead to decisions on marriage annulments. In August of this year, Pope Francis established a commission to propose procedural simplifications, while also safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of matrimony.

In a Nov. 5 meeting with canon lawyers, Pope Francis said some procedures are currently so long and financially burdensome that people “give up.”

In his new position, Archbishop Mamberti will be in charge – among other competencies – of final appeals for cases of marriage annulments as well as cases of conflict of competencies among Vatican dicasteries.

Sources say that appeals for nullity have increased in recent years and that Pope Francis wanted a prefect of his own appointment to decide them.

The position at the head of the highest of the Vatican’s courts traditionally merits the “berretta rossa,” the red hat of the cardinal. Archbishop Mamberti will be expected to made cardinal in the next consistory.

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, 66, has been made the patron of the Order of Malta, an honorific charge which is usually assigned to cardinals who are at the end of their ecclesiastical career.

Over the course of the first year-and-a-half of this pontificate, Cardinal Burke has voiced his concern with some of the choices being made in Church governance. Nevertheless, as an active cardinal living in Rome, his capacity to opine will remain the same if not greater – since no significant office will be attached to him.

Right after the conclusion of October's Synod of Bishops, he granted an interview to the Spanish Catholic weekly “Vida Nueva,” saying that during the synod “many have expressed their concerns to me. At this very critical moment, there is a strong sense that the Church is like a ship without a rudder.”

Cardinal Burke responded that Vida Nueva, a left-of-center media outlet, had “gravely distorted” his statements.

His appointment to the Order of Malta is not a surprise. The cardinal himself publicly stated he had been informed of it. His appointment to the Order of Malta is the latest in a gradual distancing from the life of the curia.

Pope Francis is looking for a softer approach to applying Church law from the Apostolic Signatura, and he thinks he's found that in Archbishop Mamberti.

Another round of appointments are expected soon in the Vatican, all intended to reshape the Church's 'top management' to fit with Pope Francis’ vision for a mission to the world with more emphasis on attraction to the Gospel.

Europe

Previous Post

November 10, 2014

US bishops say despite media hype, synod showed consensus

Next Post

November 11, 2014 Visible unity of Christians, a need for a troubled world, says Pope

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Ecclesiastes teaches that there is a time for everything under heaven.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE