(Vatican) The conversion of the Roman Curia continues. In the Congregation for Catholic Education, there was even a small earthquake. Pope Francis dismissed the same nine cardinals who were members of the Congregation. "It is certain that the reform of the Roman Curia by Pope Francis will go in depth and therefore their time is up," commented the Vatican expert Sandro Magister. Cardinal Maradiaga, coordinator of the C8-Cardinal Council said after the second three-day meeting last week that it needed "patience," cryptically adding: "Great things can not be improvised. The Church brings major problems along that affect many people. The participation of the world is so large that you have to discuss in order to arrive at a synthesis ".
Personnel Decisions of the Pope
In anticipation of the great reform of the Curia, Pope Francis began since last August on a personal level with interventions in the Roman dicasteries. Since taking office, all Curia offices are occupied only temporarily. The prelude to the personnel decisions for the congregations were made on 31 August, the dismissal of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone and his replacement by Archbishop Pietro Parolin in the Curia. The other leading positions in the Secretariat of State, Curial Archbishop Angelo Becciu and substitute "Foreign Minister" Archbishop Dominique Mamberti were confirmed.
Since then, Pope Francis has made some transfers and new appointments, the heads of three of the nine Roman Congregations. This was confirmed on 21 September, the head of the Congregation of the Faith and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples , as well as on 30 November, the Congregation for Education. On 21 September, however, Mauro Cardinal Piacenza was dismissed as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy , who was replaced by Archbishop Beniamino Stella.
So far only the heads of two of the eleven Pontifical Councils have been confirmed at the moment, namely the Lay Council and of Justice and Peace . Both decisions were announced on 24 September.
Confirmations, Layoffs, Promotions
Thus, the leading heads of five Congregations and nine Pontifical Councils, and thus the bulk of the Roman Curia, are only "donec aliter providetur" and thus continue provisionally in office. This applies to the Congregation for Liturgy, the Congregation for Bishops, Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Congregation for the Eastern Churches and the Congregation for Religious. Both for the Congregation for Bishops, with the Brazilian Bishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari and the Congregation for Religious with the Spaniard Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo the Pope appointed new Secretaries, however, replacing the number two for these dicasteries. In addition, personnel cuts, layoffs, transfers and new appointments in the Vatican Bank, the economic administration of the Holy See, including the construction of new commissions, the Diplomatic Academy, the Consultants for the liturgical office of the Pope and of the Pontifical Commission, Ecclesia Dei .
Differentiated Intervention in Congregation of Education
In particular, the Pope has dedicated his special attention to the Congregation for Catholic Education. As, then, the Argentine journalist Elisabetta Pique documented in her recently published book, "Francis Life and Revolution," Archbishop Bergoglio had some difficulties in 2009 with the Congregation for obtaining the approval of the appointment of Bishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. Exactly two months after his election as Pope, he promoted Fernandez to Titular Archbishop. A clear message to the Church in Argentina, who stands close to the Pope and now has weight there.
In 2012 Rector Fernandez was awarded at the suggestion of Archbishop Bergoglio, an honorary doctorate from the university for his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka. The uncontradicted statements at Skorka's ceremony sparked criticism. (See separate report decisions in Argentina - Bergoglio's Silence and Fernandez on Jewish Libel of the Church ).
While Pope Francis confirmed the CDF and the Propaganda Fide , the entire Pontifical Council and yet, however, no one was confirmed for the Congregation of the Clergy, the intervention in the Congregation for Education happened differently. Some members of the Congregation were confirmed, appointed anew, others dismissed.
The Polish Prefect, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, who will turn 75 on October 2014, will be confirmed. Likewise, as secretary, the Italian Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani, the French Dominican Jean-Louis Brugues were only replaced only in November 2012 by the Pope Benedict XVI. yet appointed archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church and as such is on the waiting list for the award of the dignity of Cardinal. At the end of February 2014, Pope Francis will appoint his first appoint cardinals.
The Newly Appointed Members: Cardinal Koch
The pope confirmed 23 members of the Congregation for Education , but dismissed eleven members and appointed eleven new. Among the newly appointed cardinals include the Brazilian Odilo Scherer of San Paolo, the American Timothy Dolan of New York, the Filipino Luis Tagle of Manila, the Swiss Kirt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, is the Kenyan John Njue of Nairobi, the Lebanese Bechara Boutros Rai, Patriarch of the Maronites and the Chinese John Tong Hon of Hong Kong. These four archbishops: the Italian Beniamino Stella, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and probably soon cardinal, the Mexican Jorge Carlos Patron Wong, new n charge of seminaries Secretary of this Congregation, Archbishop Riccardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago del Chile, also aspiring to the dignity of Cardinal and the Polish Marek Jedraszewski of Lodz.
The Confirmed Members: Cardinal Schönborn and Cardinal Marx
Among the confirmed members include Vienna's archbishop, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, who is also coordinator of the new C8 Cardinal Council, Canadian Marc Ouellet, not yet confirmed Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, the Indian Oswald Cardinal Gracias and Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, both also members of the C8 Council. Among them are still the Italian, Leonardo Sandri, Cardinal and the Brazilian Joao Braz de Aviz, both also not yet confirmed Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Church or of the Congregation of Religious. Among the confirmed members of the Congregation for Education can be found Prefect Gerhard Müller of the CDF also an archbishop, and with the Swiss Bishop Charles Morerod of Lausanne-Geneva-Fribourg a diocesan bishop.
The Dismissed Members: Cardinal Woelki
Among the eleven unconfirmed members include the Cardinals, who are over 80: Belgian Godfried Danneels, the Mexican Juan Sandoval Iñiguez and the Italian, Raffaele Farina, but also the Archbishop Emeritus of Milan, Dionigi Cardinal Tettamanzi, who is 80 only on March 2014. The Cardinals Levada and Piacenza have not been confirmed by Pope Francis. Both were replaced by their successors. The resignation of Cardinal Levada as Prefect of the CDF was still under Pope Benedict XVI., the Bishop of Regensburg, Gerhard Müller, was appointed in his place. Cardinal Piacenza was replaced by Pope Francis as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy by Archbishop Stella.
However, the Cardinals Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow and former personal secretary of Pope John Paul II, Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin and Giuseppe Betori of Florence were not confirmed. The latter two were appointed just a year ago, after Pope Benedict XVI. had made them cardinals in February 2012.
Campaign against Cardinal Burke: "Too Conservative and Traditionalist"
The Congregation for Education after Pope Francis is therefore less Italian (minus three) and less European (minus four), but more Latin (Plus two) and Asian (plus three).
How it proceeds to the other Departments, is likely to show in the coming months. Meanwhile, the progressive National Catholic Reporter has launched a campaign with the Pope Francis, for the dismissal of the American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the reason being because he is "too conservative and traditionalist".So far, Pope Francis has proved very resistant to campaigns. The final decision on the confirmation or removal from office of the Bishop of Limburg Tebartz van Elst will give a final answer.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Settimo Cielo
image: Settimo Cielo
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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