sign in sign up
<<
Home , Apostolic Chancery, Apostolic Signatura, Diocese of Rome, Papal household

Work of the Roman : Insight and Perspectives by Roberto Regoli For the came into existence for this purpose, that the fruitful communion we mentioned might be strengthened and make ever more bountiful progress, rendering more effective the task of pastor of the Church which Christ entrusted to Peter and his successors, a task that has been growing and expanding from day to day. (, Introduction, n.3)

The Roman Curia is the complex of and institutes which help the Roman in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office for the good and service of the whole Church and of the particular Churches. It thus strengthens the unity of the faith and the communion of the people of God and promotes the mission proper to the Church in the world. (Pastor Bonus, art. 1) What is the Roman Curia? • The Roman Curia is a Catholic structure of the second millenium (from XI century) o (before then we had other structures) • The term “Curia” has had many meanings over the centuries: o the Court of the o the Vicariate of (the administration of the of Rome) o the legacies, the prefects and apostolic administrators, and also the Pontifical Family • From 1908 (Constitution “Sapienti Consilio”) the term only indicates the central organ of the What is the goal of Roman Curia? • to assist the Pope in • - governing the Universal Church • - administrating the

• From 1908 (Constitution “Sapienti Consilio”) the Curia helps the Pope only in • - governing the Universal Church o From 1929 State, BUT this isn’t Roman Curia

• Roman Curia doesn’t attend ’ or episcopal conferences How is the Curia structured? Various bodies help the pope in carrying out his activities: o Secretariat(s) o Congregations o (Pontificals Councils) o o Offices o Commissions o (Committees) Some of these bodies are ordinary (e.g. permanent in time, maybe for one pontificate or more) and some extraordinary (e.g. they are created ad hoc, in order to face new or urgent situations) History of Curia • Great transformation in 1588 during the pontificate of (Felice Peretti, pontiff 1585–1590), with the Consitution “Immensa Aeterni Dei” • He organised the Curia in: 1. Offices 2. Tribunals 3. Congregations NEW!!! 4. Secretaries • Before the reform we had: Tribunals (Penitentiary, Roman ), Apostolic Chamber, Chancellery, Consistory of cardinals… Why reform? • To govern better

• To overcome possible opposition from cardinals in Consistory Congregation types 1. Congregation for the Holy Inquisition (founded in 1542) 2. Congregation for the Signatura of Grace 3. Congregation for the erection of Churches and consistorial provision 4. Congregation for the abundance of supplies and prosperity of the Church’s temporal dominions 5. Congregation for sacred rites and ceremonies 6. Congregation for equipping the fleet and maintaining it for the defence of the Church’s dominions 7. Congregation for an Index of forbidden books 8. Congregation for the execution and interpretation of the (founded in 1564) 9. Congregation for relieving the ills of the States of the Church 10. Congregation for University of the Roman study 11. Congregation for Consultations about Regulars (founded in 1586) 12. Congregation for Consultations about bishops and other 13. Congregation for taking care of roads, bridges, and waters 14. Congregation for the Vatican printing-press 15. Congregation for regulations of the affairs of the Church’s temporal dominions What is Congregation? • The Roman Congregations are the great ministries of the Holy See • Their name derives from the specialized assemblies of cardinals held during the 16° century, wich were convened by the Pope to seek advice of the cardinals on questions arising in Rome • The Congregations are the regular meetings of a group of cardinals • The Congregations are decisionmaking bodies with ordinary power of governance and legal authority to exercice their competence • This power is simply a vicarial authority as it is exercised only on behalf of the pope, who is the true holder of supreme power within the Church Structure of Congregation

• The head of the Congregation: a cardinal prefect (or an archibishop pro-prefect awaiting promotion to cardinal)

• Secretary: a (during the centuries, he will be always more a archibishop)

• Undersecretary (in the contemporary era) • It was possible for a cardinal to belong to many different Congregations at the same time

• Consequently, there was a certain collegiality [and so, no Council of Ministers was ever needed]

• Temporary Commissions were established ad hoc (to deal with a certain issue, an urgent situation, or to resolve questions of principle) o this method of governing allowed the Pope to dismiss from Church government, those cardinals who were considered mediocre or opponents of the new papal policy XVI-XIX centuries No significant changes until XIX century

o Just little reforms (new Congregations) o During the pontificate of Pius IX, the structure of the government of the Church and the government of Papal States became increasingly distinct

After 1870 (end of “temporary power” of ) the Curia switched • from a joint mission of administration of Papal States and direction of the Church • to an exclusive “Catholic” center of government of the Universal Church • At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the entire curial structure faced an important moment of transition o the constant bureaucratization of the Curia and of its Congregations (to the detriment of effective collegiality)

• The Congregations of cardinals were reduced to a Chamber of registration and the cardinals were excluded from the build-up to the decision so that they could intervene only in the last phase o The cardinals frequently followed the guidelines of the Secretary of the Congregation and of its consultants o The Congress of Major increased its role and its decisional power at the expense of the congregation of cardinals. o In a certain sense, the tradition of acting collegially in the Curia lost its raison d’être in favour of more efficiency. Curia Romana semper reformanda

(Roman Curia is to be reformed continuously)

Throughout 19th century, reform was a continuous agenda as: • an answer to external upheavals, such as the consequences of the French Revolution in Europe and in the world • an answer to internal needs o From the reform plan of Sala in 1814 o è Monsignor Pecci (Leone XIII) èCardinal Mertel èCardinal Gasparri o è Monsignor Pierantozzi è Cardinal Agliardi (1903) è Cardinal De Lai ê Pio X (reform in 1908) Reform in the curial self-understanding: - as modernization of the administration - as a spiritual purification of the individual members of the Curia (in the sense of wanting to be “perfect Christians”) - as a purification of the Church from “human element”

In this way it became a “reform which built up” and not only a “reform which destroyed”. Pius X (1903-1914) • Pius X moved in the wake of a curial tradition animated by a spirit of renewal • Catholic centralization process • Juridical-canonical reform of the organization of the government • Relationship of the Church with modernity o institutional modernity o modernity of the forms of governing Curia in 1903: unnecessarily complex and all too expensive • 21 Congregations o Inquisition, Consistorial, Apostolic Visitation, Over the status of Regulars, Bishops and Regulars, Council, Residence of the Bishops, Ecclesiastical immunity, Propaganda Fide, Propaganda Fide for the Eastern Rite affairs, Index, Rites, Ceremonial, Regular discipline, and Sacred Relics, Bishops examination, “Fabbrica di S. Pietro” (Fabric of St. Peter’s), Loreto, Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Studi, De eligendis Italiae episcopis

• 3 Tribunals o , and

• 3 Offices o , Dataria and Apostolic Chamber

• 6 Secretariats o Secretariat of State , Apostolic Briefs , Briefs to Princes, letters, “Uditorato di Sua Santità” and “Officio del Sostituto del S. Concistoro” Pius X, Constitution “Sapienti consilio” (1908) The following institutions cease to exist o Congregation for the residence of Bishops o Secretariat of Briefs (joined to Secretariat of State, as III section) o Congregation of Loreto (joined to Council Congregation) o Congregation of Apostolic Visitation (è transfer of skills to Vicariate of Rome) o “Uditorato di Sua Santità” (è transfer of skills to Consistorial Congregation) o “Ufficio del Sostituto del Concistoro” (è transfer of skills to Consistorial Congregation)

With the reform of 1908 the “Inquisition” took the name of the “Holy Office” Pius X, Constitution “Sapienti consilio” (1908) • 11 Congregations o Holy Office, Consistorial, Sacraments, Council, Religious, Propaganda Fide, Index, Rites, Ceremonial, Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Seminaries and Universities • 3 Tribunals o Apostolic Penitentiary, Apostolic Signatura and Roman Rota • 3 Secretariats o Secretariat of State – I Section, Extraordinary Affairs, II, Ordinaries Affairs, III, Apostolic Briefs –, Briefs to Princes and Latin letters • 3 Offices o Apostolic Chancery, Dataria and Apostolic Chamber

“Sapienti Consilio” • This reform - is technical and administrative (mainly addressed to the Congregations) - shakes the static situation of the Curia - improves the bureaucratic aspect (strict bureaucratic rationalization)

• The guidelines of the reform of 1908 aimed to separate the legal jurisdiction from the administrative responsibilities (except for the Holy Office)

• Tribunals are largely reorganized

• The skills of the dicasteries were reorganized and delimited, and those related to each other were amalgamated into one

è The curial structure of Pope Sixtus V from 1588 remained intact • The role of the Secretariat of State - was underlined through placing two important dicasteries of the Curia (Congregation for extraordinary ecclesiastical affairs and Secretariat of letters) under its direction - was strengthened because a series of countries (Great Britain, Netherlands, United States, Canada) were placed under its jurisdiction

• The importance of the Congregation of the Consistory was strengthened The reform aimed to centralize the government of the Church and at the same time to modernize it Spirit of the long reform • The reform was requested in and beyond the Curia

• The question of the “Italianness” of the Curia was considered a sore spot, not only by the representatives of lay powers, but also where the interests of the Church were concerned

• A spirit of reform endures within the Roman Curia o A reform proposal from 1931, De quibusdam rebus in ecclesiastico regimine emendandis o The reform project of Monsignor Celso Costantini written during the of 1939 • Many of the basic requirements of the 1931 document were repeated more and more frequently and openly over the years in debates about Roman Curia o a charismatic leadership o a program of action o a revaluation of the episcopal office o a more representative and more collegial governance o a dialogue and two-way communication in a modern and efficient organization o less Italians within the Curia Small reforms after 1908 Other Popes made small reforms o Benedict XV: created Congregation for Seminaries and Universities (before Congregation of the Studies) in 1915, restructured the of “Signatura”, in 1917 suppressed the Congregation of Index and created Congregation for the Oriental Church, reorganized the Apostolic Penitentiary o Adjustments during the pontificate of Pius XI: Congregation of the Sacred Rites (1930), Apostolic Penitentiary (1935) and Congregation for the Oriental Church (1938). o Pius XII: reorganized Congregation for Seminaries and Universities and Congregation for Religious o John XXIII: created Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity

• John XXIII “creates” a new function - that of personal secretary to the pope (who, with Popes Wojtyla and Ratzinger, are then honoured with the of )

• Council Vatican II asks for new Curia regulations

Paul VI

Constitution Regimini Ecclesiae universae (1967) • 1 Secretariat of State or Papal Secretariat • 1 Council for Public Affairs of the Church (formerly the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs) • 9 Congregations o Doctrine of the faith (before Holy Office), Bishops (before Consistorial), Orientals Churches, Discipline of the Sacraments, Clergy (before Concil), Religious and Secular Institutes, Propaganda Fide or Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Rites, Catholic Education(before Congregation for Seminaries and Universities) • 3 Tribunals o Apostolic Penitentiary, Signatura and Roman Rota • 3 Secretariates o Promoting Christian Unity, non-Christians and non-Believers • 1 Council for the Laity • 1 Commission Iustitia et Pax • 6 Offices o Apostolic Chancery, Apostolic Chamber, Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, Administration of the Patrimony of the , Prefecture of the , Central Bureau of Statistics of the Church Characteristics of 1967 reform • General and profound reform

• Some institutions cease to exist o “Dataria”, Congregation of the Ceremonial, Secretariat of Briefs to Princes, Secretariat of Latin Letters

• Pastoral criteria o Promoting Christian Unity, non-Christians and non-Believers, Council for the Laity, Commission Iustitia et Pax

• Change of name of almost all Congregations

• Change of tasks assigned to individual dicasteries Characteristics of 1967 reform • More opportunities for collaboration between the Curia and the Universal Church: o internationalization of the Curia o involvement of residential bishops as members of the Congregations o restitution or concession to the bishops of many faculties formerly reserved by the Holy See

• Temporary assignments (5 years) o but renewable, for the heads of dicasteries and their component members, prelates secretaries and o the roles of individual prelates and consultors end on the death of pope

Characteristics of 1967 reform

• Monarchical structure (“impostazione”) o a novelty in relation to the typical collegiate style of the Roman Curia

• Paul VI makes Pope’s power over Curia more extensive After 1967: the work continues! • In 1969 the Congregation for Rites divides into: è Causes of Saints è Divine worship (in 1975 union with Discipline of the Sacraments)

• In 1970 de spirituali migratorum cura founded

• In1973 Committee for the Family founded

• In 1973 Apostolic Chancery suppressed

• In 1974 Pope created a Commission to study and recommend adjustments that are necessary under the new curial system John Paul II (1978-2005) New organisations o for Culture(1982) o Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church(1983) o Pontifical Council for Healthcare Providers(1985)

• New structure of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (1983) John Paul II Constitution Pastor Bonus (1988 ) • 1 Secretariat of State • 9 Congregations o Doctrine of the faith , Orientals Churches, Divine worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Cause dei Santi, Bishops (from which the Commission for the Latin America depends), Evangelization of Peoples, Clergy (from which Commission on the historical and artistic heritage depends), Institutes of and Societies of Apostolic Life, Seminaries and Educational Institutions or Catholic Education • 12 Pontifical Councils o Laity, Christian Unity, Family, Iustitia et Pax, Cor Unum, Migrants and Itinerant People, Health Care workers, Interpretation of Legislative Texts, Interreligious dialogue, Dialogue with Non-Believers, Culture, Communications • 3 Tribunals o Apostolic Penitentiary, Signatura and Rota Romana • 3 Offices o Apostolic Chamber, Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See • Other Institutions in Curia o Prefecture of the and Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff • There are also institutions linked to the Holy See, but which are not considered Curia in its own way o E.g., Vatican Secret Archives or “Elemosineria Apostolica” (Office of Papal Charities) Some Congregations change the name What is Pontifical Council? • The Pontifical Councils were intended to lighten the task of the Roman Congregations in specialized areas where promotion, guidance, and reflection were considered more necessary than management and supervision • The Pontifical Councils go beyond the sectoral divisions of the traditional Congregations, embracing instead a more global vision • Their activities, more often than not, reach beyond the limits of the Catholic ecclesiastical community • Although they have been declared to be on an equal juridic footing with the Congregations, the Pontifical Councils lack the power of government usually attributed to the former, although they have an autonomous administration • The Pontifical Councils for the laity is the only exception to this rule, since it has real power of government over its subjects Structure of Pontifical Council • The head of the Council: president (cardinal or archibishop)

• Secretary or vice president: a bishop or cleric

• Undersecretary: cleric or layperson Characteristics of 1988 reform

• Pastoral aspects

• The Secretariat of State is strengthened o I section «affari generali» o II section «rapporti con gli Stati» (formerly the Council for Public Affairs of the Church)

• In continuity with the reform of Pius X and Paul VI, the Secretariat of State becomes increasingly the central organization of the Curia o absorbs the skills of other offices and Congregations o supervises the work of other dicasteries

• A significant area of autonomy is maintained by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Characteristics of 1988 reform

• The Roman Curia is conceived and renewed in accordance with the ecclesiology of communion

• The personal style of John Paul II: He prefers a kind of government by delegation, after having provided broad guidelines for this Continuous renewal

• Commission (1988) • Labor office(1989) • unified into a single dicastery the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Dialogue with Non-Believers (assuming simply the name of the first dicastery) (1993) • Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (making it independent of the Congregation for the Clergy) (1993)

Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (1994) Why 3 general reforms in less than 1 century? • Popes’ awareness of a certain ossification of the Curia machine

• Popes reform the Curia, but the general structure remains the same (Secretariat of State, the Tribunals, Congregations, Councils and other Offices) and always seems inadequate!

• Fundamentally there is a methodological question. Each reform corresponds to an ecclesiological vision o In XX century the reforms had a monarchist approach (far from old collegiality present in Curia), but the Church goes in another direction (collegiality) Benedict XVI

Reorganization of skills of the Vatican dicasteries o Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (over Congregation of the doctrine of faith) o Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (over Pontifical Council for Culture) o Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments o Congregation for the Clergy o Congregation for the Oriental Churches (è transfer some skills to Secretariat of State) o Propaganda fide (è transfer some skills to Secretariat of State) o Congregation for the catholic education Innovations

• Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization o At the centre is Faith and crisis in Faith

• Authorities with financial information(AIF) o Financial transparency

[ for Latin (under the Pontifical Council for Culture)] Characteristics

• Unlike his predecessors, Benedict XVI did not have a general plan for a curial reform

o Because Pope conceived the goal of his Papacy as being the implementation of the teachings of John Paul II

o It seems that the principle of reform in continuity is applied Characteristics • the 1967 reform conceives a centralized Curia under Pope as administrator and bureaucrat (monarchical setting) • this view also underlies the reforms of John Paul II and Benedict XVI • BUT these popes are less administrators and bureaucrats than Paul VI • SO we have the origin of the friction within the Curia of John Paul II and Benedict XVI

• The real change in the Curia should be seen in the appointments in dicasteries

Conclave 2013

• 2013: loss of prestige of the Curia

• loss of prestige = loss of power? No

• 2013: one of the issues debated in general congregations before the Conclave was to overcome some curial limitations in organization Francis (2013- ): man at work • Council of Cardinals (C8/C9) o Established by the Pope with a chirograph (28 September 2013) o (Italian – Vatican City), Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (Chilean), (Indian), (German), Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Congolese), Sean Patrick O’Malley (USA), (Australian), Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga (Honduran) – Coordinator of the Council –, (from July 2014) (Italian, secretary of State) + Secretary of this Council Monsignor Cosimo Semeraro, Bishop of Albano (Italian)

• Reform of the Curia is carried out by non-curial prelates for the FIRST TIME! CHIROGRAPH BY WHICH A COUNCIL OF CARDINALS IS ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST THE HOLY FATHER IN THE GOVERNANCE OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH AND TO STUDY POSSIBLE REVISIONS OF THE "PASTOR BONUS" ON THE ROMAN CURIA

Among the suggestions made at the General Congregations of Cardinals prior to the Conclave was the expediency of establishing a small group of bishops from the different parts of the world, whom the Holy Father could consult on specific issues, either individually or as a group. Once elected to the See of Rome I had the opportunity to ponder on this subject often and concluded that such a project would be of considerable help in carrying out the pastoral ministry of the Successor of Peter which my brother Cardinals wished to entrust to me. For this reason on last 13 April I announced the institution of the above-mentioned group, and at the same time gave the names of those who were called to belong to it. Now, after long reflection, I deem it appropriate that this group be established by this Chirograph as a “Council of Cardinals” with the task of assisting me in the governance of the universal Church and of studying a project for the revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus on the Roman Curia. It will be made up of the same people mentioned above who from time to time, as a Council or individually, will be asked about issues that I consider worthy of attention. As regards the composition of the Council, I reserve the right to make the appointments for the best result. The said Council will be a further expression of episcopal communion and assistance to the munus petrinum which the Episcopate across the world is able to offer. Given in Rome, at St Peter’s , on 28 September 2013, in the first year of the Pontificate. FRANCIS Pope and Curia What kind of relationship? Preference for Italians? Nominations of the Pope: 50% italians 1. Secretariat of State: Parolin, Italian 2. Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy: Stella, Italian 3. Catholic education: Versaldi, Italian 4. Apostolic Penitentiary: Piacenza, Italian 5. Secretariat of Comunication: Viganò, Italian 6. Secretariat for the Economy: Pell, Australian 7. Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life: Farrell, American 8. Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development: Turkson, Ghanaian 9. Signatura: Mamberti, French 10. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments: Sarah, Guinean 11. Council for the Economy: Marx, German 12. General: Libero Milone, Italian

• 15 diseases of the Curia (22 december 2014) 15 diseases of the Curia 1. The disease of thinking we are “immortal”, “immune” or downright “indispensable” 2. Another disease is the “Martha complex”, excessive busy-ness 3. Then too there is the disease of mental and spiritual “petrification” 4. The disease of excessive planning and of functionalism 5. The disease of poor coordination 6. There is also a “spiritual Alzheimer’s disease” 7. The disease of rivalry and vainglory 8. The disease of existential schizophrenia 9. The disease of gossiping, grumbling and back-biting 10. The disease of idolizing superiors 11. The disease of indifference to others 12. The disease of a lugubrious face 13. The disease of hoarding 14. The disease of closed circles 15. Lastly: the disease of worldly profit, of forms of self-exhibition

Riforme del seore finanziario • Pontifical Commission COSEA → Chirograph July 18, 2013 • Pontifical Commission CRIOR → Chirograph June 24, 2013 • Company of external consultants Promontory group Ernst & Young New dicasteries

Secretariat for the Economy Secretariat of Comunication

Council for the Economy

Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

Auditor General

Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors The following institutions cease to exist: • Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, • Pontifical Council Cor Unum, • Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and • Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers Which model? 2 models • Secretariat (top-down model) o more efficient o managerial approach o “Impronta aziendalistica” (… approach) • Council (collegial model) o Model of communion

• The general organisation of reform still appears uncertain

• Uncertainty also appears in the definition of the Dicastery. What does “dicastery” mean? Congregation, Council, Secretariat or? We don’t know Special considerations • One of the sections of the new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development addresses concern for refugees and migrants, particularly Francis’ belief that in today’s world integral human development cannot be promoted without special attention for the phenomenon of migration

• Given this, this particular section is placed ad tempus beneath the direct jurisdiction of the Pope Future?

• wait for the overall outcome of the general path of reform of the Roman Curia

• important part of the practice

• check the first of the reforms applications

Who’s curial? • = faithfulness, full adherence to the Pope, «scruples in work, sense of responsibility»

• Cardinal Domenico Tardini (secretary of State) reminded his “minutanti” (employees): «The papers in your hand are souls!»

• «sappiate che una bella nota alla cui redazione voi dedicate ore e ore d’ufficio, chiusi in una stanzetta, vale per la Chiesa più di una bella predicazione, più di un corso di esercizi spirituali, che voi con tanta più soddisfazione personale andreste a dettare in una parrocchia. Ci vuole chi faccia anche quel ministero, ma anche il vostro lavoro d’ufficio è ministero sacerdotale, di tanto valore» (Cardinal Tardini) Conclusions • The history of the Roman Curia and of the Church is not only an administrative one • It is also an embodiment of theological currents (strictly ecclesiological), and also a reverberation of spiritual ideals • The Roman Curia is a history of its men, political choices and pastoral care • A caracteristic of Curia is loyalty to the Pope • Loyalty to the pope should not, however, be understood in an idealistic way • In the Curia there has always been loyalty towards the person of Pope, but primarily towards the institution of Papacy • The aforementioned institutional loyalty guarantees the authentic liberty and dynamic inside the Curia and also allows the dialectic of confrontations between the cardinals and the group pressures on the person of the pontiff, who remains a monarch but not monocratic • The history of the Curia is therefore not an isolated history. It should be understood as part of the history of the Church and the world • In fact, the solicitations to which the Holy See has to respond are international and originate from each ecclesial periphery. The history of the Curia is therefore really a history sui generis • Reform of the government of the structures can be effective so long as there is no planned opposition or implementation against someone