Pope Francis

[grace-land]

Will look for a complete transcript of this interview...

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-il-messaggero-interview

Pope Francis: Il Messaggero interview
2014-06-30 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) The Rome daily “Il Messaggero” on Sunday published an interview with Pope Francis made ​​by journalist Franca Giansoldati. In his responses to questions on a wide range of issues, the Holy Father focused, among other things, on the challenges of change in the current “era” and “culture,” which has consequences for political, financial, and social life. The Church, along with various civil and social institutions,  must respond to these challenges by protecting the common good and defending human life and dignity.

“Always protecting the common good, which includes “defending human life and dignity” is “the vocation of every politician,” the Holy Father said. Today, the problem of politics – which Pope Francis called a “worldwide problem” – is that it “has been devalued, ruined by corruption, by the phenomenon of bribery.” This “moral decay, not only in politics but also in the financial or social” sector, is driven by “change of epoch” that we are experiencing today, which is also “a change of culture.” In this context, our anxieties about poverty are not concerned solely with material poverty.
 

[grace-land]

Here's one complete transcript of the interview--with questions/answers that have been published as headlines in articles posted on the Internet since the interview.

http://www.aleteia.org/en/religion/article/pope-francis-women-are-the-most-beautiful-thing-god-has-made-5860471114563584

Pope Francis: "Women Are the Most Beautiful Thing God Has Made"
New, wide-ranging interview in Roman daily also touches on social justice and Church policies.
30.06.2014

The Rome daily “Il Messaggero” on Sunday published an interview with Pope Francis ​​by journalist Franca Giansoldati. In his responses to questions on a wide range of issues, the Holy Father focused, among other things, on the challenges of change in the current “era” and “culture,” which has consequences for political, financial, and social life. The Church, along with various civil and social institutions,  must respond to these challenges by protecting the common good and defending human life and dignity.
 
Here is an Aleteia translation of the complete interview:

 
You are taken for a communist, pauperist, populist Pope. The Economist, which dedicated a cover to you, stated that you talk like Lenin.

I’ll only say that the communists have stolen the flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the heart of the Gospel. The poor are at the heart of the Gospel. Take Matthew 25, the protocol on which we shall be judged: I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was in prison, I was sick, naked. Or let’s look at the Beatitudes, another flag. The communists say that all of this is communist. 

Yes, right, 20 centuries later. So when the talk you could say to them: but you are Christians (he laughs).

Will you allow me a criticism...

Of course.

You perhaps seldom speak about women, and when you speak, you address the issue only from the perspective of mothering, woman as bride, woman as mother, etc. And yet women are now leading states, multi-national corporations, armies. In your opinion, what place do women occupy in the Church?

Women are the most beautiful thing God has made. The Church is a woman. Church is a feminine word. We cannot do theology without this femininity. You are right, we don’t talk about this enough. I agree that we have to work more on the theology of woman. I said it and we are working on it.

You don’t see a certain underlying misogyny?

The fact is that woman was taken from a rib... (he laughs heartily). It’s a joke, I’m joking. I agree that we have to study the feminine question more deeply, otherwise we cannot understand the Church herself.

May we expect historic decisions from you, such as a woman as the head of a dicastery, I’m not saying [the Congregation] for Clergy ...

(He laughs) “Beh, many times priests end up under the authority of their housekeepers.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-s-letter-to-pope-francis-on-feast-of-sts-peter-and-paul

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's Letter to Pope Francis on Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
Istanbul,  June 30, 2014 

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has written a letter to Pope Francis on the Solemnity of the Apostles Sts. Peter and Paul.

Here below is the letter, given to Pope Francis by a delegation from the Patriarchate who visited Rome at the weekend.
***
To His Holiness and Beatitude Pope Francis of Senior Rome: rejoice in the Lord.

Once more, the joyous day is dawning for the venerable feast and sacred remembrance of the chief Apostles Peter and Paul, who were martyred for Christ’s sake in the see of Your Church. Wherefore, we hasten to concelebrate and commemorate with You again this year through our formal delegation in accordance with the long-established blessed custom.

We retain in our heart, like a precious treasure, the recollection of our recent personal encounters with Your Holiness both in Jerusalem and Rome, which further renewed and sealed our fraternal bonds, while also affirming our desire to continue on the path toward our full union and communion desired by the Lord. Thus, in the Holy City during this past May we were deemed worthy together to venerate the sacred place where the leader of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ, taught, suffered, was buried and arose from the dead, even as we honored the fiftieth anniversary of the historical meeting there of our late predecessors Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, whose bold initiatives opened up the period of rapprochement and reconciliation for our Churches.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/30/pope_there_are_more_christian_martyrs_today_than_ever/1102363

Pope: there are more Christian martyrs today than ever
30/06/2014

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Monday that there are more persecuted Christians in the world today than there were in the first centuries of Christianity. The Pope’s words came as he celebrated Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on the day in which the Church remembers the first Roman martyrs who were martyred during Nero's persecution in 64.

The prayer at the beginning of the Mass recalls that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”. We speak of the growth of a plant – the Pope said in his homily – and this makes us think of what Jesus used to say: "The kingdom of heaven is like a seed. Someone took the seed and planted it in the ground and then went home – and whether he slept or was awake – the seed grew and blossomed”. This seed is the Word of God that grows and becomes the Kingdom of Heaven; it becomes Church thanks to the strength of the Holy Spirit and to the witness of Christians.

“We know that there is no growth without the Spirit: it is He who is Church, it is He who makes the Church grow, it is He who convokes the Church’s community. But the witness of Christians is necessary too. And when historical situations require a strong witness, there are martyrs, the greatest witnesses. And the Church grows thanks to the blood of the martyrs. This is the beauty of martyrdom. It begins with witness, day after day, and it can end like Jesus, the first martyr, the first witness, the faithful witness: with blood”.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-meets-with-council-of-cardinals-for-the-5th-t

Pope meets with Council of Cardinals for the 5th time
2014-07-01 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held a meeting in the Vatican on Tuesday morning with the Council of Cardinals.

It is the fifth time the Pope and the eight-member Council have met formally since Francis established the so-called “G8”  to help him govern the Church and reform the Roman Curia.
 
They have been appointed with the specific task of advising the Pope on the government of the Universal Church and the revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus on the Roman Curia.
   
They are scheduled to continue their meetings until Friday, July 4.

Previous meetings of the Council of Cardinals took place from 1 to 3 October 2013, from 3 to 5 December 2013, from 17 to 19 February 2014, and from 28 to 30 April 2014.

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/fr-lombardi-killing-of-israeli-teenagers-unaccepta

Fr. Lombardi: Killing of Israeli teenagers unacceptable
2014-07-01 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis shares in the pain of the families of three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found Monday just over two weeks after they were abducted in the West Bank. Emer McCarthy reports:
 
Speaking to journalists as news of the discovery made global headlines, the director of the Vatican Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, described the murder of Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, 16 as “a tragic and unacceptable crime”.

He said : ''The murder of innocent people is always an execrable and unacceptable crime and a serious obstacle on the path to that peace  for which we must continue to tirelessly work and pray. Violence calls more violence and feeds the deadly circle of hatred”.

''Pope Francis shares in the pain of the families affected by this murderous violence and the pain of all those affected by the consequences of hatred, and asks God to inspire in all thoughts of compassion and peace”.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-anti-personnel-mines-prolong-conflict-and-nur

Pope: anti-personnel mines prolong conflict and nurture fear
2014-07-01 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) In a message to participants to the just ended Third Review Conference of the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their Destruction, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity towards victims of anti-personnel mines and praised the Conference as an occasion to chart forward the global effort to end the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.

The Conference, held in Maputo from 23 to 27 June, saw the participation of over 1,000 representatives of States and international and non-governmental organizations.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-names-new-consultors-to-pontifical-council-for-culture

Pope Names New Consultors to Pontifical Council for Culture
Vatican City,  July 01, 2014

Pope Francis has appointed new consultors to the Pontifical Council for Culture, including a bioethics expert from Georgetown University, a lecturer in philosophy and theology at the University of Notre Dame in Lebanon, and a Latin expert from the University of Bologna, Italy.

The full list is as follows:

-Fr. Paul Bere, S.J., professor of sacred scripture at the Theological Institute of the Society of Jesus in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

-Fr. Pablo d'Ors, C.M.F., director of the theatre writing workshop of the University of Madrid, Spain

-Fr. Kevin Fitzgerald, S.J., lecturer in bioethics at Georgetown University, U.S.A.

-Fr. Fernando Ortega, dean of the faculty of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

-Professor Edward Alam, U.S.A., lecturer in philosophy and theology at the Notre Dame University in Louaize, Lebanon
 

[Sister]

Thank you grace-land for all of these articles.  I read them all -- and often they help me in my daily meditations.

 

[grace-land]

Thank you grace-land for all of these articles.  I read them all -- and often they help me in my daily meditations.

 

You're welcome, Sister! 

I didn't post these articles, but I think they are interesting--he's working so hard and trying to accomplish so much!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10935917/Pope-Francis-has-met-12000-people-since-taking-office.html
Pope Francis 'has met 12,000 people' since taking office
4:23PM BST 30 Jun 2014

 

But a list of his achievements and daily routine put together by Italian daily La Stampa on Monday suggests Francis is not so much ill as worn out.

Rising at 4.45am, he dresses and read cables from papal ambassadors before praying for an hour and writing the homily he delivers every morning to about 60 people who attend mass at his Vatican residence.

During the day he allows himself a 30 minute nap after lunch, but has admitted he sometimes skips it when busy. Instead of taking off Tuesdays, as popes traditionally do, Francis uses the day to clear his backlog of meetings, wrote La Stampa.
 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/01/pope-francis-numbers-statistics_n_5549387.html
Pope Francis By The Numbers: Analyzing His First 15 Months
Posted:  07/01/2014 8:44 pm EDT    Updated:  07/01/2014 8:59 pm EDT   

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/full-english-text-of-pope-francis-interview-with-il-messaggero
Full English Text of Pope Francis' Interview With 'Il Messaggero'
Rome,  July 02, 2014

The following is ZENIT's English translation of an interview Pope Francis gave the Italian daily Il Messaggero, published on Sunday, June 30th.

Pope Francis: Communism Stole Our Flag

(Franca Giansoldati) The appointment is at Saint Martha’s in the afternoon. A speedy check and a Swiss gentleman leads me to a small parlor.

There are six armchairs of somewhat worn out green velvet, a small wooden table, one of those old televisions. Everything is in perfect order. The marble shines, some pictures. It could be a parish waiting room, one of those where one goes to ask for advice, or to fill in marriage documents.

Francis enters smiling: “Finally! I read you and now I finally meet you.” I blush. “Instead, I know you and now I listen to you.” He laughs. The Pope laughs heartily, as he will do at other times in the course of an hour long off the cuff conversation. Rome with its big-city evils, the era of change that weakens politics, the effort to defend the common good; the re-appropriation by the Church of the issues of poverty and sharing (“Marx didn’t invent anything”), the dismay in face of the degradation of the peripheries of the soul, the slippery moral abyss in which children are abused, the tolerance of begging, the work of minors and, not least the exploitation of child prostitutes not even fifteen-years-old. And by clients who could be their grandfathers.

“Pedophiles” – this is how Pope describes them. Francis talks, explains, interrupts himself, returns to the subject -- passion, gentleness, irony. A faint voice seems to lull the words. His hands accompany his way of reasoning, he clasps them, loosens them, they seem to trace invisible shapes in the air. And he is on excellent form, despite rumors about his health.

--Q: It is now the Italy-Uruguay [soccer World Cup] game. Holy Father, who are you rooting for?

-- Pope Francis: Oh me, for no one, truly. I promised the President of Brazil (Dilma Roussef) I would stay neutral.

--Q: Shall we begin with Rome?
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/father-lombardi-gives-briefing-on-council-of-cardi
Father Lombardi gives briefing on Council of Cardinals meeting
2014-07-02 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Following a second day of discussions by the Council of Cardinals which also includes the participation of the Pope himself, the Director of the Holy See Press Office Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi briefed journalists on how their work is progressing.
 
Father Lombardi began by saying that the first significant point was that the C8 or Council of Eight Cardinals would become the C9 with the formal inclusion of Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin who already actively participates at the meetings.

He went to say that between Tuesday and Wednesday three issues had so far been covered. First, Father Lombardi said there were two presentations given, one  by Cardinal Bertello of matters relating to the Governorate of Vatican City State, and the other a presentation by Cardinal Parolin on matters regarding the Secretariat of State.

Also on the agenda was the issue of the structure of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) also known as the Vatican Bank.
 
The Council will continue it’s meetings through to Friday 4th of July continuing their reflections already formulated in the first round of study and review of the different facets of the Roman Curia.

[grace-land]

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-francis-appoints-filipino-new-vatican-rep-un

Pope Francis appoints Filipino as new Vatican rep to the UN
Jul. 2, 2014

Manila, Philippines --   Pope Francis has appointed Filipino Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, as the Holy See’s Permanent ******* to the United Nations in New York.
 
The appointment was announced over Vatican Radio on July 1.

The 55-year old Auza will replace Archbishop Francis Chullikatt from India, the first non-Italian to have acted as the Holy See’s Permanent ******* to the U.N. Chullikatt leaves his diplomatic position after the normal four-year stint expected of a Vatican diplomat.

A native of Talibon, Bohol, Auza was consecrated Titular Archbishop of Suacia on May 8, 2008, the same day he was appointed Nuncio to Haiti. He was Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti and also Apostolic Administrator of the capital city Porte-au-Prince after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010. He is a career diplomat, having worked at various diplomatic posts.
 

[grace-land]

Homilies from Pope Francis from the chapel of the guesthouse are suspended til September.

July 2, 2014 Tweet
https://twitter.com/roccopalmo

Rocco Palmo @roccopalmo     ·   Jul 2   
Reminder: along with release of Domus homilies, Wednesday audiences are suspended til September.

------------
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301387.htm
Mar-26-2013

The Domus Sanctae Marthae, the official name of the guesthouse, was built in 1996 specifically to house cardinals during a conclave.

[grace-land]

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/945/0/go-ahead-for-exorcisms-as-vatican-grants-approval-to-international-association

Go-ahead for exorcisms as Vatican grants approval to international association
03 July 2014 16:04

The Vatican has given its blessing to exorcisms as a standard practice in the Catholic Church.

The Congregation for the Clergy decided last month to recognise the International Association of Exorcists, which consists of 250 priests in 30 countries who perform religious ceremonies to “liberate the faithful from demons” under canon law, and has approved its statutes.

The Association was introduced in Italy in 1991 by veteran exorcist Fr Gabriele Amorth, to share experience as increased interest in occult practices boosted demand.

Fr Francesco Bamonte, an exorcist from the Diocese of Rome told L’Osservatore Romano that the Holy See’s approval of the IAE “is cause for joy…for the Church as a whole.”

“Exorcism is another form of charity,” he said.

Pope Francis has mentioned Satan on a number of occasions.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/943/0/to-understand-pope-francis-we-must-think-like-latin-americans-prefect-of-cdf-says

To understand Pope Francis 'we must think like Latin Americans', prefect of CDF says
03 July 2014 13:29

The main aim of Pope Francis’s pontificate is to draw the world’s attention to the poor and to change the global structures that lead to poverty, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a long interview last week. Speaking to the Austrian Pontifical Missions magazine Alle Welt, Cardinal Gerhard Müller insisted that it was not possible to truly understand Pope Francis unless one could understand the Latin American “mindset”. Cardinal Muller has long experience of Peru over several decades and is a close friend of the Peruvian liberation theologian, Gustavo Gutierrez.

The Western world would have to learn to see problems from the Pope’s point of view, which was very different from the European one, Cardinal Müller said. On account of his many visits to Latin America, he was very familiar with the way Pope Francis thought. It was very good for the world Church not always to see things through European eyes, the cardinal said, and to discover how other people saw Europe.
 

[grace-land]

I found this article helpful in understanding the process and the Synod of Bishops’ June 27 instrumentum laboris (working document).

Synod’s Working Document Addresses Priestly Education, Faithful Knowledge
NEWS ANALYSIS: On June 27, the Vatican released the instrumentum laboris for the October Extraordinary Synod on Marriage and the Family.
07/02/2014

VATICAN CITY — The Synod of Bishops’ June 27 instrumentum laboris (working document) for the upcoming Synod on Marriage and the Family contained no doctrinal surprises, but it noted that neither the faithful nor the Church’s ministers are fully aware of the teaching of the Church.

Participants at the synod will use this document to prepare for the Oct. 5-16 gathering. Divided into three parts and based on the responses to the 38-question questionnaire sent to bishops’ conferences all over the world, the instrumentum laboris is a snapshot about the realities Catholics face in society today.

“The synod will represent an analysis of the pastoral and social situation,” said Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and general relator for the synod, on June 26. “It is the first stage of a wider process. After this extraordinary synod, there will be another one, which will provide a more in-depth reflection on how to address the numerous challenges to families and, at the same time, how to evaluate the family as the active subject of evangelization.”

Better Education

Education is the first issue the synod fathers have to address. According to the instrumentum laboris, the documents on the magisterium of the family issued after the Second Vatican Council (that is, elaborating on the new approach provided by the Council) “do not seem to have taken a foothold in the faithful’s mentality” (11). The information underscores that “some responses clearly state that the faithful have no knowledge of these documents, while others mention that they are viewed, especially by laypeople with prior preparation, as rather ‘exclusive’ or ‘limited to a few’ and require some effort to take them and study them.” The problem is “that, oftentimes, people without due preparation find difficulty reading these documents.”

Connected to the faithful’s lack of formation is the formation of the clergy. The synod’s paper said that in the judgment of some of the faithful, clergy “are not sufficiently familiar with the documentation on marriage and the family, nor do they seem to have the resources for development in these areas” (12). The shepherds “sometimes feel so unsuited and ill-prepared to treat issues regarding sexuality, fertility and procreation that they often choose to remain silent.”

The responses from the questionnaire also voice “a certain dissatisfaction with some members of the clergy who appear indifferent to moral teachings. Their divergence from Church doctrine leads to confusion among the people of God.”

Paragraphs 20-30 deal with natural law and its relation to the Church’s teaching on marriage and family life. The text states, “In a vast majority of responses and observations, the concept of natural law today turns out to be, in different cultural contexts, highly problematic, if not completely incomprehensible.”

In addition, the document said, “The responses very often stress the need for a family ministry, which provides systematic and ongoing formation on the value of marriage as a vocation and the rediscovery of parenting (fatherhood and motherhood) as a gift” (49).

Msgr. Livio Melina, the president of the John Paul II Institute in Rome, told the Register June 27 that “the instrumentum laboris’ emphasis on the importance of formation recalls that the pastoral care of the family must be founded on truth.”

‘Difficult Pastoral Situations’
 

[grace-land]

http://www.voanews.com/content/to-curb-mafia-italian-bishop-wants-to-ban-naming-godfathers/1948679.html

To Curb Mafia, Italian Bishop Wants to Ban Naming Godfathers
Reuters
July 01, 2014 2:13 PM

VATICAN CITY —
A leading Roman Catholic bishop in southern Italy wants a 10-year ban on naming godfathers to stop the Mafia and other crime groups from using religion to extend the tentacles of their families.

Scenes of mobsters taking part in the baptisms of newborns as a godfather, or "padrino" – thereby establishing a special bond with future generations of potential criminals – are replete in Mafia films such as "The Godfather" and "Prizzi's Honor."

Archbishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini of the southern city of Reggio Calabria said the problem is real and must be addressed.

Morosini is from Italy's southern Calabria region, home to the 'Ndrangheta, one of the world's most dangerous crime organizations, and has spread throughout the world.

Morosini told Vatican Radio on Monday that he wanted a 10-year moratorium on naming godfathers to break the chain of criminality from generation to generation until a new mentality could develop.

Mobsters "use religious symbols and sacramental practices almost as if to give themselves a clean image before society,'' he said.

"And there is the real factor that being a 'padrino' at the sacrament of baptism or confirmation serves to create a union among [crime] families. The 'Ndrangheta is based fundamentally on collaboration and tight bonds among families and this comes through blood ties," Morosini said.

In the Christian tradition, godfathers vow to teach children the tenets of the faith in case the parents die. But in some areas of Italy and in immigrant cultures abroad, the practice forms an almost sacred familial bond.

Morosini said that during his visit to Calabria last month, Pope Francis encouraged him to "go forward" and suggested that the region's bishops should make a joint proposal to the Vatican.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/presentation-of-the-world-youth-day-2016-logo

Presentation of the World Youth Day 2016 logo



Vatican City, 3 July 2014 (VIS) – In a press conference held this morning the metropolitan archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, presented the logo and official prayer for the 31st World Youth Day.

Three elements are combined in the symbolism of the logo: the place, the main protagonists , and the theme of the celebration. The logo of the 2016 World Youth Day, to be held in Krakow, illustrates the passage from the Gospel according to Matthew, 5.7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”, chosen as the theme of the event. The image is composed of a geographical outline of Poland, in which there is a Cross, symbol of Christ Who is the soul of World Youth Day. The yellow circle marks the position of Krakow on the map of Poland and is also a symbol of youth. The flame of Divine Mercy emerges from the Cross, and its colours recall the image “Jesus, I trust in you”. The colours used in the logo – blue, red and yellow – are the official colours of Krakow and its coat of arms.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/07/04/council_of_cardinals_concludes_meetings/1102543

Council of Cardinals concludes meetings
04/07/2014

(Vatican Radio) The Fifth Meeting of the Council of Cardinals concluded today here at the Vatican. With the recent addition of the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, the nine-member body is working to advise Pope Francis on important issues within the Church.

In a midday press conference today, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, spoke about the meetings.
 
Describing the meetings of the Council of Cardinals, Father Lombardi said he was struck by the “free, frank, and friendly” atmosphere that characterized the encounters. The cardinals, he said, emphasized the “liberty of expression,” the sincerity with which they expressed their opinions, and the “sincere reciprocal appreciation” that produced a “climate of cordiality”. Pope Francis, he said, fits naturally “into this dynamic of dialogue,” joining the discussions and encouraging a freedom of expression and the development of dialogue.” 

On the final day of the current round of meetings, Father Lombardi said the cardinals discussed the various departments within the Roman Curia, with special attention given to the theme of “the laity and the family.” The Cardinals discussed ways in which married couples and women might be furthered involved in the work of the various Dicasteries.

Father Lombardi said no final decisions were made, but detailed proposals were offered which could be included in the overall framework of the new configuration of the Curia.

Two other important topics that were touched on were the Apostolic Nunciatures – the Pope’s ambassadors to different nations – and the procedures for the appointment of Bishops: two areas that Father Lombardi described as of obvious importance in the governance of the Church.

The meetings, he said, had not arrived at specific recommendations, but instead were aimed at reaching a deeper understanding of the issues.