Letter to the cardinal Secretary of State on questions related to the reform of the Roman Curia

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has written a letter to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin regarding various issues that have arisen during the process of reforming the structures of the Roman Curia. The following is the full text of the letter:

“While the process of reform of various structures of the Roman Curia, to which the Council of Cardinals I instituted on 28 September 2013 is dedicating its attention, is continuing in accordance with the established programme, it is necessary to note that certain problems have emerged in the meantime, in relation to which I intend to take prompt action.

I wish first to state that the current period of transition is not a time of vacatio legis. Therefore, I confirm that the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor bonus” and subsequent amendments thereto remain in full force, along with the General Regulations of the Roman Curia.

Since compliance with the common rules is necessary both to guarantee the orderly conduct of work in the Roman Curia and in the institutions connected to the Holy See, and to ensure equitable treatment of employees and collaborators, also in economic terms, I order that the provisions in the aforementioned documents, as well as in the Regulations for lay staff of the Holy See and Vatican City State and the Regulations of the independent Commission for the evaluation of the recruitment of lay staff in the Apostolic See, be scrupulously observed.

Accordingly, all staff hiring and transfers must be carried out within the limits established by staffing plans, excluding any other criterion, with the nulla osta of the Secretariat of State and in compliance with the prescribed procedures, including reference to the established parameters for remuneration.

The above, to the extent compatible with their Regulations, is valid also for the Governorate of Vatican City State and the dependent Institutions of the Apostolic See, although not expressly indicated in the Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus, with the exception of the Institute for the Works of Religion.

I therefore request, Your Eminence, that the provisions I have mentioned be brought to the attention of all the Superiors of the Dicasteries, the Offices and Bodies of the Roman Curia, as well as the Commissions, Committees and connected Institutions, as well as the Governorate, highlighting in particular the aspects requiring special attention, and that supervision of compliance be exercised.

I thank you for your collaboration and, in communion of intentions and prayer, I cordially greet you in the Lord”.

Telegram of condolences for the earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin today sent a telegram on behalf of the Holy Father to Archbishop Ghaleb Bader, apostolic nuncio in Pakistan, following the serious earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of the earthquake in the region. He expresses his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this disaster, and he offers the assurance of his prayers for the dead, as well as for the injured and those still missing. Upon all those who mourn the loss of loved ones and upon the civil authorities and emergency personnel involved in the relief efforts, Pope Francis invokes the divine blessings of consolation and strength”.

Esteem and appreciation for Patriarch Bartholomew I, awarded the Sophia University Institute's first doctorate honoris causa

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the cardinal archbishop of Florence, Giuseppe Bettori, Grand Chancellor of the On the occasion of the Sophia University Institute, Loppiano, Italy, following the conferral of a doctorate honoris causa in “Culture of Unity” to His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Holy Father greets those present, expresses his closeness, and offers a special thought for his beloved brother Bartholomew, to whom, he writes, “I renew my sentiments of profound esteem and heartfelt appreciation, rejoicing in the present initiative which, as well as constituting heartfelt recognition for his commitment to the promotion of the culture of unity, contributes favourably to the common journey our Churches take towards full and visible unity, to which we aspire with dedication and perseverance”.

“In the hope that the Sophia University Institute, following the charism of the Focolari Movement and open to the action of the Spirit, may continue to be a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and religions, I assure my prayerful remembrance and, asking for your prayers, I impart my Blessing to all present”, the Pope concludes.

Presentation of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, to take place in Cebu, Philippines from 24 to 31 January 2016 on the theme “Christ in you, our Hope of glory; the Eucharist, source and goal of mission”. The speakers were Archbishop Jose S. Palma of Cebu, Philippines, Archbishop Piero Marini, Italy, president of the Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, and Fr. Vittore Boccardi, S.S.S., member of the same committee.

Archbishop Palma commented on the importance of the choice of Asia and the Philippines to host the Congress. “In recent years, Asia is the continent that has become one of the great engines of world growth in the economic and social point of view”, he said. “From the religious point of view, however, it is still a contingent that has to be evangelised; … where the Catholic Church is a small minority; in spite of being the continent where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again. The 51st Eucharistic Congress, therefore, could become the mirror of the Asian Church in the sense that it will see how the Catholic Church carries out its task of evangelisation. As with the previous Congresses, representatives of the different Churches and a myriad of pilgrims from all over the world will be attending”.

The Congress, he continued, is expected to be attended by “around 20 cardinals, 50 bishops from other countries and at least 100 Filipino bishops who gather for the Catholic Bishops Conference Plenary Assembly in January 2016. As of October 2015, we already have 8,345 registered pilgrims representing 57 nations”. In addition, said Archbishop Palma, so far there are 600 registered host families ready to welcome pilgrims.

The events of the Congress will be divided into two main parts: the first, the “Theological Symposium”, will take place from 20 to 22 January, and the “Congress Proper”, from 24 to 31 January. The basic themes for reflection during the Theological Symposium are: “The Christian Virtue of Hope”; “Eucharist in the Gospel of St. John”; “Liturgy and Inculturation”; “The History of the Novus Ordo”; “Evangelising the Secular World” and “A Catechism on the Sunday Eucharist”. During the Congress Proper, the themes will be “Christ our Hope of Glory”; “Christian Hope”; “The Eucharist as Celebration of the Paschal Mystery”; “The Eucharist as Mission”; “Mission as Dialogue”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with Cultures”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with the Poor”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with other Religions” and “The Eucharist and Mary”.

Archbishop Marini, with reference to the theme of the Congress, affirmed that “the evangelical announcement and faith in the Lord Jesus professed by the Christian community are important and necessary for Asia, but must be presented in accordance with the methods of dialogue, methods that have distinguished the activity of the particular Churches of the continent in the last thirty years. It is precisely this programme of dialogue with cultures, religious traditions and the multitudes of the poor that forms, in an entirely natural and evident way, the fabric of pastoral reflections contained in the basic text. The text explains that the Eucharist is the source and culmination of the mission of the Church and identifies the added value offered by the Eucharistic celebration for a mission that is committed to leavening through the enzymes of dialogue, reconciliation, peace and future, of which Asia is in great need”.

“The Eucharistic Congresses, then, will go to Cebu to recall that the mission is an exchange of gifts between those who announce and who receive the evangelical message”, he added. “They go to the city that is the cradle of Christianity in the East to give and to receive, to evangelise and to be evangelised, to speak but also to listen. In that human environment that is not linked to the labyrinth of rationalism, the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery is bound with the experience of poverty, suffering and affections and continues to build communities that wish to break bread in the Kingdom of God”.

Finally, Fr. Boccardi commented that the event in Cebu, along with the World Youth Days, World Family Day, and so on, will become “an extraordinary resource for bearing witness, through its celebration, to how the Eucharist is not only the source of life in the Church but also the place of its projection in the world. Every particular Church that celebrates the Eucharist in any part of the world, is called upon to demonstrate the maturity of giving to others, of mutual listening, of availability and concrete collaboration so that the community of faithful might become the house of God and of our brothers amid the homes of mankind. There it will be possible to live that 'dialogue of life” that is a starting point for the joyful witness of the Gospel”.

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

- Bishop Matteo Maria Zuppi, auxiliary of Rome, as metropolitan archbishop of Bologna (area 3,549, population 998,600, Catholics 951,462, priests 590, permanent deacons 127, religious 1,115), Italy. He succeeds Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- Msgr. Corrado Lorefice as metropolitan archbishop of Palermo (area 1,366, population 916,000, Catholics 909,000, priests 479, permanent deacons 41, religious 1,249), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Ispica, Italy in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1987. He holds a licentiate in moral theology and a doctorate in moral theology, and has served in a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Noto, Italy, including bursar and vice rector of the seminary, lecturer in moral theology, director of the diocesan and regional centres for vocations, director of formation of permanent deacons, director of the diocesan catechistic office, parish administrator, and episcopal vicar for the clergy. He is currently parish priest and vicar forane, episcopal vicar for pastoral ministry, and lecturer in the “San Paolo” theological faculty of Catania. He succeeds Cardinal Paolo Romeo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- Msgr. Giacomo Morandi, vicar general of the archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola, Italy, as under-secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.