April 16, 2013      Martin Mallon  (Ireland)      Martin's previous articles                        

                                FRANCIS’ REVOLUTION

Pope Francis’ selection of an eight man cabinet is revolutionary, especially, as John Allen points out, when we realise that the cabinet’s function is:  

“to advise him in the government of the universal church”, and only then “to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, Pastor Bonus.”  

Clearly the cabinet is here for the duration of this papacy to help the Pope govern the church. Its very existence is a reform of the curia, by diminishing it’s powers of governance.  

Allen lists five points resulting from this development, the most significant being that it demonstrates greater collegiality as called for by the Second Vatican Council. The fact that many of the eight are or were heads of their continent’s or region’s grouping of Bishops’ Conferences shows that Francis is serious about implementing collegiality and subsidiarity. What better means of reforming the curia could be exercised?  

This pontificate keeps getting better and better. The feeling of peace that has enveloped the Church since the election of Pope Francis witnesses to the Holy Spirit carrying out a new work.  

John Allen’s insightful article can be found here.

John Hooper in a Guardian article with the heading Pope Francis to revolutionise running of church with new advisory panel writes:  

The Italian church historian Alberto Melloni, writing in the Corriere della Sera, called it the "most important step in the history of the church for the past 10 centuries". For the first time, a pope will be helped by a global panel of advisers who look certain to wrest power from the Roman Curia, the church's central bureaucracy.

Several of the group's members will come to the job with a record of vigorous reform and outspoken criticism of the status quo. None has ever served in the Italian-dominated Curia in Rome and only one is an Italian: Giuseppe Bertello, the governor of the Vatican City State.

Hooper’s article can be read here:  

This is a fundamental change in Church governance and the papacy as we know it and could also assist in ecumenical talks with the Eastern Orthodox, among others.

Pope Francis is bringing the teachings of Vatican II back to life and now we know it is not just in his personal example, but by the restructuring of church governance in accordance with the teachings of the Council.  

The Pope has warned against triumphalism and let us hope and pray that his warning is heeded and all sections of the church can unite behind the Holy Spirit who is plainly inspiring Pope Francis as he implements these changes. And he has only been Pope for a month!