VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 14, 2013
A Vatican announcement Saturday that Francis has named eight cardinals to advise him on governance represents the first concrete step toward the reform that was so much in the air during the run-up to the conclave that propelled a Latin American outsider to the papacy.
Twenty-four hours later, five points seem most noteworthy about the “G8” that will likely be the new pope’s most important sounding board.
1. A Cabinet, not a blue-ribbon commission
In some early reporting, the mission of this body has been described as helping Francis to reform the Roman Curia. Yet reading Saturday’s announcement, that’s not what it says. The key line states that Francis has assembled this group “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.”
In other words, curial reform is only the second task. The first is to advise the pope on decisions about the universal church, meaning there’s almost nothing that falls outside its purview.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.