Roman Curia

by

Sede Vacante : Which offices are suspended, which ones has important roles and which remains in place during the sede vacante

http://www.gcatholic.org/events/sede-vacante.htm

A superb collection and data collated by GCatholic site, on the list of all offices that are suspended during the Sede Vacante period (that is between the vacancy of the Apostolic See by the death or resignation of the previous Pope, and the election of a new Pope).

The suspended offices are mainly the prefects of the Congregations of the Roman Curia (example : Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), presidents of the Pontifical Councils (example : Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace), and many other members and offices of the Roman Curia. The new Pope will be able to either confirm them to continue in their respective offices, or choose to replace them with his own preferred candidates.

The offices that continue to be exercised during the Sede Vacante, include the offices that has important roles in the Sede Vacante period and the Conclave, such as the Camerlengo, the Vice-Camerlengo (who seals the papal apartments and destroy the Ring of the Fisherman), several other officers of the Roman Curia, head of the Papal Household (currently Archbishop Georg Ganswein), all the Apostolic Nuncios, Apostolic Delegates, and other diplomatic representatives of the Holy See, whose diplomatic authority remains even during the Sede Vacante.

Amongst the Cardinals themselves and some other officials, there are special duties that they are supposed to carry out during the Conclave, which includes the Cardinal-electors by their order (Bishop, priest, or deacon), in the running of the Conclave, the Papal Master of Ceremonies (currently Monsignor Guido Marini), who is the one stating the ‘extra omnes’ order officially beginning the lockdown of the Conclave, and other offices.

by

Summary of the Third General Congregation of the College of Cardinals (Tuesday, 5 March 2013)

http://www.news.va/en/news/general-congregations-5-electors-yet-to-arrive

 

Here is a rough summary of what was concluded yesterday morning in the Third General Congregation of the College of Cardinals :

1. 110 Cardinal-electors are already in Rome by yesterday morning, only 5 more Cardinal-electors remaining to arrive.

2. No rush to fix the date of the Conclave, but it is still possible to begin by next Monday, 11 March 2013.

3. Sistine Chapel had been closed to public as of yesterday morning, Tuesday, 5 March 2013 to prepare for the Conclave.

4. 33 Cardinals had spoken so far and 11 interventions were made in yesterday’s General Congregation, with issues pertaining to activities of the Holy See and the Church, evangelisation, and many others.

5. Focus on the timeline of the Conclave as specified in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis and the modifications made by the Motu Proprio Normas Nonnullas.

6. The Cardinals sent a thank-you letter to the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, now living in the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.

by

Who to watch for in 2013 papal conclave? Scola, Ouellet, Ravasi, Scherer

Scola, Ouellet, Ravasi, Scherer, who you should watch for in the Conclave.

 

Scola (Cardinal Angelo Scola, Metropolitan Archbishop of Milan)

Italian, so that even though he’s not in Curia, he did have experience in Rome, and he is already close to Rome, both in distance and relations. Also close to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,
and he has also done great job in Venice and then Milan, in which
these two archdioceses alone produced 5 popes in the past century

Only Pope Benedict XV and Pope Pius XII were not from these (excluding Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI)

Venice : Pius X, John XXIII, John Paul I
Milan : Pius XI, Paul VI

Also at the forefront of communication with Islam through the publications Oasis he created to reach out to Christians in the Muslim world, and involved in interreligious dialogues.

Scola is also more charismatic than Ouellet and also active in the media via youtube, twitter, his site.

Scola is also a well-known author in bioethics, and certainly is a trait needed for a Pope that will lead the Church in its constant battle against the improper use of Science. Yes to an ethical science, but no to unbridled and uncontrolled use of science!

If the conclave proceeds smoothly, he should be the one elected Pope, within 2 or 3 days from the start of the conclave.

 

Ouellet (Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops)

In the Roman Curia and in charge of the bishops, but with the problem is that his archdiocesan experience is not that good, and the story has come out that the very church and parish we was born into, was no longer there, which is shameful considering the rate of secularisation in the west. Formerly he was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec in Canada.

But so far he has done quite a good job, and quite in line with Pope Benedict XVI, by appointing bishops who are not only known to be good administrators, but more importantly, bishops who are holy, and are steadfast in their faith, with individuals like Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia and Cardinal Tagle of Manila as example.

 

Ravasi (Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of Pontifical Council for Culture)

Ravasi is the forefront in how the Church communicates with social issues and the media, and he has been quite active in twitter, more so than Scola, but his administrative skill has been found rather lacking, since he has only five or six years experience as a bishop and never had any experience in handling major archdioceses or dioceses.

At least Cardinal Ravasi will sure make good use of the social media to help evangelise the faith to many, especially youths. But at the moment, we will also need candidate who are more experienced in administration as well, especially considering the troubles that had befallen the Church in recent years due to some inefficiencies in administration.

 

Scherer (Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Paulo)

Scherer is rather conservative and as a Latin American, this may boost his chances, but he is quite young and he is not familiar with the curia and with still a relatively short experience as a senior prelate, he needs more experience in managing important archdioceses and other administrative matters.

In addition, the status of Brazil as a country, although having the largest Catholic population in the world, but the rapidly declining number of Catholics in the country as a percentage of the population and the rapidly growing secularisation in the country (also affect the rest of Latin America) may also affect his chances.

 

In fact, this time round, just as it was with the election of Pope Benedict XVI, now our Pope Emeritus, we does have a clear leading papabili, and the number of papabili is in fact not as many as the media mentioned it.

It will not be like the election of Pope John XXIII when there is no clear preferred papabili present, which resulted in the election of Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, later Pope John XXIII as the compromise choice.

by

A vision that I have for the future College of Cardinals : For Greater Representation and Universality of the Church

This is still updating in the view of more data and research

Curial Cardinals

1. Cardinal Secretary of State

2. Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

3. Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches

4. Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

5. Prefect of the Congregation for Causes of Saints

6. Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

7. Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples

8. Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy

9. Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life

10. Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (for Seminaries and Educational Institutions)

11. Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary

12. President of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

13. President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity

14. President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

15. President of the Pontifical Council for the Family

16. President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

17. President of the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’

18. President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

19. President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers

20. President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts

21. President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

22. President of the Pontifical Council for Culture

23. President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications

24. President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation

25. President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See

26. President of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See

27. President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State

28. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran

29. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican

30. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major

31. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls

32. President of the Financial Information Authority of the Holy See

 

Non-curial cardinals (Residential)

Europe (Sees tied to the Cardinalate)

33. Metropolitan Archbishop of Vienna (Austria)

34. Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel (Belgium)

35. Metropolitan Archbishop of Zagreb (Croatia)

36. Metropolitan Archbishop of Praha/Prague (Czech Republic)

37. Metropolitan Archbishop of Paris (France)

38. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bordeaux (France)

39. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lyon (France)

40. Metropolitan Archbishop of Rheims (France)

41. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tours (France)

42. Metropolitan Archbishop of Berlin (Germany)

43. Metropolitan Archbishop of Munchen und Freising (Germany)

44. Metropolitan Archbishop of Koln (Germany)

45. Metropolitan Archbishop of Paderborn (Germany)

46. Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary)

47. Metropolitan Archbishop of Armagh (Ireland)

48. Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin (Ireland)

49. Metropolitan Archbishop of Firenze (Italy)

50. Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo (Italy)

51. Metropolitan Archbishop of Genova (Italy)

52. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bologna (Italy)

53. Metropolitan Archbishop of Milano (Italy)

54. Metropolitan Archbishop of Torino (Italy)

55. Metropolitan Archbishop of Napoli (Italy)

56. Latin Patriarch of Venice (Italy)

57. Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius (Lithuania)

58. Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht (Netherlands)

59. Metropolitan Archbishop of Warszawa (Poland)

60. Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow (Poland)

61. Metropolitan Archbishop of Wroclaw (Poland)

62. Metropolitan Archbishop of Gniezno (Poland)

63. Latin Patriarch of Lisboa/Lisbon (Portugal)

64. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bratislava (Slovakia)

65. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ljubljana (Slovenia)

66. Metropolitan Archbishop of Barcelona (Spain)

67. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sevilla (Spain)

68. Metropolitan Archbishop of Toledo (Spain)

69. Metropolitan Archbishop of Madrid (Spain)

70. Metropolitan Archbishop of Valencia (Spain)

71. Metropolitan Archbishop of Westminster (UK)

72. Metropolitan Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh (UK)

Asia  (Sees tied to the Cardinalate)

73. Bishop of Hong Kong (China)

74. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bombay (India)

75. Metropolitan Archbishop of Calcutta (India)

76. Metropolitan Archbishop of Delhi (India)

77. Latin Patriarch of the East Indies, Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Daman (India)

78. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ranchi (India)

79. Metropolitan Archbishop of Jakarta (Indonesia)

80. Metropolitan Archbishop of Semarang (Indonesia)

81. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ende (Indonesia)

82. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tokyo / Metropolitan Archbishop of Nagasaki (Japan)

83. Metropolitan Archbishop of Yangon / Metropolitan Archbishop of Mandalay (Myanmar)

84. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lahore (Pakistan)

85. Metropolitan Archbishop of Manila (Philippines)

86. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cebu (Philippines)

87. Metropolitan Archbishop of Davao (Philippines)

88. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lipa (Philippines)

89. Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro (Philippines)

90. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan (Philippines)

91. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur /Archbishop of Singapore / Metropolitan Archbishop of Kuching / Metropolitan Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu (Singapore and Malaysia)

92. Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul (South Korea)

93. Metropolitan Archbishop of Daegu (South Korea)

94. Metropolitan Archbishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka)

95. Metropolitan Archbishop of Taipei (Taiwan/ROC)

96. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangkok (Thailand)

97. Bishop of Dili (Timor-Leste)

98. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ha Noi (Vietnam)

99. Metropolitan Archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)

100. Metropolitan Archbishop of Hue (Vietnam)

North America (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

101. Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada)

102. Metropolitan Archbishop of Montreal (Canada)

103. Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec (Canada)

104. Metropolitan Archbishop of Guadalajara (Mexico)

105. Metropolitan Archbishop of Mexico (Mexico)

106. Metropolitan Archbishop of Monterrey (Mexico)

107. Metropolitan Archbishop of Leon (Mexico)

108. Metropolitan Archbishop of Acapulco (Mexico)

109. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tijuana (Mexico)

110. Metropolitan Archbishop of New York (USA)

111. Metropolitan Archbishop of Baltimore (USA)

112. Metropolitan Archbishop of St. Louis (USA)

113. Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington (USA)

114. Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston (USA)

115. Metropolitan Archbishop of Los Angeles (USA)

116. Metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco (USA)

117. Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia (USA)

118. Metropolitan Archbishop of Chicago (USA)

119. Metropolitan Archbishop of Denver (USA)

120. Metropolitan Archbishop of Detroit (USA)

Central America (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

121. Metropolitan Archbishop of La Habana / Havana (Cuba)

122. Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)

123. Metropolitan Archbishop of San Salvador (El Salvador)

124. Metropolitan Archbishop of Guatemala (Guatemala)

125. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

126. Metropolitan Archbishop of Managua (Nicaragua)

127. Metropolitan Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico (USA/Puerto Rico)

South America (Sees tied to the Cardinalate)

128. Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

129. Metropolitan Archbishop of Parana (Argentina)

130. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cordoba (Argentina)

131. Metropolitan Archbishop of La Plata (Argentina)

132. Metropolitan Archbishop of Santa Cruz  de la Sierra (Bolivia)

133. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sucre (Bolivia)

134. Metropolitan Archbishop of Aparecida (Brazil)

135. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Paulo (Brazil)

136. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

137. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Salvador da Bahia (Brazil)

138. Metropolitan Archbishop of Brasilia (Brazil)

139. Metropolitan Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil)

140. Metropolitan Archbishop of Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

141. Metropolitan Archbishop of Florianopolis (Brazil)

142. Metropolitan Archbishop of Manaus (Brazil)

143. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cuiaba (Brazil)

144. Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago (Chile)

145. Metropolitan Archbishop of Concepcion (Chile)

146. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bogota (Colombia)

147. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bucaramanga (Colombia)

148. Metropolitan Archbishop of Quito (Ecuador)

149. Metropolitan Archbishop of Asuncion (Paraguay)

150. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lima (Peru)

151. Metropolitan Archbishop of Trujillo (Peru)

152. Metropolitan Archbishop of Montevideo (Uruguay)

153. Metropolitan Archbishop of Caracas (Venezuela)

154. Metropolitan Archbishop of Barquisimeto / Metropolitan Archbishop of Maracaibo / Metropolitan Archbishop of Merida / Metropolitan Archbishop of Valencia (Venezuela)

Africa (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

155. Metropolitan Archbishop of Luanda (Angola)

156. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cotonou (Benin)

157. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ougadougou (Burkina Faso)

158. Metropolitan Archbishop of Douala (Cameroon)

159. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangui (Central African Republic)

160. Metropolitan Archbishop of Brazzaville (Congo)

161. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa (Zaire)

162. Metropolitan Archbishop of Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire)

163. Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba (Ethiopia) (Ethiopic Rite)

164. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast (Ghana)

165. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale (Ghana)

166. Metropolitan Archbishop of Conakry (Guinea)

167. Metropolitan Archbishop of Nairobi (Kenya)

168. Metropolitan Archbishop of Antananarivo (Madagascar)

169. Bishop of Port-Louis (Mauritius)

170. Metropolitan Archbishop of Maputo (Mozambique)

171. Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja (Nigeria)

172. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lagos (Nigeria)

173. Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha (Nigeria)

174. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kaduna (Nigeria)

175. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kigali (Rwanda)

176. Metropolitan Archbishop of Dakar (Senegal)

177. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Town (South Africa)

178. Metropolitan Archbishop of Durban (South Africa)

179. Metropolitan Archbishop of Juba (South Sudan)

180. Metropolitan Archbishop of Khartoum (Sudan)

181. Metropolitan Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania)

182. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kampala (Uganda)

183. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lusaka (Zambia)

184. Metropolitan Archbishop of Harare (Zimbabwe)

Oceania (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

185. Metropolitan Archbishop of Samoa-Apia (Samoa)

186. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sydney (Australia)

187. Metropolitan Archbishop of Melbourne / Metropolitan Archbishop of Perth / Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane (Australia)

188. Metropolitan Archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand)

189. Metropolitan Archbishop of Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)

Eastern Rite Patriarchs and Major Archbishops

190. Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts (Egypt)

191. Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites (Lebanon)

192. Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians (Syria)

193. Patriarch of the Greek-Melkites

194. Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians

195. Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans (Iraq)

196. Major Archbishop of Fagaras si Alba Iulia of the Romanians (Romania)

197. Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars (India)

198. Major Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars (India)

199. Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc of the Ukrainians (Ukraine)

Total Sees tied to Cardinalate + Curial Cardinals = 199

Sees tied to Cardinalate (require resolution of problems regarding the Church in the area)

1. Metropolitan Archbishop of Beijing (China)

2. Metropolitan Archbishop of Nanjing (China)

3. Metropolitan Archbishop of Guangzhou (China)

4. Metropolitan Archbishop of Xi’an (China)

5. Metropolitan Archbishop of Changsha (China)

6. Metropolitan Archbishop of Pyongyang (North Korea)

Grand Total = 205 Cardinal electors minimal (Not counting irregular appointed non-bishop Cardinals, namely Cardinals appointed from priests, theologians, and distinguished members of the Church’s ordained presbyters)

Division by continents (minimum, as more Cardinals from dioceses/archdioceses not listed above can be created)

Europe = 42

Asia = 41

North America = 20

Central America = 7                        America total = 54

South America = 27

Africa = 31

Oceania = 5

Curial = 32 (can be from any continents, although majority will be Italians and Europeans)

(Total College size will be larger <= 350 if counting the Emeritus Archbishops of these Metropolitan Archdioceses and the Roman Curial posts’ Emeritus Cardinals above the age of 80 or non-electors). 

by

Pope Benedict XVI’s another latest Motu Proprio – Ministrorum Institutio

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20130116_ministrorum-institutio_it.html

The link above provide the full document of one of Pope Benedict XVI’s two latest Motu Proprio, titled Ministrorum Institutio, released on 16 January 2013. Chrome translator works fine in translating the document to English.

by

Pope Benedict XVI’s latest Motu Proprio – Fides per Doctrinam (Faith through Doctrine)

http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/it/segreteria/FidesPerDoctrinam.html

Alternative link :

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20130116_fides-per-doctrinam_it.html

The full document of Pope Benedict XVI’s latest Motu Proprio, Fides per Doctrinam (Faith through Doctrine) released on 16 January 2013. It’s in Italian, so if you have difficulty, I believe the translator in chrome works quite well in translating this document to English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motu_proprio

Motu proprio is a kind of document that is signed by the Pope and is a document issued by the Pope’s own initiative, and may deal with matter pertaining to certain parts of the faith or matters pertaining to the Church as a whole.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=16902

A short explanation on the changes brought about by this Motu Proprio, mainly concerning transfer in the duties of some offices of the Roman Curia.