Vatican defends unforeseen presentation of reforms

VATICAN CITY (AP) — On Monday, the Vatican defended its accelerated presentation of Pope Francis' reforms to the bureaucracy of the Holy See, while calling them one of the most relevant of his papacy, since they recognize that every believer, whether male or female, can be in charge of a department of the Vatican.

The new apostolic constitution “Praedicate Evanglium” (“Preaching the Gospel”) was published on Saturday after nine years of work, but without warning and only in Italian. It replaces the directives issued in 1988 that only ordained priests, bishops and cardinals can head offices of the Vatican since they alone have “the power of governance” in the Catholic Church.

While the change could have an impact on very few Vatican offices, its foundation — as explained by Vatican officials at a press conference on Monday — is important and fits Francis' stance of not emphasizing so much the power of priests in the Church but rather the participation of believers.

“This is an important statement because it makes it clear that the person who heads a dicastery... does not derive his authority from a hierarchical level but from the power received by the Roman pontiff to act on his behalf,” said Rev. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a prominent canonical lawyer.

“This confirms that the power of governance in the Church does not come from the sacrament of Holy Orders, but from the canonical mission” of every baptized Catholic, Ghirlanda told reporters.

Even earlier, Francis had appointed women — both religious and lay — to positions of authority in the Vatican hierarchy. But to date no woman has been appointed to head one of the important departments of the Holy See, known as “dicasteries”.

Today, a lay man leads the Dicastery of Communications, and Ghirlanda expressed the possibility that a lay man or woman might one day lead the Dicastery for Secularism, Family and Life, now led by American Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

The association of Vatican correspondents complained that the press conference was convened just two days after the publication of the 54-page text, and that it was published only in Italian. Usually, these texts are announced well in advance and the Vatican hands them over to embargoed journalists in various languages.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni acknowledged the complaint, but emphasized the unique nature of the reform, noting that it was published on an important day for Pope Francis, as it is the Feast of Saint Joseph and the ninth anniversary of his ascent to the papacy.