Restructuring the Curia

[Episcopalian]

Hi everyone!

I was reading in the news about the curia being restructured and repurposed over the course of a 10(?) year period.

I’m really struggling to understand certain aspects:

• Why are people upset that the congregation of evangelization being put above the one of doctrine?
• Why are the congregations ranked in the first place?
• What’s the thought process behind making the congregations serve the bishops?

Here’s the article:

Vatican’s former doctrine chief sounds alarm on Francis’ plans to reorder curia - LifeSite

The plans do not contain a 'convincing concept of the origin, essence, and mission of the Church.'

www.lifesitenews.com

 

[Weserthy]

I think the concerns that people have about this reorganization have to do with the fact that is not the task of the curia to evangelize. The curia is an instrument for managing the Church. The people in the curia, although they are doing important work that someone, somewhere, has to do, are not evangelizing people. Trying to force the curia to function like something it inherently is not is a recipe for disaster.

Concerns are also abound with the further downgrading of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The CDF is already no longer what it once was under Pope Francis, even before this reform plan goes through, as it has mainly served as a resource for Pope Francis to call upon when he needs to defend some new statement (e.g., death penalty change) rather than a doctrinal watchdog like it used to be. Doctrine has already become a dirty word in this pontificate; when this change is formalized with the new constitution you will see even more disunity in the Catholic Church than there already is. Bishops will have even more control over their dioceses and even less oversight from the Vatican, so there is far more danger of heterodox practices being introduced and allowed to percolate than before (not that this hasn’t already been happening to some degree lately). It’s like putting the cart before the horse; how can your Church evangelize when it is already divided and unable to agree on sometimes even essential points of the faith?

It is also worth noting that it is not just ultra-trad-conservative-Vatican-II-haters that are concerned about these changes. Just the other day there was an article from the liberal National Catholic Reporter that didn’t have many kind words to say about this upcoming change:

If leaked draft for Curia reform is for real, the Vatican is headed for disaster

If there is any truth to the leaks concerning the Vatican's forthcoming proposal to reform the Curia, it is going to be a disappointment and a disaster.

www.ncronline.org

 

[Episcopalian]

Thank you very much for clarifying this!

 

[Genesis315]

The congregations serving the bishops and their local churches is nothing new. That is what they always have done–the Pope’s job is to serve all the churches and the curia assists him in that. I’m not sure why that is being presented as groundbreaking and I don’t think anyone objects to that.

The CDF/Holy Office has always been “supreme” because the integral importance of doctrine in the life of the Church. All of the other areas are meaningless without a firm foundation in doctrine as Cardinal Muller and Fr. Weinandy note in the article. In fact, without unity in doctrine, the Church cannot fulfill those other ministries coherently, whether they be liturgy, works of mercy, the formation of clergy, the appointment of bishops, etc. Evangelization is especially nonsensical without it.

The Pope’s job is to faithfully guard, preserve, and foster the unity of faith. Pope Francis downgrading that office is disturbing in light of his other words and actions which demonstrate less care for doctrinal coherence, which now appears to be built into the constitution of the Apostolic See, which is supposed to be our doctrinal rock.

 

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Symbolically putting evangalization ahead of doctrine is a nightmare for faithful Catholics and I think the Pope’s critics fear it may be more than symbolic.

 

[DMorgan56]

If the foundation is not solid, the house will collapse.

 

[pnewton]

The foundation of the Church is not doctrine, but Jesus, who came into the world not to teach, but to die. Evangelization is the mission of the Church. Teaching and administering sacraments are two parts of this mission. Everything is subordinate to that and always has been. So, if the Curia is organized to reflect this reality, I think at minimum it is premature to predict failure.

If Pope Francis is wrong, then so was Jesus for commissioning the Church to " Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

 

[greenrangerx]

Something that has been emphasized in recent pontificates is that Christianity is primarily an encounter with the risen Lord. As the world becomes increasingly secular, less and less people are having this encounter, which is extremely alarming and is something Pope Francis is trying to address with his curial reforms. Having right doctrine is important, yes, but without knowing Jesus, what’s the point? Conversion is, afterall, a lifelong endeavor. People should come to know the risen Lord first, and then, over the course of their lives, conform themselves to Him and the teachings of his Church. The curial reforms are putting things in their proper order.

 

[Crusader13]

If Pope Francis is wrong, then so was Jesus for commissioning the Church to " Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

Yes, but what are we supposed to be teaching them if not the doctrines and teachings of the church? Jesus taught as well. He didn’t just say “come follow me”

The doctrine is in the evangelization. How do we tell people about the necessity of baptism to enter heaven, if such language is deemed uncharitable?

 

[pnewton]

Yes, but what are we supposed to be teaching them if not the doctrines and teachings of the church?

You sound as if the CDF was disbanded. You teaching them the doctrines of the faith. That should be easy to understand. However, entrance to Heaven is not contingent on making a 70 as opposed to a 69 on a theology exam. It is who we know, not what we know.

 

[Malcolm]

get ready for Jesus Christ Superstar 2.0 - real trendy and upbeat and “with it man” - something that will make the young people want to dance to

Vatican’s former Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine has strongly criticized a draft document containing Pope Francis’ plans for an overhaul of the curia — where “doctrine” is expected to take a backseat to “evangelization” — stating that the plans do not contain a “convincing concept of the origin, essence, and mission of the Church,” and, pointing out that one passage of the document even contains “shocking theological cluelessness."

shocking theological cluelessness

“Even though,” Cardinal Müller explains, “the Magisterium of the Universal Church is the very reason for the existence of the papal primacy, the teaching of the Faith is being mentioned in the draft merely as one random task of the Pope among many others, and most importantly, now to be subordinate to his secular duties.”

“The good news that is offered is precisely the Mysteries of the Faith – the Church’s doctrinal and moral tradition,” Weinandy said. “How can one preach the Gospel without telling others of the marvelous mysteries of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the saving death and resurrection of Jesus, or the great gift of the Sacraments, etc? Doctrine and the Church’s moral teaching is what evangelization is all about. It is the Good News!”

Without doctrine and moral teaching, “there is no evangelization,” he continued. “What may be proclaimed would simply be empty words that do not bring life – here on earth and forever in heaven. It would be contrary to the Church’s whole evangelistic tradition – beginning with the Apostles themselves,” he said.

 

[Crusader13]

That should be easy to understand. However, entrance to Heaven is not contingent on making a 70 as opposed to a 69 on a theology exam. It is who we know, not what we know.

I don’t know if you mean the faith is easy to understand or that the teaching of it, is easily seen in the evangelization.

You’re right, entrance to heaven is not an exam. Jesus tells us what we MUST do in order to enter the Kingdom of God. He doesn’t say, “well at least adhere to 3 out of the 4 of my commands and you’ll be fine”.

My point in saying that is to address the issue of placing doctrine second. The whole purpose of evangelization is to share the Truth of our faith with those we are hoping will convert and come home to the Church. Those truths are contained in the doctrines and teachings of our faith. So how are we supposed to evangelize to those who reject those truths, if for example, you’re speaking to Jews or muslims or Witnesses, who explicitly reject the Divinity of Jesus? That doctrine seems pretty foundational to our faith, and doesn’t seem as if it could be relegated to the back burner.

 

[tafan2]

Its not often that I agree with much in the National Catholic Reporter, but this part was spot on:

Central offices do not sell products; they manage people in the field, who sell the products. Similarly, the Curia, which is a bureaucracy, is not an instrument of evangelization. It should support others in their work of evangelization.

This wrapping everything under the mantra of evangelization reminds me of the 1980s, when most U.S. dioceses renamed their chanceries “pastoral centers.” The name change did not make them pastoral. They continued to do exactly the same things as before.

Yes, our diocese changed its name of the chancery to a “pastoral center”. Having been involved in church and school finances, and building a new church at the time, overall it did not help at all. If anything, it encouraged the diocesan administrators to be more centralized in authority, as they were now a key part of the “pastoral” efforts and wanted to edict too many rules,etc. That’s not to say good things did not happen at the diocesan office during that time, some very good things occurred. But they were more due to the direction of our then bishop and a couple of key personal at the chancery office.

 

[irenaeus1]

The foundation of the Church is not doctrine, but Jesus, who came into the world not to teach, but to die. Evangelization is the mission of the Church. Teaching and administering sacraments are two parts of this mission. Everything is subordinate to that and always has been. So, if the Curia is organized to reflect this reality, I think at minimum it is premature to predict failure.

If Pope Francis is wrong, then so was Jesus for commissioning the Church to " Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

I agree that the foundation of the Church is Jesus; it is also founded upon His teaching; it is also founded upon Peter and Peter’s confession; it is also founded upon the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the corner stone – it all depends on the perspective one is using.

Doctrine is the content of the teaching that Jesus commissioned the Church to do; else, what exactly is one to teach? And Who is the one issuing the teaching if not the Son whom the Father sent? So understanding who is the person of Jesus is critically important. And baptizing them?.. what for end? Yes, Jesus came to die, but for what purpose? If we don’t understand this, then His death is merely a Roman execution. What must I then do with the message once I have heard it? Doctrine and evangelization must go together.

 

[c1949]

I think the Church needs to ditch the designation of cardinals as princes of the church. That’s too head-swelling.

Why is there decade after decade of scandal with Vatican finances? I suspect because there is no transparency. Will anything change?

Evangelization sounds pretty good to me, but the Church has been digging itself a grave for decades and it has to stop doing that. How can the Church evangelize with such bad “optics” as it has had?

Is a department of Evangelization like a department of propaganda? or, of publicity?

Will the new document and reorganization even demand a 40-hour work week? Like John XXIII said when asked about how many people worked at the Vatican – he said – half of them.

 

[pnewton]

My point in saying that is to address the issue of placing doctrine second. The whole purpose of evangelization is to share the Truth of our faith with those we are hoping will convert and come home to the Church.

I do not know if ordering numerically is the best way to view this. I would rather lean toward understanding of end versus means. The Balitmore Catechism taught the end as, " the purpose for which he was created: namely, to know, love, and serve God." That is what I was thinking when I said it it who we know that gets us into Heaven, not what we know. Doctrine, that is teaching, is a means. Evangelism, that is salvation, is the end. Reversing this order, seeing right doctrine as the end and making evangelism into outreach into right doctrine, is Pharisaism.

I suspect that a lot of the reaction to this move is from concern that doctrine will be diminished in importance. On one hand, I would hope this would not be the case, and do not want to assume the worse of outcomes. On the other hand, there may be those that have become disordered in their orthodoxy, seeing the means of orthodoxy as the ultimate end.

 

[pnewton]

Why is there decade after decade of scandal with Vatican finances? I suspect because there is no transparency. Will anything change?

I like to remember that the most evil of all the men who have ever been head of the Church’s finances was chose by Jesus Himself.

 

[c1949]

I can only imagine how money flowing through the Vatican Bank is used to support the lifestyle of th pope and cardinals, that they are accustomed to. It must take 000’s to dry clean the pope robes, alone.

 

[pnewton]

I can only imagine how money flowing through the Vatican Bank is used to support the lifestyle of th pope and cardinals,

The pope drives an older used car that is worth less than most of the cars I see on the road. He did have an 84 Renault donated with over 180,000 miles on it by a priest. When he was in Argentina, he even used public transportation to and from work. So 000’s on dry cleaning might be accurate.

 

[twf]

With so many valuable vestments, surely the Holy See has its own dry cleaning facility.