Vatican City, Feb 9, 2016 / 14:33 pm
As Pope Francis' ongoing process of reform continues to move forward, his council of advisers have finished their proposals for two new Vatican departments, which would merge several others together.
Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi told journalists Feb. 9 that in their most recent meeting, the Pope's Council of Cardinals gave a "final reading" of the proposals for two new Vatican departments, which are also referred to as "dicasteries."
While proposals for the new dicasteries, which would be dedicated to "Laity, family and life," and "Justice, peace and migration," has been on the table for some time, in this round of meetings "the proposals were finalized and given to the Pope for his decision," Fr. Lombardi said.
The cardinals met in Rome for just a day and half Feb. 8-9 – a shorter period than their usual, three-day round of meetings. All of the nine members were present except for Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, who is currently recovering from a planned procedural operation in December.