The first, he said, is the “relevance of the fruitfulness of the Christological faith professed by the Council of Nicaea, at the completion of 1,700 years since its celebration.”
The commission will also examine some anthropological issues relevant today “and of crucial significance for the journey of the human family, in light of the divine plan of salvation.”
Pope Francis did not say which specific “anthropological issues” the theological commission will be studying.
The third theme the commission will deepen is “the theology of creation from a Trinitarian perspective, listening to the cry of the poor and the earth,” he said.
Two U.S. theologians are among the ITC’s members.
Robin Darling Young, a spirituality professor, and Reinhard Huetter, a theology professor, both teach at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
A French-American, Father Etienne Emmanuel Vetö, is also a member. He teaches theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Marianne Schlosser, a well-known German theologian, and recipient of the 2018 Ratzinger Prize, has been a member of the commission since 2014.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.