Vatican City, Feb 28, 2018 / 08:41 am
In their latest round of meetings, Pope Francis' Council of Cardinals discussed several key topics related to episcopal conferences, the need to lower costs inside the Vatican, and efforts to speed up procedures dealing with cases of abuse.
This week's meetings took place Feb. 26-28 at the Vatican. All members were present except for Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, who is in Australia facing charges of past sexual abuse.
Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrived late due to weather. As usual, Pope Francis was present for all sessions apart from Wednesday morning, when he holds the weekly general audience.
According to a Feb. 28 Vatican communique, the Council of Cardinals – made up of nine prelates from around the world who advise the Pope on matters of Church governance and reform – focused specifically on the theological status of episcopal conferences.