Vatican City, Jun 27, 2019 / 09:22 am
Pope Francis could receive a final draft of a new constitution for the Roman curia as soon as September, according to the secretary of the pope's Council of Cardinal Advisors.
Bishop Marcello Semeraro said Thursday that the group was in the final stages of drafting the new constitution, titled Praedicate Evangelium, or "Proclaim the Gospel," marking the near completion of a key reform project which began with the establishment of the Council of Cardinals in 2013, one month after Francis was elected. Since that time, the group has worked to advise the pope on Church governance and reform, with the drafting of a new constitution a key priority.
The draft text is expected to place renewed emphasis on evangelization as the structural priority of the Church's mission, with some predicting the merger of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization into a single larger department.
"We must realize that we are no longer in a world that has a structure of Christianity in which it is enough to pay attention to doctrine. Particular attention must be paid to proclamation. An announcement that brings joy," Council of Cardinals Secretary Bishop Marcello Semeraro said at a Vatican press conference June 27.