They will, reportedly, be able to continue working with students completing dissertations under their direction.
At the time changes to the Institute were announced in 2017, Paglia said that faculty would not be cut, but rather expanded, bringing in new professors and experts to discuss themes relevant to the "sciences of marriage and family."
But Italian Catholic news agency La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana reported this week that all faculty members in Rome were recently informed that, because of the new statutes, professors would be suspended until they could be evaluated in light of the Institute's needs, and possibly reassigned to teach new courses in the fall.
Melina, who was reportedly informed that he will not continue at the institute, earned in 1985 the first doctoral degree given by the Institute, and served as its long-time president.
His dismissal, and that of Noriega, came as a shock to many at the Institute.
"All these decisions about curricula and personnel have been made during the summer, without the input of a single faculty member," one professor told CNA.
Among new faculty members appointed to teach at the university is Fr. Maurizio Chiodi, who argued in 2018 that the use of artificial contraception could, in some cases, "be recognized as an act of responsibility that is carried out, not in order to radically reject the gift of a child but because in those situations, responsibility calls the couple and the family to other forms of welcome and hospitality."
The letter sent by the students raised particular concern about the reported elimination of the Institute's chair of moral theology.
"At the center of our concern regarding the identity of the Institute is the suppression of the chair of fundamental moral theology. We know how important that study of human action was for Pope John Paul II, to the point of entrusting the (moral theology) chair precisely to the first president, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra," their letter said.
After voicing objection to the reported dismissal of Molina and Noriega, the students' letter said that the Institute seems to be remaking itself in a way that models a secularized approach to studying the family.
The letter asked: "Why continue to study at the John Paul II Institute if it does not seem to propose anything different from what we can find among the curricula of secular universities, usually in more attractive and effective ways?"
A source connected to the Institute told CNA that the newly approved statutes also raise concerns about the Institute's academic integrity and reputation.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
At Catholic News Agency, our team is committed to reporting the truth with courage, integrity, and fidelity to our faith. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. When you subscribe to the CNA UPDATE, we'll send you a daily email with links to the news you need and, occasionally, breaking news.
As part of this free service you may receive occasional offers from us at EWTN News and EWTN. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
"Any reputable academician would be concerned about how the academic aspect of the Institute has been handled. Pope Francis deserves that Amoris laetitia be fairly discussed, rather than it being imposed by theological partisanship. This new approach to the faculty and curriculum totally imperils the credibility of the Institute," the source said.
"I also wonder: There are clear academic guidelines standardized by the European Union that have to be respected if the Institute wants its degrees to be valid. Have these norms been taken into consideration?"
The source noted the importance of due process in academic settings, in order to protect academic freedom.
The new processes, he said "are violating all academic standards, thus casting a big shadow over the credibility of the Institute."
"When John Paul II created the Institute," he said, "he did not fire teachers in other universities who thought differently from him, like Bernhard Häring or others opposed to Humanae vitae, even at pontifical universities. Instead, he created an institute to address the issues in dispute in an academic manner."
In response to recent criticisms, Sequeri told CNA that the new statutes will strengthen the Institute's identity.