On Thursday evening, February 28 at 8:00pm local time in Rome, His Holiness, Benedict XVI renounced the Petrine ministry, effectively setting in motion the wheels that have resulted in the election of his successor Pope Francis on Wednesday of this week.
When Pope Benedict renounced the Petrine ministry, all the Prefects of the various Vatican dicasteries (offices) lost their positions, with the exception of the Judicial arm of the Church (the Major Penetentiary and the Rota).
Today, the Vatican Press Office explained that His Holiness, Pope Francis has expressed his willingness that the Heads and Members of the various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as the Secretaries of the various offices and the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State should continue temporarily in their respective offices donec aliter provediatur (until otherwise specified).
The Holy Father wishes to take some time for reflection, prayer and dialogue before any appointments or final confirmations are issued.
As with other aspects of his leadership demonstrated in the past couple of days, His Holiness is demonstrating that he does not want to make decisions about which of the Prefects and other Heads of the various Vatican offices will remain and which ones may not, without first taking some time to prayerfully reflect, and to involve the various department heads in the decision making process. At the very least, the next few days or weeks will allow him to evaluate the wisdom of his decisions before they are put into action. A very wise move indeed.
When Pope Benedict renounced the Petrine ministry, all the Prefects of the various Vatican dicasteries (offices) lost their positions, with the exception of the Judicial arm of the Church (the Major Penetentiary and the Rota).
Today, the Vatican Press Office explained that His Holiness, Pope Francis has expressed his willingness that the Heads and Members of the various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as the Secretaries of the various offices and the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State should continue temporarily in their respective offices donec aliter provediatur (until otherwise specified).
The Holy Father wishes to take some time for reflection, prayer and dialogue before any appointments or final confirmations are issued.
As with other aspects of his leadership demonstrated in the past couple of days, His Holiness is demonstrating that he does not want to make decisions about which of the Prefects and other Heads of the various Vatican offices will remain and which ones may not, without first taking some time to prayerfully reflect, and to involve the various department heads in the decision making process. At the very least, the next few days or weeks will allow him to evaluate the wisdom of his decisions before they are put into action. A very wise move indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment