The global president of the Pontifical Scholas Occurentes Foundation is present. But there is also Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and responsible for the 2025 Jubilee. Paolo Ruffini, the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, joins as a member. But also present is the emeritus Bishop of Lugano, Valerio Lazzeri, who left the diocese administration last October due to stress. The appointments of members and consultants of the Dicastery for Education and Culture are all worth reading.
New dicastery, new appointments. The dicastery is the result of the merger of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture and is currently presided over by Cardinal Tolentino Mendonça. The appointments of members and consultants should be carefully read, also in light of the co-optations from the old dicasteries. There are some new features, such as the absence of Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, who has turned 80 and no longer participates in the work of the dicasteries.
In summary, how should the Pope’s choices be interpreted?
First of all, there is a continuity line. Pope Francis included, for example, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, his trusted theologian, among the Congregation for Catholic Education consultants. He has been promoted to “member,” with greater responsibilities.
Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelization, remain among the members. Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, also remains, to whom Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, whom the Pope wanted as the general relator of the Synod and whom he now calls as a member of a dicastery that will be crucial, is added.
Among the new entries are also Cardinal Lazzaro You, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, and then Cardinal Jozef de Kesel, Archbishop of Brussels, and Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, who in these days was active in the Vatican for the conference “Pastors and Lay Faithful Called to Walk Together,” as well as Cardinal Celestino Aos Braco, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile.
The ranks of bishops are more numerous than before, and it is worth noting that the choice of Franz-Josef Overbeck, Bishop of Essen, was considered in line with the synodal path of the Church. But there is also the Patriarch of Venice, Francesco Moraglia, to testify that the Pope has tried to maintain a balance between different positions.
The second thing to note is the entry of lay people as members, not just consultants, of dicasteries. It is not a novelty. As early as 2021, the Pope had begun appointing lay members to dicasteries. For example, the Dicastery for Integral Human Development Service included (in the 2022 Pontifical Yearbook) as many as 16 non-priest members, including seven women. In this case, there are three lay members, and the only one with a Vatican position is Prefect Ruffini.
The last topic is the inclusion of some critical issues to the Pope. The appointment of consultants is varied, including people of all orientations (including the new prefect of the Apostolic Library, Mauro Mantovani, and the president of the World Federation of Catholic Universities, Capeloa Gil), but also includes, in particular, two appointments from the Pontifical Scholas Occurentes Foundation: José María Del Corral, who is its World Director, and Enrique Palmeyro, who is its Honorary World Director. Probably a signal that for the Pope, the global compact for education starts from there.
