 Vatican City, 19 July 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis has written a Chirograph, dated 18 July, by which he establishes a Pontifical Commission for Reference on the study and guidance of the organisation of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See, the full text of which is given below: “The deliberations of these days on the positive data in the financial statements, communicated by the Council of Cardinals for the study of organisational and economic problems of the Holy See: Consolidated Financial Statement and Financial Statement of the Governorate of Vatican City State for the year 2012 lead Us, having heard the opinion of Most Eminent Cardinals, Brothers in the Episcopate and collaborators consulted on the matter, to continue in the work of introducing reforms in the Institutions of the Holy See, aspiring to the simplification and rationalisation of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations. To this end, We have decided to establish a Commission for reference to gather accurate information on economic questions regarding the Vatican Administrations and to co-operate with the aforementioned Council of Cardinals in its valuable work, offering the technical support of specialist advice and developing strategic solutions for improvement, so as to avoid the misuse of economic resources, to improve transparency in the processes of purchasing goods and services; to refine the administration of goods and real estate; to work with ever greater prudence in the financial sphere; to ensure the correct application of accounting principles; and to guarantee healthcare and social security benefits to those eligible. The Commission is to carry out its duties in accordance with this Chirograph and with Our provisions currently in force: 1. The Commission shall consist of a minimum of eight Members, including a President, who is its legal representative, and a Secretary Coordinator who has the powers of a delegate and acts on behalf of and for the Commission, collecting documents, data, and the information necessary for the fulfilment of its institutional functions. 2.The Members, all nominated by the Supreme Pontiff, are experts in the relevant legal, economic, financial and organisational matters. 3. The institutional functions of the Commission shall not encroach upon the sphere of competence of the government and the activities of the Administrations concerned, which shall collaborate with the Commission upon request. Professional secrecy and other possible restrictions established by law shall neither curtail nor restrict the access of the Commission to documents, data and information necessary for the fulfilment of the duties entrusted to it. 4. The Commission shall keep Us informed of its activities in the course of its work and shall deliver to Us the results obtained. It shall deliver to Us its entire paper and digital archive upon the conclusion of its mandate. 5. The Commission shall have at its disposal the appropriate resources, including interpreters and translators, and instruments for its institutional functions. It may avail itself of qualified experts and consultants to be enlisted worldwide, from outside the Holy See, or from within the Holy See provided that this does not give rise to any conflict of interest in the exercise of professions or the fulfilment of functions and roles connected with the activities of the Vatican Administrations. 6. The Commission shall collaborate, upon request, with the Working Group of eight Cardinals constituted to draft a plan of reform for the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus on the Roman Curia. 7. The Commission’s activities shall take effect as from the date of this Chirograph. The dissolution of the Commission shall be announced. Given in the Vatican on 18 July 2013, in the first year of my Pontificate. Francesco” |
| SECRETARY OF STATE COMMUNIQUE ON HOLY FATHER'S CHIROGRAPH Vatican City, 19 July 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Secretary of State released the following communique on the Holy Father's chirograph for the establishment of a Pontifical Commission on the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See: “The Holy Father, by a chirograph dated 18 July, has established a Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organisation of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See. The Commission will gather information, report to the Holy Father and co-operate with the Council of Cardinals for the study of the organisational and economic problems of the Holy See, in order to draft reforms of the institutions of the Holy See, with the aim of a “simplification and rationalisation of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations”. As explained in the Chirograph, the Committee will “offer the technical support of specialist advice and develop strategic solutions for improvement, so as to avoid the misuse of economic resources, to improve transparency in the processes of purchasing goods and services; to refine the administration of goods and real estate; to work with ever greater prudence in the financial sphere; to ensure correct application of accounting principles; and to guarantee healthcare and social security benefits to all those eligible”. The Commission will be able to collaborate, on request, with the working Group of eight Cardinals in drafting a plan for the reform of the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” on the Roman Curia. The aims and the appointments of the Commission are described in detail in the Chirograph itself. The members of the Commission are laypeople, experts in “legal, economic, financial and organisational matters”, currently eminent consultants or reviewers for Vatican or ecclesiastical economic institutions. The only member of the clergy is the Secretary. The eight members are: Dr. Joseph FX Zahra (Malta), President Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda (Secretary of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs), Secretary Mr Jean-Baptiste de Franssu (France) Dr. Enrique Llano (Spain) Dr. Jochen Messemer (Germany) Ms. Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui (Italy) Mr. Jean Videlain-Sevestre (France) Mr. George Yeo (Singapore) Dr. Zahra and Dr. Messemer are international reviewers of the Prefecture of Economic Affairs of the Holy See. The Commission will begin its work as soon as possible. A first meeting is scheduled for shortly after the Holy Father’s return from Brazil. The Holy Father hopes for a happy and productive collaboration between the Commission and the Vatican Administrations associated with its work.” |
| IN MEMORIAM Vatican City, 19 July 2013 (VIS) – The following prelates died in recent weeks: - Bishop Joseph Vernon Fougère, emeritus of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, on18 June at the age of 70. - Bishop Franz Xaver Eder, emeritus of Passau, Germany, on 20 June at the age of 87. - Bishop Jesús Humberto Velázquez Garay, emeritus of Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, on 22 June at the age of 73. - Bishop Joannes Baptist Matthijs Gijsen, emeritus of Reykjavik, Iceland, on 24 June at the age of 80. - Bishop João Alves, emeritus of Coimbra, Portugal, on 28 June at the age of 87. - Bishop Anthony Gerard Bosco, emeritus of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA, on 2 July at the age of 85. - Bishop Vincenzo Cozzi, emeritus of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa, Italy, on 3 July at the age of 86. - Bishop Innocent Hilarion Lotocky, O.S.B.M., emeritus of Saint Nicholas of Chicago (Ukrainian), Illinois, USA, on 4 July at the age of 97. - Bishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Quang Sach, emeritus of Da Nang, Viet Nam, 7 July at the age of 88. - Bishop Joaquín Piña Batllevell, S.J., emeritus of Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, on 8 July at the age of 83. - Bishop Guido Breña López, O.P., emeritus of Ica, Peru, on 9 July at the age of 82. - Bishop Thaddeus Joseph Jakubowski, auxiliary emeritus of Chicago, Illinois, USA on 14 July at the age of 89. - Bishop Adhemar Esquivel Kohenque, emeritus of Tarija, Bolivia on 17 July at the age of 84. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 19 July 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father: - appointed Bishop Julian C. Porteous as archbishop of Hobart (area 67,914, population 514,900, Catholics 94,600, priests 49, permanent deacons 2, religious 101), Australia. Bishop Porteous, previously auxiliary of Sydney, Australia, was born in Sydney, Australia in 1949, was ordained to the priesthood in 1974, and received episcopal ordination in 2003. He succeeds Archbishop Adrian L. Doyle, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. - appointed Fr. Yohanes Harun Yuwono of the clergy of Pangkalpinang as bishop of Tanjungkarang (area 35,288, population 7,489,000, Catholics 72,797, priests 53, religious 239), Indonesia. The bishop-elect was born in Way Ray, Indonesia, in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He has a licentiate in Islamology from the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral roles including parish vicar in Sungaliat, chairman of the diocesan pastoral secretariat in Pangkalpinang, and currently rector at the Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Pematangsiantar, and teacher of Islamic studies at the St Yohanes Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Pematangsiantar. |
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