VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis urged his cardinals Thursday to cooperate in reforming the outdated and dysfunctional Vatican bureaucracy, saying the overhaul will help him govern the Catholic Church better and spread the faith more effectively.
Francis summoned cardinals from around the world to hear his proposals for revamping the central government of the 1.2-billion-strong church. The proposals include merging smaller offices into two big new congregations: one for laity, family and life issues; another for charity and peace that will have an important new sector focused on the environment, a core concern for Francis.
Francis said the aim of the reform was to encourage greater harmony and collaboration in “absolute transparency,” to help the church spread the faith and reach out to others.
“Certainly, reaching that goal won’t be easy,” he said. “It needs time, determination and above all the collaboration of everyone.”
Francis was elected two years ago on a mandate from cardinals to reform the Vatican hierarchy, which during the final year of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy was exposed publicly as being a place of petty, back-biting turf battles, beset by cronyism, corruption and waste.