Why is this August’s extraordinary cardinal consistory significant?
Ordinary and extraordinary consistories of cardinals are defined in the Code of Canon Law, which was revised in 1983.
In some cases, an extraordinary consistory is held, and all of the world’s cardinals are invited to attend.
When the pope needs the cardinals’ advice on a major (but routine) issue, or to give solemnity to a papal decision, such as the approval of canonizations, an ordinary consistory is held.
On February 12-13, 2015, Pope Francis summoned the cardinals to an extraordinary consistory for the first time. The pope is summoning the cardinals to Rome once more now that the new Vatican constitution has been published.
The College of Cardinals is undergoing a transformation.
It’s the process of completing a circle. Prior to the consistory for the election of new cardinals in 2015, a gathering was held. After a consistory for the creation of new cardinals on Aug. 29-30, an extraordinary consistory dedicated to discussion of the constitution Praedicate evangelism will take place.
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has only called one other extraordinary consistory. On February 22, 2014, the focus of the meeting was on the family. It all started with a speech by Cardinal Walter Kasper, a German theologian who set the tone for the 2014-2015 Synods of Bishops on the Family.
Many things changed between 2015 and 2022. First and foremost, there is the College of Cardinals. By 2015, Pope Francis had appointed 15 cardinal electors and five non-electors to the College of Cardinals. He went on to create 73 more cardinals, including 48 electors, in following consistories. In recent years, the College of Cardinals has taken on a new look.
There will be 132 cardinal electors after the August consistory, with 62 percent of them being cardinals appointed by Pope Francis. Many of them have never had the chance to speak with one another. “I wouldn’t know who sits next to me in a conclave,” a cardinal created under a previous pontificate protested.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has pushed forward with a Curia reform that has evolved significantly over time. To grasp the changes, we must return to the extraordinary consistory of 2015, which drew 164 cardinals from throughout the world.
The extraordinary consistory of 2015
The 2015 extraordinary consistory began with a “very comprehensive multi-voiced report” on economic difficulties, according to Father Federico Lombardi, then director of the Holy See press office. Cardinal George Pell, then-prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, as well as Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the Council for the Economy, and other officials involved in Vatican financial reform, addressed.
The Council of Cardinals (then known as the C9) issued a report on curial reform the next day, as well as an address on the Curia’s internal coordination. Cardinal Seán O’Malley then spoke about the newly established Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
In the years afterwards, Vatican financial reform has taken both forward and backward steps, mirroring the debate during the 2015 consistory. In fact, the financial autonomy of Vatican departments was examined at the time, as well as which departments, such as the Secretariat of State and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, maintained a degree of independence due to their unique nature.
But, in the end, after much trial and error, Pope Francis pressed on with the reforms he envisioned. And it’s possible that it was those debates, which some dubbed “resistance,” that convinced him of the need to undertake reform without engaging the entire College of Cardinals.
According to Father Lombardi, there was “a certain unanimity” on the idea of implementing some specific components of the reform “without waiting for the entire process to be completed.”
That is precisely what occurred. However, the use of the consistory as a “papal advisory body,” as the pope had hoped at the start of his pontificate, was halted.
Consistories have evolved over time.
In the Middle Ages, consistories were especially important. They served as a governing body as well as a court at times. Pope Innocent III even called three cardinals’ gatherings per week.
The consistories lost their power with Pope Sixtus V’s reorganization of the Curia in the 16th century. Instead, the cardinals aided the pope in running the Church by working in Vatican congregations, and consistories were held to give solemnity to key occasions in the Church’s life.
Following the Second Vatican Council, the consistory regained prominence. “Paul VI,” he wrote in the book “Paul VI. Father Gianfranco Grieco said the pope always wanted the cardinals gathered in a consistory to wait for him when he returned from an international journey, so they could share their first impressions.
During his nearly 27-year pontificate, John Paul II assembled six extraordinary consistories to explore topics such as the regeneration of the Curia, Church, and culture, risks to life, and the challenge of sects.
During these sessions, the cardinals took use of the opportunity to get to know one another, talk with one another, and comprehend one another’s perspectives. Not only did the gatherings provide possibilities for conversation, but they also provided opportunity for exchange. In the last seven years, these have been insufficient.
As a result, the extraordinary consistory in August will have an effect on the next conclave. However, what the cardinals say during the official debates is unlikely to be taken seriously. The Curia’s reform has already been completed and promulgated; all the cardinals need to do now is take note of it.