VATICAN: Pope Francis Appoints Four More Members of the Ordinary Council, Women Included
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Nearly two months after the synod delegates elected new members of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod during the 15th General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, Pope Francis has added four more members to the council, two of whom are women.
On Friday, December 13, the Vatican press announced the new appointments that the Pope made on Wednesday, December 4, comprising His Eminence Jean-Claude Cardinal Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, His Eminence Roberto Cardinal Repole, Archbishop of Turin, Italy, Sister Simona Brambilla who is Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and a member of the Consolata Missionary, and Maria Lia Zervino a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, in Argentina.
The Ordinary Council now has a total of 16 members, twelve of whom were elected from the October assembly among the diocesan/eparchial bishops or equivalent. These members automatically become delegates for the next synod.
In line with the changes to Article 10 of the Instruction on the Celebration of Synodal Assemblies and the Activity of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the total number of members will be 17.
According to the Holy Father, after the theme for the next synod is announced, the Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery most closely tied to that theme will also be a member of the ordinary council.
As highlighted in the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio on the Synod of Bishops, the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Ordinary General Assembly.
“The Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat is competent for the preparation and implementation of the Ordinary General Assembly. It consists for the most part of diocesan Bishops, elected by the Ordinary General Assembly to represent the different geographical areas according to the norm of a particular law, among whom is one of the Heads or Eparchial Bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches; it also includes the Head of the dicastery of the Roman Curia that has competence for the theme of the Synod established by the Roman Pontiff as well as certain Bishops appointed by the Roman Pontiff,” the Episcopalis Communio reads in parts.
It adds, “Members of the Ordinary Council take up office at the conclusion of the Ordinary General Assembly that elects them, they are members of the following Ordinary General Assembly and their mandate ceases at the conclusion of the latter.”
other members already to the Ordinary Council include:
His Eminence Dieudonné Cardinal Nzapalainga the Archbishop of Bangui in the Central African Republic and member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (CSSp) and Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda Archdiocese in Cameroon from Africa.
His Beatitude Youssef Absi, Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek Melkites, head of the synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church from the Eastern Catholic Churches,
His Excellency Most Rev. Timothy John Costelloe, SDB, Archbishop of Perth, Australia from Oceania,
His Excellency Most Rev. Daniel Ernest Flores, Bishop of Brownsville, USA
and His Excellency Most Rev. Alain Faubert, Bishop of Valleyfield, Canada, from North America,
His Eminence Most Rev. Luis Cardinal José Rueda Aparicio, Archbishop of Bogotá, Colombia and His Excellency Most Rev. José Luis Azuaje Ayala, Archbishop of Maracaibo, Venezuela from Latin America,
His Eminence Jean-Marc Cardinal Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille, France
and His Excellency Msgr Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania from Europe,
His Eminence Filipe Neri Cardinal António Sebastião Do Rosário Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Damão India and His Excellency Msgr. Pablo Virgilio S. David, Bishop of Kalookan, Philippines both from Asia.
