Online Edition:
May 2013
Vol. XIX, No. 3
News and Views
Pope Francis Selects Group of 8 Advisors on Church Governance | CDF and LCRW meet | NAC Seeks Director of Liturgical Music
Pope Francis Selects Group of 8 Advisers on Church Governance
Pope Francis has appointed a group of eight cardinals to advise him on Church governance, the Vatican Secretariat of State announced on April 15.
The group consists of cardinals from six continents around the world, including one from the United States, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston. Other members of the advisory group are:
Cardinal Francisco Javier Errá-zuriz Ossa, Archbishop emeritus of Santiago, Chile;
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India;
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany;
Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo;
Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia;
Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, who will serve as coordinator; and
Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano, Italy, who will serve as secretary.
The group will meet at the Vatican in early October; but Pope Francis is in communication with the members, the news release said.
Most of the selected cardinals are or have been leaders of bishops’ conferences in their respective regions. Cardinals Gracias and Pell are members of the Vox Clara committee that advises the Congregation for Divine Worship on the English translation of the Missal and other liturgical books. None of the cardinals Pope Francis selected are heads of curial offices.
The communique from the Vatican Press Office stated that this action was based on the suggestions made by the College of Cardinals, “his closest collaborators,” and that Pope Francis expressed his “deep gratitude for their hard work, especially over the past two months.”
“It is a group, not a commission, committee, or council,” the Vatican press statement said. “The group has no legislative power and its main function is to advise the pope. The group will not in any way interfere in the normal functions of the Roman Curia, which helps the pope in the daily governance of the Church,” the statement said. The group will also assist in revisions to the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, which concerns the Roman Curia.
Bishop Marcello Semeraro, the group’s secretary, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera that some curial leaders “feel the need to have a more direct and frequent relationship with the pope.”
Bishop Semeraro noted that the Secretariat of State has generally overseen the work of the Congregations since Pope Paul VI’s reform of the Curia fifty years ago. “We must adapt these structures according to the needs of the Church today,” he said. When he was asked if a reform would significantly decrease the authority of the Secretariat of State, Bishop Semeraro said that “the possibility should not be excluded.”
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Archbishop Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) met with officials from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) on April 15. Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, of Seattle, the Holy See’s delegate for the “Doctrinal Assessment” of the LCWR, also participated.
The CDF communique said that Archbishop Müller “expressed his gratitude for the great contribution of women religious to the Church in the United States,” and then he “highlighted the teaching of the Second Vatican Council regarding the important mission of religious to promote a vision of ecclesial communion founded on faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church as faithfully taught through the ages under the guidance of the Magisterium (Cf. Lumen gentium, nn. 43-47).”
The communique continued:
The Prefect also emphasized that a Conference of Major Superiors, such as the LCWR, exists in order to promote common efforts among its member Institutes as well as cooperation with the local Conference of Bishops and with individual Bishops. For this reason, such Conferences are constituted by and remain under the direction of the Holy See (Cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 708-709).
Finally, Archbishop Müller informed the LCWR leaders that he had recently discussed the Doctrinal Assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform for this Conference of Major Superiors.
It is the sincere desire of the Holy See that this meeting may help to promote the integral witness of women Religious, based on a firm foundation of faith and Christian love, so as to preserve and strengthen it for the enrichment of the Church and society for generations to come.
The LCWR also issued a statement on the meeting, listing participants Sister Florence Deacon, OSF, president; Sister Carol Zinn, SSJ, president-elect; and Sister Janet Mock, CSJ, executive director. The brief LCWR statement said “the conversation was open and frank. We pray that these conversations may bear fruit for the good of the Church.”
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NAC Seeks Director of Liturgical Music
The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is accepting résumés in anticipation of an opening for a full time Director of Liturgical Music for the fall 2013 term.
The Director will be responsible for directing the seminary choir (35 to 40 members), the training and administration of Gregorian chant scholas (10 to 15 members), the cantoring program, the house organist schedule, planning and preparation for Sunday and weekday celebrations of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, preparation of programs related to the liturgy, liturgical music instruction of the seminary community, and individual training in the presidential chants of the Liturgy, and other liturgical music/instruction as needed for celebration in the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms.
The Director will also serve as organist for some liturgies, with responsibilities being shared with seminarian organists. Occasional assistance at the Casa Santa Maria, the graduate residence of the NAC, will also be required.
The Director of Liturgical Music will work under the direction of the NAC’s Director of Liturgical Formation.
Qualifications include at least a master’s degree in organ and/or church music, excellent conducting skills and experience, mastery of the organ, extensive knowledge of Gregorian chant and the sacred choral repertoire, a familiarity with English plainsong resources, an understanding of and familiarity with the liturgical tradition and documents of the Roman Catholic Church, and effective pedagogical and communication skills.
There are two organs: a 63 rank, 3 manual Mascioni organ in the main chapel, and a 6 rank, one manual Wech organ in the crypt chapel. The Casa Santa Maria also houses a 10 rank Cavaillé-Coll organ.
Besides a base salary and medical benefits, housing will also be provided in an apartment at the College, which is close to St. Peter’s Basilica.
Please send cover letter, résumé, at least three references, and two recordings — one organ piece and one choral piece both in MP3 format — to Father Kurt Belsole, OSB, Director of Liturgical Formation, at [email protected].
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