Portrait of Pope Francis %282021%29 FXD.
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Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) July 31, 2024: Pope Francis' reform of the Vatican Curia is undoubtedly worthy of the Igbo-and-English-speaking Nigerian Monsignor Anthony Ekpo's accessible new 2024 book The Roman Curia: History, Theology, and Organization.
On March 19, 2022, the doctrinally conservative Pope Francis (born in 1936 in Argentina; elected pope in 2013) carried out the mandate of the cardinal-electors in 2013 to reform the Vatican Curia, when he published the new Apostolic Constitution titled Praedicate Evangelium: On the Roman Curia and Its Service to the Church in the World (it went into effect on June 5, 2022).
Praedicate Evangelium, which means "Preach the Gospel," is a major accomplishment of Pope Francis' papacy.
I have profiled the doctrinally conservative Pope Francis in my widely read OEN article "Pope Francis on Evil and Satan" (dated March 24, 2019):
Now, of course, the work of the employees in the Roman Curia only figuratively involves their proclaiming the gospel - by manifesting the spirit of the gospel in the ways that they conduct their work. In short, their work in the Roman Curia involves their practice of the gospel.
However, according to Monsignor Ekpo, Pope Francis sees his Vatican reform as deeply connected with the spirit of evangelization. Ekpo says, "To be genuine evangelizers and preachers of the Gospel of Christ, one [sic] needs to experience conversion of the heart. Evangelization is, above all, about the interior change that takes place in the hearts of those who encounter the transformative message of Jesus. The Church evangelizes when its seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message it proclaims . . . . Evangelization [of the Roman Curia - or by the Roman Curia?] is therefore a journey from within - a journey of the heart. This also applies to the Roman Curia, which like the Church, 'cannot live without a vital, personal, authentic and solid relationship with Christ.' . . . If it [the Roman Curia] is to be a creditable instrument of evangelization, it must experience the renewal that begins from within. That is, there must be a conversion of heart of all those who work in the Roman Curia" (pp. 88-89).
I have no idea how many people work in the Roman Curia-- and Ekpo offers no hints about this. However, in his "Introduction" (pp. 1-5), he does say, "Fielding questions after his election in 1958, the quick-witted Pontiff John XXIII was asked, 'How many people work in the Roman curia?' and his joking reply was 'About half'" (p. 5).
Now, back to Ekpo on pp. 88-89. He also says, "As I highlighted in the introduction to this book, Pope Francis's teaching here is inspired by Saint Ignatius Loyola [1491-1556], who believed that a structural reform of the Church is possible only when the starting point is 'one's own life,' with one's eyes are [sic] fixed on the poor and humiliated Christ. This teaching [which one?] is born of the Ignatian spirituality and the outcome of the Ignatian spiritual exercises" (p. 89).
Saint Ignatius Loyola was the found of the Jesuit order (known formally as the Society of Jesus) and the author of the succinctly written Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius: A Translation and Commentary by George E. Ganss, S.J. (1992) and of The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus: A Critical Edition with the Complementary Norms, edited by ???? (2024, forthcoming). In addition, St. Ignatius Loyola wrote an impressive number of letters. In the official calendar of the Roman catholic Church, the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola is July 31st each year.
Now, the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium unfolds in eleven major sections, starting with section I. "Preamble," consisting of twelve paragraphs. In the opening words of the first paragraph, we are told that the words Praedicate Evangelium are based on Mark 16:15 and Matthew 10:7-8.
Mark 16:15: "Then he said to them: 'Go to every part of the world, and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (REB).
Matthew 10:7-8: "'And as you go proclaim the message: "The kingdom of heaven is upon you"'" (REB).
The Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium is available in English and other languages at the Vatican's website:
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