Certain curial departments have been organized by the
Holy See at various times to assist it in the transaction of those affairs which canonical discipline and the individual interests of the faithful bring to Rome. Among the most important were the Roman Congregations, traditionally comprising cardinals who assist the
pope in the administration of the affairs of the Church. The Roman Congregations originated from the necessity, felt from the beginning, of studying the questions submitted for pontifical decision, in order to sift the legal questions arising and to establish matters of fact. Ecclesiastical business used to be handled by the pontifical chancery. This work, at first entrusted to the papal chaplains, was afterwards divided between the
penitentiarii and the
auditores, according as questions of the internal or the external forum (i.e., jurisdiction) were to be considered. Thereafter, cardinals in greater or less number were associated with them. Often, however, they were not merely entrusted with the preparation of the case, but were given authority to decide it. However, the ever-growing number of business items and the ever-increasing complexity of the issues necessitated the creation of separate, specialised administrative-legislative bodies By a judicious division of administrative matters, he established the permanent organization of these departments of the Curia.
Immensa aeterni Dei called for the formation of 15 permanent congregations: As before, the members of a congregation do not intervene in the day-to-day operations of the congregation, which is in the hands of the prefect and the permanent staff, headed generally by the secretary and the undersecretary. The permanent staff is to be of international provenance. Membership normally meet to discuss more general problems and to determine guidelines no more than once a year.
Reform of John Paul II The most recent reorganization of the Roman Congregations came with
Pope John Paul II's constitution
Pastor Bonus, issued June 28, 1988. This constitution more closely aligned the structure of the Curia with the norms established by the
1983 Code of Canon Law and the early drafts of what became the 1990
Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches.
Pastor Bonus also continued Paul's expansion of the membership of congregations, allowing priests, deacons, the religious and the laity to be members of certain congregations and establishing
consultors, experts appointed to the dicasteries of the Roman Curia to provide opinions, either singly or collectively, for particular issues when required. Sr.
Luzia Premoli, superior general of the Combonian Missionary Sisters, was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 2014, thus becoming the first woman to be appointed a member of a Vatican congregation.
Reform of Pope Francis On 19 March 2022, Pope Francis issue the
apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium, abrogating and replacing Pope John Paul II's
Pastor bonus of 1988. The former Congregations are now termed "
dicasteries" (i.e., "departments"). Before the reform, the most important department of the Vatican was the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. With
Praedicate evangelium, the most important department is the
Dicastery for Evangelization, with the
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith coming second. == See also ==