Skip to main content

What is a Dicastery Office?

Over the past two weeks we have visited three of the sixteen Dicastery Offices. Until coming to Rome I had little understanding of what a Dicastery Office was or what they did. In the past the Offices went by other names such as Pontifical Office or Secretariat, so this may contribute to why they are not in our regular vocabulary. Follow this link to find the Vatican Web page with the sixteen Dicastery Offices listed, with links to their work: https://www.vatican.va/content/romancuria/en.html


These Offices can be viewed as part of the Roman Curia or administrative offices of the Vatican. Staffed largely by priests (although I did see a few names of religious sisters and lay women), they complete the work of the Vatican office, aiding the Pope in his mission, serving both the Pope and the universal church.  The office is led by a prefect, and then supported by a secretary and under-secretary. They put in motion, share information, express opinions on Vatican related matters. No office has greater power than the other, or command over another office. Here is a Vatican podcast that explains the Roman Curia in more detail: https://youtu.be/-kg0lm4DaaA

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue promote great work as they continue to build relationships and dialogue with both Christians, other faiths and nonbelievers through out the world. Both offices have a relatively small staff, 24 and 18 respectively but the work they do significantly impacts Catholic relationships as they seek to build mutual understanding and unity wherever possible throughout the world. The Dicastery for Integral Human Development is a new Office established in 2016 and is the amalgamation of four previous Pontifical Councils. From their website, they note; “The new Dicastery is called to express the Church’s solicitude in the fields of justice, peace, the safeguarding of all of Creation, as well as in those that concern health and works of charity.” This Office has a wonderful Canadian connection as the prefect is Cardinal Michael Czerny, a graduate of Regis College. 

How can we help spread the news of the good work that is done through the Dicastery Offices? Throughout our visits this question kept popping up. I must admit that I never found a clear answer, partially because this is a bureaucratic office, the information is shared from the top down, any break in the dissemination of the knowledge can result in a total loss of information. This should not stop us, those who sit in the pews from learning about what our Church is doing. Our main connection is the Vatican website. Although some links do not appear to be updated as frequently, news is published here. The Vatican has many social media links, these may not distribute documents, but it will give information on announcements. What we do with the information is key as action will be needed. As part of  grassroots movements, we can reach out to our parish priest and deacons, diocesan offices or even connect at the national level. As St. Teresa of Avila stated, “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.” The first step is to remain informed about the work done and information shared through the Dicastery Offices, but even more importantly, once we are informed, we need to work as a community putting into action the work of Christ.    By Melinda

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Splendour of Santa Maria Maggiore

  Today our group visited the remarkable Marian church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Its inner core with its dazzling mosaics remains intact from the time that it was built around 430 CE in response to the Council of Ephesus, which declared Mary to be the Mother of God. Many additions have been built onto the original basilica over the centuries, reflecting developments and changes in the Catholic Church. As someone who studies decolonial theology and the interplay of Christianity and empire, I was especially fascinated by this church structure, which was built a mere fifty years after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica in 380. While I could not help but be in awe at Santa Maria Maggiore’s grandeur, beauty and sheer size, I also could not help but think about how much of this magnificence came into being at the expense of imperial oppression. The two long rows of pillars running the length of the original church c...
2 comments
Read more

Where we'll be studying in Rome

Some of you have asked about where we're studying in Rome. We'll be at the Centro Pro Unione, a centre that goes back to at least 1948 and has as its mission the promotion of Christian unity. In 1962, the centre was moved to the Phamphilj Palace in one of Rome's most famous squares called Piazza Navona (see picture above - the Centro is in the building on the right). During the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) the centre hosted weekly gatherings of Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant theologians (known as "ecumenical observers") who met with Catholic theologians and Bishops to discuss the work of Council. It was not uncommon for a comment made by one of the observers to be picked up and to find its way into an intervention in the Council hall the next day. In 1968, the centre became officially named the Centro Pro Unione. Today, the Centro promotes Christian unity through its many activities, including the summer Rome Program that we're participating...
2 comments
Read more

We're Off on the Road to... Assisi!

Last weekend, a few members of our "gang," as Mike calls us, went off to Assisi. When we got there, we saw the tombs of two major saints—Francis and Clare—and, of course, a plethora of gorgeous churches. We also had a chance to meet up with the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, one of whom gave us a tour of "a town that has so much influenced [his] life and, in which, in [his] opinion, the spirit of Francis is so strong!" What can I say, apart from that going to Assisi is like stepping into a Catholic fairy tale? It is a visit that I would highly recommend to anyone—Catholic or not—who wants to explore Italy because even if the basilicas hold no interest for you, its médiéval atmosphere is sure to charm you. There's so much that I could speak about, but one thing that stood out from yesterday in a surprisingly personal way was to see the resting place of Blessed Carlos Acutis. This young man, who died well before his time at 15 years old, is everywhere to be ...
1 comment
Read more