(Vatican Radio) The Press Office of the Holy See issued a note on the meeting of the
Council for the Economy, which took place on Friday, May 2 May 2014. Please find the
full text in English, below.
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The
Council for the Economy, established by the Holy Father by the Motu proprio "Fidelis et
dispensator prudens" of 24 February, held itsfirst meeting on Friday, 2 May. It took
place in the Sala Bologna of the Apostolic Palace, during the morning and afternoon,
and finished at 6 p.m. The sessions were chaired by Cardinal Coordinator of the
Council, Reinhard Marx, and in addition to the fifteen members, were also attended
by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Cardinal George Pell, President
of the Secretariat for the Economy, and the Prelate Secretary of the Council, Msgr.
Brian Ferme. The Holy Father received the Council and addressed a brief but important
discourse to its members on Friday morning. The text of his discourse and a summary
in Italian of Cardinal Marx's address to the Pope have already been published (Osservatore
Romano, 2-3 May, p.8). As both the Holy Father and the Cardinal Coordinator were
keen to emphasise in their discourses, the clerical and lay members of the Council
are on the same level, with equal rights and responsibilities. This was made clear
during the meeting itself by the fact that clergy and laypersons were seated in
alternate positions at the table, rather than in two separate groups. The work
of the Council, which took place in a positive and constructive context, focused first
on the draft Statutes of the Council itself, anexamination of which will be continued
at the next meeting so that they can be submitted for approval by the Holy Father.
The work carried out by the Commission for the organisation of the economic-administrative
structure of the Holy See (COSEA, instituted by the Holy Father on 18 July 2013)
was presented to the Council. The information and continuity of the work are guaranteed
by the fact that the President and two other members of COSEA are now members of
the Council for the Economy. The next meeting has been scheduled for 5 July. Two
more meetings are planned to take place during the course of this year, one in
September and one in December.