Pope's First Meeting with G8 Cardinals

Further to BBC Radio 4 Today Programme's item on the G8 Cardinals this morning, here's a video from Rome Reports with Pope Francis welcoming the ‘group of eight’ cardinals to Rome for three-day summit:



Pope Francis institutionalised the group of the eight Cardinals he appointed to help him reform the governance of the Church. The group, informally known as the G8, will officially be called the 'Council of Cardinals.' It's also the first step in the reform of the Roman Curia.

Just hours before the ten members officially start meeting, the Vatican released more information about the structure and how it'll work. The Council of Cardinals will be a permanent group, but the Pope can modify who's in it.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican Spokesperson said:
“The advisory meetings with the Council of Cardinals can be done as a group or individually. So it's not necessary to always meet together as a group. The structure is also open regarding the topics brought up for discussion. The statement defines them as: topics that may need to be brought up to attention.” 
The group of eight Cardinals arrived at Casa Santa Marta days ago, and have already met twice to exchange their thoughts. The official discussions will begin Tuesday morning at 9:30, inside the Papal Apartment library.

The meetings, held in Italian, will go on until Thursday, with sessions in the mornings and afternoons. But since it's their first meeting, no decision are expected.

Fr. Lombardi explained:
“The Pope will likely give a brief introduction, and then listen. The Pope will mainly be there to listen to his advisers, who will have many things to bring up, given that there's a lot of material to talk about.”
The only ten people allowed inside during the meetings are the eight Cardinals, plus Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Albano, who will act as the secretary.

What a Bunch of Mavericks!

The eight "marverick" Cardinals are: Sean O'Malley, Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Francisco Errazuriz Ossa, Reinhard Marx, Giuseppe Bertello, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Oswald Gracias and George Pell. Can you think of any other day Pell and O'Malley would be considered "Mavericks"? No, neither can I!

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