Pope Francis has announced the establishment of a new body dedicated to the care of the family, the laity and life issues.
Addressing the assembled participants at the Synod of the Family in Rome, the Pope said: “I have decided to establish a new Dicastery with competency for Laity, Family and Life, that will replace the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family.
“To this end, I have constituted a special commission that will prepare a text delineating canonically the competencies of the new Dicastery. The text will be presented for discussion to the Council of Cardinals at their next meeting in December.”
In addition to the new Dicastery, the Pope announced that the Pontifical Academy for Life will also come under its remit, effectively streamlining the work of three offices into one for a greater voice for the family and the laity.
As far back as 2013, the idea of a dedicated Vatican office for the laity was mooted, when Francis first signalled his major reforms of the Curia. At the time, Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga spoke publicly of a greater role for the laity within the Church, which could be achieved with the establishment of what he called then a Pontifical Council for the Laity.