Pope Francis Changes Structure of Vatican Doctrinal Office in Latest Roman Curia Reform

The reorganization is a further step in Pope Francis’ gradual overhaul of the Roman Curia, which has included in recent months the replacement of several top personnel.

CDF Prefect Cardinal Luis Ladaria, who will turn 78 in April, is also expected to be replaced within the year.

The folding of the CDF into two sections is in line with Pope Francis’ earlier decision to end the pontifical commission Ecclesia Dei.

In January 2019, the tasks of the Ecclesia Dei commission, which facilitated dialogue between the Church and traditionalist communities, especially those linked to Marcel Lefebvre, were moved under the doctrinal section of the CDF. The commission had been its own department within the CDF since 2009.

“‘Keeping the faith’(cf. 2 Tim. 4:7) is the principal task, as well as the ultimate criterion to be followed in the life of the Church,” Francis wrote in his Feb. 14 motu proprio.

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“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith takes on this important task, assuming both doctrinal and disciplinary competencies, as attributed to it by my Venerable Predecessors.”

The pope noted that St. Pope Paul VI changed the CDF from a lower-level curial department, called a “dicastery,” to the more important classification of “congregation.”

St. Pope John Paul II later specified the CDF’s competencies in his 1988 apostolic constitution, Pastor bonus.

Pastor bonus still governs the Roman Curia, though Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisors has been drafting a new constitution for years.

In his motu proprio, Pope Francis said the CDF’s two sections will each be coordinated by a secretary whose job is to assist the prefect. Each section will also have an under-secretary who collaborates with the secretary and other heads of office.

The Doctrinal Section is responsible for matters “having to do with the promotion and protection of the doctrine of faith and morals.”

This includes promoting studies related to the transmission of the faith “at the service of evangelization, so that its light may be a criterion for understanding the meaning of life, especially in the face of questions posed by the progress of the sciences and the development of society,” Pope Francis said.

The Doctrinal Section examines curial documents before their publication to assure they are doctrinally sound. Pope Francis said it will also examine “writings and opinions which appear problematic for the correct faith, encouraging dialogue with their authors and proposing the appropriate suitable remedies to be applied.”

The section will also be responsible for issues regarding Anglican personal ordinariates.

The Disciplinary Section, instead, deals with certain serious canonical crimes.

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Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.