officials, a sign that the council does not draw on the authority of holy orders; physically, many councils are located in the Piazza San Calisto in Trastevere, farther away from St. Peter’s and the Pope.
The eleven councils are:
The Pontifical Council for Laity, which is responsible for matters relating to the coordination and promotion of the apostolic activity and Christian life of the laity. This mission includes overseeing the so-called “new movements" in the Catholic Church, such as the Neocatechumenate and Communion and Liberation.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which is responsible for ecumenical dialogue and relations with other Christian churches. This council also houses the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism.
The Pontifical Council for the Family, which is responsible for protecting and promoting the Church’s vision of the family. This involves the council in sometimes fierce battles against divorce, birth control, gay liberation movements, de facto partnerships, and a host of other social trends in the Western world.
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which is responsible for promoting the social doctrine of the Catholic Church as it applies to issues of war, economic development, the environment, and a host of other issues. Since Justice and Peace is often called upon to comment on many of the same international crises as the Secretariat of State, some curialists worry about the council pursuing a kind of “parallel diplomacy." On the other hand, the council can sometimes be a useful instrument for saying things or pushing issues that the Secretariat of State or the Pope, for various diplomatic reasons, can’t or won’t take up.
The Pontifical Council “Cor Unum," which is responsible for expressing the care of the Church toward those in need. It fosters charitable works by the faithful and assists those in urgent or calamitous situations and those in special need.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, which is responsible for the care of people who are transient, such as the Roma people (commonly called gypsies) in Europe, and who are not readily cared for within traditional diocesan structures. It is also responsible for the Apostleship of the Sea dealing with pastoral care to sailors.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, which is responsible for assisting health care workers, addressing their spiritual needs and those of their patients, as well as assisting local churches to train and regulate the activities of hospital chaplains. The council is popularly known as the Vatican’s Ministry of Health, and also exercises a sort of vigilance over Catholic hospitals around the world.
The Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, which is responsible for determining the meaning of the canons in the
Code of Canon Law
or of legally binding decisions of various dicasteries when questions arise. In July 2000, for example, the council issued a document clarifying that remarried divorced persons who have not received an annulment fall under canon 915, which says that people “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin" cannot receive the Eucharist.
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which is responsible for managing the Catholic Church’s relationships with non-Christian religions, except for Judaism, which is handled by the Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The council was heavily involved, for example, in organizing the three gatherings of world religious leaders called for by Pope John Paul II in Assisi (1986, 1993, and 2002).
The Pontifical Council for Culture, which is responsible for the Catholic Church’s dialogue with the world of culture—the visual arts, literature, music, the various currents in intellectual life, science, and so forth. It was the Council for Culture, for example, that carried out a lengthy study
The eleven councils are:
The Pontifical Council for Laity, which is responsible for matters relating to the coordination and promotion of the apostolic activity and Christian life of the laity. This mission includes overseeing the so-called “new movements" in the Catholic Church, such as the Neocatechumenate and Communion and Liberation.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which is responsible for ecumenical dialogue and relations with other Christian churches. This council also houses the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism.
The Pontifical Council for the Family, which is responsible for protecting and promoting the Church’s vision of the family. This involves the council in sometimes fierce battles against divorce, birth control, gay liberation movements, de facto partnerships, and a host of other social trends in the Western world.
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which is responsible for promoting the social doctrine of the Catholic Church as it applies to issues of war, economic development, the environment, and a host of other issues. Since Justice and Peace is often called upon to comment on many of the same international crises as the Secretariat of State, some curialists worry about the council pursuing a kind of “parallel diplomacy." On the other hand, the council can sometimes be a useful instrument for saying things or pushing issues that the Secretariat of State or the Pope, for various diplomatic reasons, can’t or won’t take up.
The Pontifical Council “Cor Unum," which is responsible for expressing the care of the Church toward those in need. It fosters charitable works by the faithful and assists those in urgent or calamitous situations and those in special need.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, which is responsible for the care of people who are transient, such as the Roma people (commonly called gypsies) in Europe, and who are not readily cared for within traditional diocesan structures. It is also responsible for the Apostleship of the Sea dealing with pastoral care to sailors.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, which is responsible for assisting health care workers, addressing their spiritual needs and those of their patients, as well as assisting local churches to train and regulate the activities of hospital chaplains. The council is popularly known as the Vatican’s Ministry of Health, and also exercises a sort of vigilance over Catholic hospitals around the world.
The Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, which is responsible for determining the meaning of the canons in the
Code of Canon Law
or of legally binding decisions of various dicasteries when questions arise. In July 2000, for example, the council issued a document clarifying that remarried divorced persons who have not received an annulment fall under canon 915, which says that people “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin" cannot receive the Eucharist.
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which is responsible for managing the Catholic Church’s relationships with non-Christian religions, except for Judaism, which is handled by the Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The council was heavily involved, for example, in organizing the three gatherings of world religious leaders called for by Pope John Paul II in Assisi (1986, 1993, and 2002).
The Pontifical Council for Culture, which is responsible for the Catholic Church’s dialogue with the world of culture—the visual arts, literature, music, the various currents in intellectual life, science, and so forth. It was the Council for Culture, for example, that carried out a lengthy study
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