VATICAN CITY — After the conclusion of their meetings, two cardinals from Pope Francis' group of eight have revealed that Curia reform will largely focus on service to Pope Francis and the universal Church in its various locales.

“We want to change the look — that the Curia be at the service of the Pope and also at the service of the local Churches, the universal Church and the episcopal conferences,” Cardinal Oswald Gracias of India said.

Cardinal Gracias was appointed by Pope Francis as one of the eight members to the council of cardinals instituted by the Holy Father in April to advise him on matters regarding Church reform and governance.

“The vision of the Pope is an open and merciful Church,” Cardinal Gracias said, also touching on the upcoming Synod of Bishops slated to take place in October 2014.

“We want to make the synod a real thought [process] from all the bishops of the world and come to a conclusion [ on important issues], because the world is very distinct,” he said.

“The languages are different, and the challenges are different,” the cardinal said, “and we want to see how we can put everything together.”

Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, another member of the Pope’s council of eight — also spoke with CNA on the theme of the upcoming synod: “The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.”

“The family is a fundamental element in society; we speak of the family as the domestic church. It's fundamental to the Church; it's fundamental to the life of society,” he said. “The family weakens, society weakens.”

Cardinal Pell added, “We believe the Christian teaching on marriage is beautiful and life-giving, and it’s worked for 2,000 years, and we want to be able to put together new strategies to give people hope.”

The plan for the synod at this time, he said, is to “bring together the Christian teaching and the analyses of the situation, and these go out in different parts of the world. … There will be different strategies to confront that.”

Cardinal Pell also spoke about the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus, a document written by Blessed John Paul II, which outlines the role of the Roman Curia in the Church.

He said that, despite recent comments from Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi that the document would not be changed, the council is still discussing the matter at length, uniting their efforts to find the best method to execute the reform.

Cardinal Gracias said the Holy Father had a presence throughout their meetings. He explained that “the Pope only listened, supported and greeted us.”

The council of cardinals concluded their first set of meetings on Oct. 3, and they will begin their next session in just under two months, on Dec. 3, 2013.

Although the council of eight is “still in discussion,” Cardinal Gracias expressed his confidence that “the Holy Father will give us a direction.”

“He is a good pope who gives great hope for the Church, the world and all of us, the bishops.”


CNA Rome correspondent Marta Jimenez contributed to this article.