Pope Francis on Wednesday created a new independent supervisory commission for the Diocese of Rome.
The commission will meet once a month and report directly to the Pope in a yearly meeting.
The oversight committee is part of the Pope’s reform of the governance of the Rome Diocese, a reorganization that centralizes more of the diocese’s activities under his authority.
In a document issued Feb. 15, Pope Francis established norms for the commission and nominated its first members.
The six-member commission is intended to act as internal oversight on financial, administrative, and legal issues for the Diocese of Rome, as stated in the apostolic constitution issued Jan. 6.
The members of the supervisory group are appointed for a three-year term. All six members are laypeople who come from the professional world.
The bishop of the Diocese of Rome is the pope. Under him, the diocese, run by the Vicariate of Rome, is led by a cardinal vicar, vicegerent (deputy), and auxiliary bishops.
Pope Francis on Jan. 6 issued a constitution reforming the Vicariate of Rome in what he called a time of “epochal change.”
The apostolic constitution, In Ecclesiarum Communione, replaces a 1998 constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II. It went into effect on Jan. 31.