Council of Cardinals reflects on life of the Church in midst of pandemic

By Vatican News

Due to the current health situation, the regularly scheduled meeting of the Council of Cardinals was held online on Tuesday afternoon. Cardinals Óscar A. Rodríguez Maradiaga, Reinhard Marx, Sean Patrick O'Malley, Oswald Gracias, and Fridolin Ambongo Besungu took part in the meeting from their respective countries, while Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Giuseppe Bertello and the Secretary of the Council, Bishop Marco Mellino, were connected from the Vatican. The Holy Father also participated in the meeting, connecting from Casa Santa Marta. The Holy See Press Office announced the meeting in a statement Tuesday evening.

“After a brief greeting from Pope Francis,” the statement reads, “the new member of the Council, Cardinal Ambongo Besungu, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa, was presented to the participants and some contributions were made on the life of the Church in the different continents, particularly in the present health situation.”

The statement continues, “The Secretary of the Council has summarized the steps taken in the drafting of the text of the new Apostolic Constitution, while in the meantime, the observations, amendments and proposals received from the Dicasteries consulted in recent months are being studied."

Finally, the statement notes that the next meeting of the Council of Cardinals is scheduled for the month of February.