Statutes of the Dicastery to Promote Integral Human Development

Statutes of the Dicastery to Promote Integral Human Development

Pope Francis

The new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has been instituted by Pope Francis at the recommendation of the Council of Cardinals. By merging the competencies of several Pontifical Councils, the new Dicastery will have among its tasks that of expressing, in a special way, the Holy See's concern for justice and peace, which include issues relating to migration, heath care, charitable works and the care of creation. The following is a translation of the Statutes of the new Dicastry.

Article 1

Name

§ 1. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development expresses the solicitude of the Holy See inasmuch as it deals with justice and peace, including issues relating to migration, health, charitable works and the care of creation.

§ 2. The Dicastery promotes integral human development in the light of the Gospel and in line with the Social Doctrine of the Church. To this end, it maintains relations with the Episcopal Conferences, offering its cooperation in order that the values concerning justice, peace, as well as the care of creation may be promoted.

§ 3. The Dicastery also expresses the solicitude of the Supreme Pontiff for suffering humanity, among whom are the needy, the sick and the excluded, and follows with due attention the questions pertinent to the needs of those who are forced to flee their homeland or who have none, those who are marginalized, victims of armed conflicts and of natural disasters, the imprisoned, the unemployed, victims of modern forms of slavery and of torture, and other persons whose dignity is at risk.

§ 4. A Section of the Dicastery specifically oversees matters concerning refugees and migrants. This Section is placed ad tempus under the guidance of the Supreme Pontiff who will exercise oversight in the ways he deems opportune.Article 2

Structure

§ 1. The Dicastery is presided over by a Prefect, assisted by a Secretary and at least one Undersecretary, who may also be a member of the lay faithful.

§ 2. The Dicastery has its own Members, among whom are lay faithful committed in the Dicastery’s various spheres of competency. They come from various parts of the world, so as to reflect the universal character of the Church.

§ 3. [The Dicastery] has at its disposal its own Consultants and Officials, who also come from various parts of the world.

§ 4. The Dicastery is entirely regulated by the norms which govern the Roman Curia.Article 3

Task, Mission, Work

§ 1. The Dicastery deepens the Social Doctrine of the Church and strives to ensure that it is widely spread and implemented and that social, economic and political relations are ever more permeated by the spirit of the Gospel.

§ 2. [The Dicastery] gathers information and the results of investigations regarding justice and peace, the advancement of peoples, the protection and care of human dignity and of human rights, especially, for example, those relating to labour, including child labour, the phenomenon of migration and the exploitation of migrants, trafficking in human lives, reduction to slavery, imprisonment, torture and the death penalty, disarmament or the issue of armament as well as of armed conflicts and their consequences on the civilian population and on the natural environment (humanitarian law). It evaluates these data and informs the episcopal organisms of the conclusions that it draws therefrom, so that they may intervene directly where appropriate.

§ 3. The Dicastery strives to ensure that the local Churches are offered effective and appropriate practical and spiritual assistance — if necessary also through appropriate pastoral structures — to the sick, to refugees, to exiles, to migrants, to the stateless, to circus people, to nomads and to itinerant people.

§ 4. The Dicastery favours and coordinates the initiatives of Catholic institutions that are committed to respecting the dignity of every person, to affirming the values of justice and peace, to helping peoples who are reduced to indigence, and in particular to those institutions that attend to the most urgent necessities and that provide relief in calamities.

§ 5. In carrying out its mission, the Dicastery will maintain relationships with associations, institutes and non-government organizations, also outside the Catholic Church, committed to the promotion of justice and peace. Additionally, it may enter into dialogue with representatives of civil governments and of other subjects of public international law, in order to promote study, deepening and awareness regarding matters within its competency, while respecting the competency of the other organisms of the Roman Curia.

§ 6. The Dicastery is committed to fostering among peoples sensitivity to peace, the commitment to justice and solidarity with the most vulnerable people, such as migrants and refugees, particularly on the occasions of the World Day of Peace, the World Day of Migrants and the World Day of the Sick.Article 4

Relations with Members of the Curia and Connected Organisms

§ 1. The Dicastery acts in close collaboration with the Secretariat of State, respecting their respective competencies. The Secretariat of State has exclusive competence over matters concerning relations with States and with other subjects of public international law.

§ 2. The Dicastery maintains a close relationship with the Secretariat of State especially in regard to public statements, through documents or declarations, regarding issues concerning relations with civil governments and with other subjects of public international law.

§ 3. The Dicastery cooperates with the Secretariat of State also participating in the Delegations of the Holy See in intergovernmental meetings concerning matters within its competence.

§ 4. The Dicastery maintains a close relationship with the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, respecting its Statutes.

§ 5. Constituted within the Dicastery are the Commission for Charity, the Commission for Ecology and the Commission for Health Care Workers, which operate according to their rules. They are presided over by the Prefect of the said Dicastery and are convoked by him each time he deems it opportune or necessary.

§ 6. The Dicastery is competent regarding Caritas Internationalis according to its Statutes.Article 5

Other Organisms

The Dicastery also acts on behalf of the Holy See with regard to the institution and oversight of international associations of charity and of the funds set up to the same ends, as established in the respective Statutes and in the general context of the laws in force.

These Statutes are approved ad experimentum. I decree that they be promulgated by publication in L’Osservatore Romano and then published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, entering into force on 1 January 2017. Beginning on the said date the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, shall cease their functions and be considered abolished, and Articles 142-153 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus are likewise abrogated.

Given in Rome, at St Peter’s, on 17 August 2016

L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
2 September 2016, page 8

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