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VATICAN CITY // After their adjournment during Italy’s national holiday yesterday, more than 180 cardinals reconvened May 2 at the Vatican for the eighth General Congregation, which focused on a wide number of topics especially related to the future of the Church.
In an afternoon press conference, Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni stated that more than 120 of the cardinals at the Congregation are electors, or cardinals who will participate in the upcoming conclave.
Twenty-five cardinals spoke at the three and a half hour-long meeting, addressing topics such as canon law, the liturgy, the Eucharist, and the late Pope Francis’ pontificate, Bruni said.
“They spoke of evangelization as the heart of the pontificate of Pope Francis, the Church as a brotherly communion of evangelization,” he said. “They spoke of the question of how to communicate the Gospel, particularly to the youth. They spoke of the Church of the East, of the oriental Churches, of their suffering, and of their witness.”
Another theme was the question of how to effectively communicate the gospel at all levels, from parishes to the Curia, according to a press release from the Holy See Press Office.
The cardinals also spoke about “[t]he duty of witness, of unity,” Bruni said in the press conference, adding that “they quoted the passage of the Gospel that says ‘they will recognize you for how much you love each other.’”
The release states, “Some elements of counter-witness were also recalled, such as sexual abuse and financial scandals,” which were regarded “as a ‘wound’ to be kept ‘open’ to discussion, so that awareness of the problem remains alive and concrete paths for its healing can be identified.”
The missionary role of the Eucharist was discussed, and several cardinals mentioned synodality, especially as it relates to mission, secularism, and collegiality.
Bruni shared that there was also “a reflection … on the hermeneutics of continuity between the papacies of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.”
There are 135 registered electors in the upcoming conclave. Two cardinals who are registered as electors will not join: Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, archbishop emeritus of Valencia, Spain, and Cardinal John Njue, metropolitan archbishop emeritus of Nairobi, Kenya.
CatholicVote previously reported that Bruni said April 29 that two electors would not attend due to health reasons. At the time, he did not disclose their names.