Local Organization Says Pope's New Advisory Counsel May Help Bring Change
By Molly Daly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – On Saturday, Pope Francis named eight cardinals from around the world, with only one from Europe, to a permanent advisory panel to counsel him on how the church is run, and how to reform the Vatican bureaucracy.
"It's important because of how immediately following his election he's impaneled this group."
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish is on the steering committee of the Philadelphia chapter of Voice of the Faithful, whose motto is "Keep the Faith, Change the Church."
She says although Francis became pope a little less than four weeks ago, he's wasting no time in showing his willingness to break with tradition, rejecting many of the trappings of the papacy.
"Now there seems to be with Pope Francis, maybe a return to the collegiality -- the "working with" the pope. The pope is the head of the church, but he's also the bishop of Rome. In that sense, he's one among equals. It's sort of going back to the early days of the church."
But Sister Maureen says it's not without precedent.
