Source: Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis will be making several significant changes in the Vatican in the next few weeks and months to bring in fresh faces with new ideas and promote others as part of his push for reform.

 

Pope Francis (R) embraces Archbishop Konrad Krajewski during a ceremony in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican September 17, 2013. Picture taken September 17, 2013. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS

The pope disclosed his decisions in a rare sit-down interview with Reuters at his residence, during which he also spoke of migration, China, freedom of the press, sexual abuse and the role of women in the Church.

During the two-hour interview last Sunday night, Francis said he had decided that the Office of Papal Charities, otherwise known as the pope’s almoner, will henceforth be headed by a cardinal, the highest position in the Church after the pope himself.

The current head of that office will be promoted and his successors will have the same rank. This will institutionalize a higher profile for the department that oversees help for the poor.