AUSTRALIA
The Australian

[with video]

ARCHBISHOP of Sydney George Pell has been appointed by Pope Francis to a permanent advisory group to help him run the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Pell is one of eight cardinals and one monsignor – the others are from Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Asia – who have been appointed to the group.

The panel is a clear indication that Francis wants to reflect the universal nature of the church in its governance and core decision-making, particularly given the church is growing and counts most of the world’s Catholics in the southern hemisphere.

In the run-up to the conclave that elected Francis pope one month ago, a reform of the Vatican bureaucracy was a constant drumbeat, as were calls to make the Vatican itself more responsive to the needs of bishops around the world.