The Vatican COVID-19 Commission is an

institution Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

created by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

to express the Church’s solicitude facing the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and propose responses to the potential socio-economic challenges deriving from it. On 20 March 2020, Pope Francis asked the

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (''Dicasterium ad integram humanam progressionem fovendam'' in Latin) is a dicastery of the Roman curia. The Vatican announced the creation of the dicastery on 31 August 2016 and it becam ...

(DPIHD) to create a Commission to "prepare the future" through actions of support to local churches to save human lives and help the poorest, and through the analysis and reflection on the socioeconomic challenges that have risen with this crisis and the proposal of criteria to face them. The body reports directly to the Pope, and it is directed by Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; the Secretary, Mons. Bruno-Marie Duffé; and Fr Augusto Zampini, Adjunct Secretary. In an interview with

Vatican News ''Vatican News'' is a Catholic news website provided by the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication that partners with Vatican Radio, ''L'Osservatore Romano'', and Vatican Media to provide multimedia pertaining to the global Catholic Church and the ...

, Cardinal Peter Turkson explained the nature and the background of the Commission:

The
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
is convinced that we are living through an epochal change, and he is reflecting on what will follow the crisis, on the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, on what we will have to face, and above all on how the Church can offer itself as a safe point of reference to the world lost in the face of an unexpected event. ��The Pope has asked us for concreteness and creativity, scientific approach and imagination, global thinking and the ability to understand local needs.

Working groups and objectives

The Vatican COVID-19 Commission involves the activity of five working groups, each with specific objectives, which were presented to the Pope on 27 March 2020: * Working Group 1: Acting now for the future * Working Group 2: Looking to the future with creativity * Working Group 3: Communicating hope * Working Group 4: Seeking common dialogue and reflections * Working Group 5: Supporting to care. Working Group 2, "Looking to the future with creativity", works through four taskforces:

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

, and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

; each with their own coordinator. The Commission regularly publishes a newsletter which collects and summarises the results of its research and scientific reflection on these four disciplines. In addition, they work transversally around four thematic pillars: 1) the dignity of work and the jobs of the future; 2) new structures for the common good, 3) governance, peace and security for a global solidarity; 4) balancing social systems with the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. The Vatican COVID-19 Commission has elaborated various materials, reflections and messages, for instance the Catechesis offered by Pope Francis during his General Audiences in August and September 2020, gathered in the book To Heal the World, Catechesis on the pandemic, the book Life after the pandemic and the e-book based on the Rosary Crisis and Health,{{Cite book, title=Rosario: Crisis y Salud, publisher=Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, year=2020 among others.

References

Vatican City work group Organizations established for the COVID-19 pandemic Christian organizations established in 2020 2020 establishments in Vatican City