Plenary Assemblies

The Council's Plenary Assembly occurs every two or three years. They are the key events in the life of the Dicastery, attended by the members and consultors. Their purpose is to reflect on the major issues and cultural situations in contemporary societies.

2021 - Rethinking Anthropology

Videomessage from Pope Francis [video] - texts: [Italian] [English] [French] [Spanish] Plenary Assembly Rethinking Anthropology - Toward a new humanism November 2021 “And no one without Natural Philosophy can discern the value (and their value is very great) of the ancient maxims and precepts of... Read more

2017 - The Future of Humanity

15-18 November 2017, the Plenary Assembly looked at The Future of Humanity: New Challenges to Anthropology. Click here for the Holy Father's Talk Click here for the programme: English; Italian; Spanish;   Click here for the Thematic Paper: English; Italian; Spanish; French The meeting had... Read more

2015 - Women's Cultures

4-7 February 2015 the Plenary Assembly looked at Women's cultures: equality and difference. The meeting had four sessions: 1) Between equality and difference: the quest for an equilibrium An historical overview through cultural anthropology and sociological analysis to outline the condition of... Read more

2013 - Emerging Youth Cultures

This Plenary Assembly looked at "youth issues" in the different continents. It listened to this evolving and changing reality, ensuring that pastoral care addresses questions that are actually real and relevant to today's youths. The Assembly analyzed adolescent and youth cultures,... Read more

2010 - Language and Communication

The 2010 Plenary Assembly turned its attention to that essential aspect of contemporary cultures which is the use of language and communication, in order to study the current situation and propose lines of action for the evangelising mission of the Church. The Plenary opened in an unexpected place,... Read more

2008 - From Secularism to Secularity

Many of the cultural changes being faced by men and women around the world today have a common denominator: secularisation. This issue is hardly new and the Plenary wanted to avoid the trap of grumbling about the state of the world today, and focused instead on "positive secularity" and... Read more

2006 - Beauty

The Way of Beauty, or Via Pulchritudinis, pathway for evangelisation and dialogue, was the theme chosen by the Pontifical Council for Culture for its 2006 Plenary Assembly. This follows in the wake of preceding assemblies in seeking to assist the Church in transmiting faith in Christ through a... Read more

2004 - Atheism and Indifference

Christian Faith at the dawn of the new millenium and the challenge of non-belief and religious indifference was the theme of the 2004 Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, which dealt with many aspects of atheism. The plenary's work began with a questionnaire and survey that led... Read more

2002 - Handing on the Faith

The Plenary Assembly of 2002 had as its theme Handing on the Faith at the Heart of Cultures, Novo Millennio Ineunte. The profound and rapid developments facing so many societies at the beginning of the Third Millennium invite the Church to explore new paths of evangelisation. Huge sectors of the... Read more

1999 - For a new Christian humanism

How to tell people about God today was the question at the heart of this Plenary Assembly. In the run up to the Jubilee of the Year 2000, religious indifference appeared to be a central issue for the men and women of the time, particularly for the children, the hope of the future, whose geniality... Read more