Tag: Synod

Reports and Commentary on the Synod on Synodality: “For a Synodal Church – Communion, Participation, Mission."

Controversy over women's ordination, even at the synod, detracts attention from the plight of women in the Catholic Church and society, said an Australian bishop, who is a member of the Synod of Bishops.

Catholics cannot have a clear view of the biggest issues impacting the church if they do not listen to the perspectives of Catholics who come from different countries or cultures or have different life experiences than they do, said Bishop Daniel E Flores of Brownsville, Texas.

Commentators online cross about the Synod on Synodality’s penitential service say the cardinals’ public confessions on behalf of the church “don’t speak for me.” Be bemused at some of the language, but don't forget that intercession before God is what the priesthood is all about, writes Monica Doumit.

After the first assembly of the synod on synodality in 2023, Pope Francis set up 10 study groups to reflect more deeply on some of the most controversial or complicated questions raised during the synod process. Opening the diaconate to women and ensuring they have decision-making roles in the church was one of those questions.

Pope Francis opened the second session of the Synod of Bishops defending his decision to give women and laymen votes at the assembly, saying it reflects the Second Vatican Council's teaching that a bishop exercises his ministry with and within the people of God.

Members of the Synod of Bishops must engage in genuine dialogue with those holding differing views, avoid pushing personal agendas and remain open to changing their minds about what is best for the church, Pope Francis said.

Before the opening Mass of the Synod, Pope Francis met with an ecumenical group consisting of Catholic and Lutheran pilgrims from Germany. They welcomed him with music of a youth choir.

Australia’s Catholics have provided a wealth of ideas on how to improve the way the Church listens to the faithful and promotes its message in the community.

A few weeks ago, the Catholic Weekly published a story about Dan Schutte and the writing of Here I Am, Lord. Judging by the...

By their vocabulary, you shall know them? Well, to a considerable degree. And in these early November days, when the church celebrates all the saints in glory and prays for those who yearn to join them in the Father’s house, it’s instructive to ponder the vocabulary that dominated the just-completed first assembly of the Synod on Synodality for a “Synodal Church of Communion, Participation, and Mission.”

The first session of the “Synod on Synodality,” currently meeting in Rome, is slated to be followed by a second such month-long affair in October 2024.