The synod on the family’s special secretary has given a qualified support to legal recognition of the rights of people in same-sex unions. At a press conference after the release of the synod’s half way report (relatio), Archbishop Bruno Forte said “it seems obvious to me that humans have different experiences [and] have rights that Read more
An African bishop was unable to attend the synod on the family in Rome because Ebola-related restrictions meant he couldn’t leave his country. Bishop Anthony Borwah of GBarnga diocese in Liberia has sent a written intervention to the synod instead. In August, Bishop Borwah discovered that neighbouring Ivory Coast had restricted airline travel and closed Read more
German Cardinal Walter Kasper has said that African prelates should not tell the rest of the Church what to do about homosexual people. In an interview with Zenit on October 15, after the evening working groups’ discussions at the synod on the family, Cardinal Kasper said homosexuality is a taboo subject in Africa. “Africa is Read more
The memoirs of a Vatican II theological expert closely involved in the reform of the liturgy reveal some of the machinations that took place in the process. Frenchman Fr Louis Bouyer, who died in 2004, was appointed by Pope Paul VI to the Concilium which worked on the revised order of the Mass. The priest’s Read more
A Vatican document released at the halfway point of the synod on the family shows a dramatic shift in the Church’s language about homosexual people. The relatio post disceptationem is a summary of the discussions held at the synod so far. It was read out in the presence of Pope Francis and the synod delegates Read more
A French couple has admitted to the synod on the family that they used artificial contraception after the birth of their third child. But Olivier and Xristilla Roussy said their experience with contraception was not a good one. After their third child was born, Mr Roussy said, Xristilla was exhausted; they thought that using the Read more
An Austrian cardinal says the Church under Pope Francis will find new ways of responding to people who don’t live up to its teachings. Speaking to media at the synod on the family, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn said it is clear that the Church must reach out to those whose marriages have failed. No one must Read more
Momentum is building at the synod on the family for a change in the language the Church uses in its teaching on sexuality. But that doesn’t mean a change in Church doctrine, two leading cardinals have said. “Everybody wants to show God’s love and mercy, but it also brings you to very difficult situations and Read more
The synod on the family is showing the Church has to start to rethink how it does theology, says a Canadian archbishop. This is so it can truly address contemporary concerns, said Archbishop Paul-André Durocher. In the past, theologians have usually deduced from general, sometimes idealised notions of God or humanity, following the methods of Read more
An Australian married couple has told Pope Francis and bishops at the synod on the family that Catholic parishes should welcome gay couples. Ron and Mavis Pirola, who have been married for more than 50 years, told the synod how friends of theirs welcomed their gay son and his partner one Christmas. “The Church constantly Read more