Ensuring he was fully prepared for the Synod of Synodality’s second session kept Archbishop Paul Martin extra busy before leaving for Rome. Commenting on Facebook, Martin said it was difficult to examine Synod’s first session synthesis and see how it was expressed in the second session’s instrumentum laboris (agenda). It’s not what you’d call a Read more
With many of the concrete, hot-button issues removed from the agenda and turned over to study groups, some people wonder what members of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality will be doing when they meet at the Vatican in October. For Pope Francis and synod organizers, though, taking issues like women deacons or seminary training Read more
Father Timothy Radcliffe, a Dominican theologian, has called on the Synod of Bishops to embrace openness, warning against fear of change and/or stagnation. Speaking at a retreat on 30th September to launch the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Radcliffe emphasised the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit and avoiding the temptation to Read more
Taking part in the Synod on Synodality is much like participating in a hui says Manuel Beazley, currently in Rome as a New Zealand member of the Synod. Beazley is also Vicar for Maori in the Auckland Diocese. “As Māori, synodality is nothing new to us. In a sense it’s part of our DNA as Read more
The second session of the Synod on Synodality will take place this October as a follow-up to the first session that occurred last October. Here are five things to look for as the synod delegates gather in Rome. How is the second session similar to the first session of the synod? The first session of Read more
At the end of August, the European Synod on Synodality participants in Linz met to discuss the working document for the second session of the Synod in the autumn. Among the 43 participants were the President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), Archbishop Gintaras Grusas (Vilnius), and the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences Read more
The Synod working document is failing to address adequately the needs of people on the margins of society, according to Bishop Erwin Kräutler. Kräutler, a prominent voice for social justice, is disappointed with the Catholic Church’s preparations for the second session of the Synod on Synodality. “The Synod cannot retreat ‘from the evil world’ into Read more
As Rome prepares for the denouement of Pope Francis’s long-running Synod of Bishops on Synodality next month, Catholics and other African Christian leaders are exploring the possible implications of the process for closer ties among the various Christian communities on the continent. During a recent exchange known as the “African Palaver Conversation Series,” which concluded Read more
Despite women’s ordination being excluded from the agenda of the Synod on Synodality, the topic remains a significant point of discussion within the Church. According to Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the General Relator of the Synod, the issue of women’s priestly ordination was not included because it was not universally raised. The Instrumentum laboris published recently Read more
Bishops are conducting regional workshops around the world to prepare for the October 2024 Synod on Synodality in Vatican City. These workshops are crucial in shaping discussions at the synod, which aims to make the Church more inclusive and participatory. This reflects the themes outlined in the Vatican’s guiding document “Instrumentum Laboris”. Europe In Europe, Read more