Ordination of married men will probably be the subject of further post-Amazon synod study. Cardinal Peter Turkson, who is the Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, says the study would aim to ensure “the Church can take a consistent position, not only in view of the Amazon, but in Read more
As the synod on the Amazon region enters it final week, the bishops gathered here to discuss the region’s challenges and make recommendations to Pope Francis will begin preparing their final report. Their words could have profound impact not only on the Amazon but the entire church, as the ideas they present about protecting the Read more
If the prelates attending the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops for the Amazon ask that Pope Francis allow married priests to address a lack of Catholic ministers across the nine-nation region, the path for implementing such a proposal is fairly straightforward, say four eminent canon lawyers. Although the canonists have slightly different ideas about the concrete Read more
One Venezuelan prelate taking part in the current Synod of Bishops on the Amazon says people back home have a creative alternative for coping with chronic priest shortages, beyond the much-discussed idea of married clergy to serve isolated rural communities. Rather than ordaining married men, he said, their proposal is that he bring some of Read more
Anitalia Pijachi, (pictured) an indigenous woman from the Amazonian town of Leticia, Colombia, came to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon bringing a message from the elders of her people to Pope Francis, an elder of the Catholic Church. The first Europeans to arrive in the Amazon were “invaders,” she said. “They never asked Read more
Catholic women attending the summit of bishops at the Vatican on the Amazon region praised the climate of inclusivity and openness ushered in by Pope Francis but insisted that equality demands they also have a right to vote. “As many other religious women, we believe we have come to the point that our superior generals Read more
Deep in the Amazon forest, young couples looking to wed or baptize children often turn to Sister Alba, who fills in where Catholic priests cannot be found. But in many remote areas, there are not even enough nuns to go around, and it is laywomen who play a key role in the evangelization of indigenous Read more
Pope Francis said tell me: what’s the difference between having feathers on your head and the three-peaked hat worn by certain officials in our dicasters?” he said to applause, referring to the three-pointed red birettas worn by cardinals. Francis described how upset he became when he heard a snide comment about the feathered headdress worn Read more
It is amazing what a synod can do for a person. German Bishop Fritz Lobinger, a 90-year-old retired missionary bishop in South Africa, has suddenly become the talk of Rome. Lobinger’s idea of ordained elders in order to provide local communities regular access to the sacraments has been the root of discussions about “married priests” Read more
The opening days of the Amazon Synod have been marked by the familiar polar tensions at the heart of the Catholic Church: between center and periphery, universal and local; between the demands of the law and the pastoral needs of a particular people. But now there is something new, something that is tilting the balance Read more