Synodality is Pope Francis’ vision to reform the Catholic Church to ensure human equality and a rightful place for everyone in the Church, a spirit that embodies the essence of the Second Vatican Council held about 60 years ago. Vatican II affirmed that every Christian shared Christ’s role as priest, king, and prophet by virtue Read more
In East Timor, a country that is 98% Catholic and where priests are referred to as Amu – meaning ‘lord’, Pope Francis delivered a strong message of service, urging bishops and priests not to seek power or social prestige in their roles. Francis sounded warnings against the dangers of arrogance and power in religious leadership. Read more
I was struck by the gospel reading on Sunday (Aug. 25) in which John, speaking about Jesus’ followers, wrote that “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” The image made me sad, because it seemed to reflect what is going on in the Catholic Church and Read more
The final round of the World Synod will convene in Rome in October this year. Bishops, priests, and laypeople will vote on new consultation and decision-making processes in the Catholic Church. The working paper, Instrumentum Laboris, is the crucial guideline for this process and is expected to be available soon. The Synod Secretariat announced at Read more
In a May 21 interview with CBS, the Holy Father confirmed the exclusion of women’s diaconal ordination from the scope of discussion at the Synod on Synodality in the Catholic Church. There are undoubtedly many reasons for this authoritative decision, and it can be legitimately reduced to the pope’s personal conviction formed in prayer, which Read more
Fr Tomáš Halík, a renowned Czech theologian and philosopher, says the Catholic Church should shed the “heresy of triumphalism” and foster a more synodal approach to evangelisation in today’s secular climate. Halík recently participated in a synodal gathering convened by the Vatican, highlighting concerns over parish priests’ exclusion from previous synodal sessions and stressing the Read more
In 2010, a sizable number of abuse cases in the Catholic Church in Germany became known for the first time. Since then, the Church has been striving to process these cases. At their plenary assembly on September 25, 2018, the German Catholic bishops published a study documenting cases of abuse between 1946 and 2014. At Read more
A renowned historian has asserted that the hierarchical power structures within the Catholic and Protestant churches are significant factors contributing to sexual abuse cases. In a recent article in the German website Herder Korrespondenz, Thomas Großbölting (pictured) highlights the clergy’s authority within the religious framework as facilitating the exploitation of children and young people. “It Read more
He’s warned Catholic seminaries against the tendency to turn future priests into “little monsters”. He’s scolded the Church’s presbyters for wearing ornate liturgical vestments that stem from a bygone era, telling them to stop dressing up in “granny’s lace”. And he’s called it a “scandal” to see young priests and seminarians going into the ecclesiastical Read more
Last week, Pope Francis issued a short Apostolic Letter revising the scope of a Vatican Institute. It seemed hardly newsworthy. The Pontifical Institute of Theology was founded in 1718 for the theological formation of priests, and later for bringing theologians together to discuss theological topics. More recently it has held an occasional conference, mainly with Read more