Although Pope Francis took it off the agenda, the appointment of bishops is still being discussed privately by members of the synod. The Pope took this and a number of issues off the agenda because he wanted the synod to focus on synodality and not be distracted by controversial and complicated issues. Discussions about bishops Read more
The Vatican says more lay people should help choose bishops. Listening to the people of God is important, says newly-appointed Dicastery for Bishops’ head Archbishop Robert Prevost (pictured). A good bishop is “a pastor, capable of being close to the members of the community, starting with the priests for whom the bishop is father and Read more
This month has seen over 330 new Catholic bishops taking part in a formation course in Rome. Among them was Archbishop Coadjutor Paul Martin, appointed the tenth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch in December 2017. He was consecrated in March 2018 (pictured). There isn’t usually such a time lag between being appointed bishop and attending the Read more
A nun appointed by Pope Francis to help him select bishops says bishops need to listen and that the ideal bishop does not exist. French Salesian Sr Yvonne Reungoat made the comments to Vida Nueva, a Spanish publication. Reungoat told the publication that while there is no perfect bishop, he has to be a shepherd Read more
The Holy See Press Office on July 13 announced that Pope Francis has appointed three women to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. The role of the dicastery is to help the pope in the appointment of Catholic bishops for Latin-rite dioceses outside what the Vatican considers the mission territories, for example, Australia. Bishop appointments to Read more
Women will be given more top-level positions in the Holy See and will be allowed to help select bishops, Pope Francis has announced. The role of women in the Vatican hierarchy was one of the many Church and international topics the 85-year-old pontiff discussed in an interview last Saturday. A new constitution for the Holy Read more