Czech theologian and priest Tomas Halik explains in an interview with katholisch.de why this is not the end, but just the beginning, now the second session of the World Synod in Rome is over. Mr Halik, the discussions at the second session of the World Synod have come to an end after almost four weeks. Read more
From the beginning, one of the most persistent charges against Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality, which got underway in 2021 and wrapped up last night [26 October] in Rome, is that the deck was stacked with progressive voices, creating an unrepresentative sense of the totality of global Catholic opinion. To cite a classic Read more
Congratulations to the 350-odd participants in the Synod on Synodality for completing two long and intense sessions of work in 2023 and 2024. No doubt there are many angles to explore in the 28,000 word document. But let’s take a quick dive into it to see what it says about the role of lay people, Read more
As this year’s session of the Synod on Synodality gets underway in Rome, South African women and women religious have reached new levels of frustration with the church and Pope Francis himself. Theologian and spiritual director Annemarie Paulin-Campbell said Pope Francis has been a superb leader in many respects. “However,” she said, “when it comes 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
As the official synodal process enters its fourth year, the Vatican recently released the document, the instrumentum laboris, to guide discussions for the October 2024 synod. The document was relatively stunning in its admission of challenges, beauty of language on the Trinity and Christ and mission; and, for its announcement that opening the diaconate for Read more
New Zealand’s latest synod consultation document is on its way to Rome. It – and other documents from all over the globe – will contribute to the global Synod on Synodality meeting in October. The Synod has been underway since 2021 and concludes in Rome after the October meeting finishes. Pope Francis established the Synod Read more
Among the many popular and impious sayings about Rome, some dating back to early times, there is this little gem: Roma veduta, fede perduta. Basically, it means you risk losing your faith when you go to the Eternal City. It’s certainly a phrase that was bantered about during the 16th century when Martin Luther (an Read more
Lay people, especially women, will benefit from the Pope’s decision to expand those allowed to vote in the Synod on Synodality’s concluding discussions to include women, say leading Asian theologians. They agree the decision will compel Asia’s national churches to widen male and female lay Catholics’ participation in Church activities. The ruling means “the universal Read more
Pope Francis, April 17, approved a decision that lay women and lay men will vote at the upcoming Synod of Bishops. The Vatican has always said while input from many was essential to a synod, bishops were tasked with discerning and voting. The move to allow lay women and lay men to vote at the Read more