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
On Saturday, Pope Francis laid out a template for living the faith in the deeply secular culture of Belgium. Belgium is consistently rated as one of the world’s most secular societies, but Francis insisted that doesn’t mean we can stop trying to follow our template of service, mission and joy. “We have moved from a Read more
Pope Francis told gatherings of clergy, religious sisters, and catechists in Indonesia and PNG that proclaiming the Gospel does not mean “imposing one’s own faith or opposing it to others, proselytising”. He said proclaiming the Gospel should “always be done with great respect and fraternal affection for all”. Fraternal living means “accepting one another and Read more
Faith and mission are behind 15-year old William Henry’s international business selling rosaries. “My mission is to spread the power of the rosary and our faith to the world through my business,” Henry says. It all started a few years ago when a friend made Henry an Irish penal rosary made up of just one-decade, Read more
According to the media, the most important issues facing the Synod on Synodality are the possibility of married priests, women deacons and the blessing of gay couples. The first session of the synod will take place in Rome this October, with a second session in October 2024. I personally hope the synod deals with these Read more
At a recent dinner with the Vicar General of an Australian diocese, he quipped, “to the parish priest who has everything, give him another parish.” The five priests seated with him laughed at this. But, as the conversation turned to the realities of our failing diocesan infrastructures, the tone became more serious. Two priests were Read more
The world today is experiencing a new apostolic age, and the Church is rediscovering its primary purpose of mission, says Fr James Mallon, author of Beyond the Parish and Canadian founder of the Divine Renovation Ministry. “The word apostolicos comes from apostolay in Greek, which means ‘to send’ and the Latin translation of that word Read more
New Zealand’s National Synod Synthesis has been compiled and released to the public. The diocesan documents were synthesised at a national meeting held in Wellington in June. The introduction to the national document says participants throughout the country “spoke positively and with love about the place the Church has in their lives. “They want the Read more
Pope Francis’ trip to Canada to apologise for the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools marks a radical rethink of the Catholic Church’s missionary legacy, spurred on by the first pope from the Americas and the discovery of hundreds of probable graves at the school sites. Francis has said his weeklong visit, which begins Sunday, Read more
The Catholic Church in Ireland is “moving from maintenance to mission” and needs to renew and refresh itself, Archbishop Eamon Martin says. Martin made the comment after attending Ireland’s national pre-synodal assembly this week. “The question is — what next? “We are still not entirely certain, but we are open to what the Holy Spirit Read more