A world meeting of parish priests will later this month prepare for this year’s Synod on Synodality. The priests at the April 29–May 2 Rome-based meeting will reflect on the theme “How to Be a Synodal Local Church in Mission”. The invitation The synod’s General Secretariat has invited several parish priests to attend the second Read more
There is much to ponder in the synod synthesis report, “A Synodal Church in Mission.” As I talked with my sister about the proposals, I expressed a desire to gather with women who were not in my close circle to hear their perspectives. She immediately thought of some of her friends and women in her Read more
After raising expectations with his Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis is punting on a number of controversial issues that the synod process invited lay Catholics to raise. When the next session of the synod meets this October, the topics of married priests and same-sex blessings will be off the table. The possibility of women deacons Read more
It is late summer here we’re picking apples and bottling peaches, watering kawakawa so the leaves float and don’t droop, and harvesting lemon verbena. We’re flicking mosquitoes at dusk so they won’t bite and listening to noisy cicadas and hearty piwakawaka and spotting a ripening fig before a blackbird pecks at it. The Synod on Read more
The Vatican has postponed discussions on contentious doctrinal, ethical and pastoral issues until June 2025. It has redirected the focus of the upcoming synod towards synodality itself. The decision comes amidst growing anticipation about key matters such as women’s access to the diaconate and LGBTQ+ inclusion within the Church. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich clarified that the Read more
The famed Institut Catholique in Paris (ICP) has launched a series of eight webinars aimed at discussing themes related to the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis’s project for Church renewal and reform launched in October 2021. The 300 slots at the first of these monthly sessions, which took place this past Monday, filled up quickly. Read more
Catholic women are demanding equality and visibility while urging the Church institution to set aside its fears about change. Leadership positions within the Church are important, a pre-International Women’s Day gathering near the Vatican said. “It’s so important that the Catholic Church be engaged in this issue, not just internally but also externally given the Read more
Without the Eucharist, it seems obvious: There is no Catholic Church. It feeds us as a community of believers and transforms us into the body of Christ active in the world today. But according to Catholic theology, we cannot have the Eucharist without priests. Sadly, in many parts of the world there is a Eucharistic Read more
Pope Francis has set up study groups to explore various themes that emerged from the Synod on Synodality’s session last October. At the upcoming session, participants will continue to work on the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”. The pope has also set the dates for the second session which – after Read more
There is no other way into the future other than Synodality. The comment was made by Fr Dennis Nacorda, one of the New Zealand representatives at the Synod on Synodality held in Rome in October 2023. Unable to attend the first Zoom feedback meeting about the Synod, Nacorda last Thursday joined Mr Manuel Beazley the Read more