The validity of the Vatican’s Oceania Synod Continent phase of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality is being questioned by the report itself. “The Vatican’s fictional construct, a new continent it calls Oceania, may have been a step too far” a seasoned observer of Church politics told CathNews. The Vatican’s “Oceania Continent” occupies 33% of the Read more
When I ask ordinary Catholics what they think of all the discussions about synodality and Pope Francis’ call for us to become a synodal Church, I usually get blank stares. Some assume that I am one of those academic types that enjoy asking irrelevant questions; others simply say that they haven’t got a clue about Read more
As part of the synodal process, Archbishop of Perth Tim Costelloe urges bishops to listen non-defensively and understand “where people are.” Costelloe has spoken out in support of the synod process, calling it a “fantastic opportunity” for the Catholic Church to engage with the contemporary world. He has urged adding that the synod is inviting Read more
On the last day of their meeting at the Vatican this month, the seven-member Synod of Bishops’ preparatory commission had an audience with Pope Francis. Bishop Daniel Flores, who has been coordinating the synod process for the United States bishops, said the meeting was “very encouraging”. Francis speaks “very beautifully about the Church and about Read more
We do not know what the final result of the Synod on synodality will be. But we already know that the synodal process is a crucial moment in making real the transition from a Eurocentric Catholic Church to a global Catholic Church. We are now in a crucial moment of the multi-stage process that will Read more
Everyone who participates in the Synod of Bishops is eligible to vote, including women. Pope Francis made the comment in an interview with the Argentinean newspaper La Nacion. Francis stressed that including diverse voices in the synod is an ongoing process but that everyone who participates in the synod, regardless of gender, has the right Read more
The next six months are likely to be a bumpy road on the way to Rome where the first of two Synod assemblies on the very issue of synodality will take place this coming October. This gathering, and a second one in October 2024, are the culmination of the Synodal Path on which Pope Francis Read more
Thomas Halik, the Czech Catholic priest and former Soviet dissident, has told Europe’s bishops and lay leaders not to fear that “some forms of the Church are dying”, encouraging them to courageously undertake a synodal journey marked by “openness to the future, and receptivity to God’s challenges in the signs of the times”. The 74-year-old Read more
Asian Church leaders have concluded their continental-level preparations for making the Church more participatory by discussing key questions that have not been sufficiently discussed during lower-level gatherings. The continental-level gathering that ended on Feb. 26 in Bangkok was the highest preparation level ahead of the Synod of Bishops, more commonly called the Synod on Synodality, Read more
One could easily lose count of how many books have been published — or about to be published posthumously by Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI. And there are the books by those bishops and cardinals who refer to the late pope and former doctrinal chief in support of their views on the issues at the center of Read more