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
Giving feedback on last October’s Synod on Synodality in Rome, the Archbishop of Wellington Paul Martin is highlighting the importance of two key points he took away from the global meeting. These involve listening combined with an understanding that the Church is not some form of majority democracy. Martin offered the comments during the first Read more
US bishops at October’s synod on synodality wanted to express “a certain amount of sorrow” over how the Church treats women, says Bishop Daniel Flores. Flores, who led the US bishops’ national consultation process for the synod, says the bishop delegates spoke out when they were in Rome. They wanted to show the synod that Read more
Some German Synodal Path suggestions for change won’t be happening, says the Vatican. Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has written an official note to the German Bishops’ Conference secretary general, Beate Gilles to clarify the Vatican’s stance on the German Synodal Path reform proposals. Non-negotiable issues Some issues are “non-negotiable”, Parolin told Gilles, Read more
The results of a national survey of Catholic priests released by The Catholic Project on Nov. 7 revealed an interesting dynamic in U.S. Catholic life. In the terminology used in the survey questions, young U.S. Catholic priests tend to be theologically traditional and politically conservative, particularly compared to older priests. Meanwhile, U.S. Catholics as a Read more
The Synod on Synodality didn’t offer “a single idea of how to meaningfully include women” says Ireland’s former president, Professor Mary McAleese. There was just a tentative suggestion that the two unpublished papal-commissioned reports on women and the diaconate be made available for the 2024 Synod, she says. Balance of power Referring to October’s synod Read more
The much anticipated “synthesis report” from October’s synod on synodality was released after the confidential Vatican-based meetings concluded on Sunday. The synthesis report summarises synodal discussions about how a synodal Church’s ministries and structures can give a wider role for laity which is more in line with the vision of Vatican II. Big issues discussed Read more
When I was in Rome during the second week of the Synod on synodality, I had the opportunity to talk with some of the participants. Every single one of them offered encouraging words of hope. But if one wants to know what is happening at this synodal assembly, those words of hope are pretty much Read more
High-ranking Catholics from across the globe have converged on the Vatican, where a landmark initiative is underway that will shape the future of the Catholic Church. Cardinals, bishops, priests and lay Catholics, both men and women, are meeting Oct. 4-29, 2023, as part of the Synod on Synodality: an effort Pope Francis launched in 2021 Read more
My first synod was in 1985, when Pope John Paul II called an extraordinary synod to reflect on the Second Vatican Council 20 years after it ended. I have covered almost every synod since. It has never been easy. Meetings of the synod are usually closed, and the information released to the press is carefully Read more