The Synod’s Working Document is the Holy Spirit talking and Bishop Stephen Lowe is urging people to become familiar with it. Emphasising its importance, Lowe, President of the New Zealand Bishops Conference, describes the document as “another step towards the future”. “This working document is the product of the process of the Church listening to Read more
The 2023 assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which takes place from October 4-29 in Rome, will be the most important Catholic Church gathering since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). A consistory will precede it on September 30 when Pope Francis is to create twenty-one new cardinals. Both events are indicative of how high the Read more
Robert Barron, the conservative bishop and founder of Word on Fire Institute, has reassured US Catholics that the forthcoming synod on synodality will not bring about significant doctrinal changes. Despite concerns about the potential outcomes of the synod, where a diverse group of bishops, priests and laity will convene to discuss the Church’s future, Barron Read more
Nearly two years into the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis’ global effort to listen to what Catholics think about their church, most American Catholics still find it unintelligible, from its seemingly circular name to its goals and methodology. If an American were in charge of running the pope’s synod, it would be very different. Americans Read more
The fifteen people to represent the ‘Oceania continent’ at the 2021-2014 Synod were announced in Rome late Friday night. The ‘Oceania continent‘ is the term the Vatican has used for the purpose of the Synod to group Australia and the mission churches in the South Pacific. Of the fifteen, six women and nine men will Read more
What do Cardinal Gerhard Müller and the Reverend James Martin SJ have in common? They are both members of the Roman Catholic clergy who tend to be polarising figures in the Church. The first is a hero of traditionalists, while the second is a champion of those who want reform. And now the German cardinal Read more
Recent allegations that a biased synod agenda working document favours a liberal plan are baseless and lack substance, says Massimo Faggioli. The working document (Instrumentum Laboris) for the Synod of Bishops, a result of a comprehensive process involving the participation of the entire church, is a testament to the church’s commitment to inclusivity and dialogue, Read more
On June 20, 2023, the Synod of Bishops published a synod working document to guide the first session of the Synod on the future of the Church, scheduled for October 2023. This “Instrumentum Laboris” (“instrument of work” in Latin), is intended to help the synodal assembly’s 370 members in their reflection. “Church,” “Synod” and “how” Read more
There is probably no pope in all of history — certainly not in the last 400 some years — who served so briefly as Bishop of Rome and yet had such an immense impact on the Catholic Church as John XXIII. [That’s leaving aside Sixtus V. He’s the hard-nosed pope who, in just five years Read more
Holy See representative Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had planned to visit New Zealand this October. However, as can happen, plans change and he won’t be coming after all. Considered by some to be Papabile, Tagle is the Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelisation of the Dicastery for Evangelisation and is responsible for appointing New Zealand’s Read more