The Synod’s final document has been approved and immediately enacted by Pope Francis. Unlike previous synods, there will be no post-synodal letter. This decision clearly demonstrates the Pope’s vision of how consultation (decision-making) and actual decision-making should interact. The process has emphasised unity and harmony, though the Pope accepts that some topics saw considerable dissent. Read more
Up and down again, back and forth, forwards and back again. This is how the Synod on Synodality proceeded over two long years at the round tables, above all with the explicit non-dispute over the church’s controversial issues that had been removed from it. These are serious and will determine the real significance of the Read more
Cardinal Victor Fernandez, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, issued an apology on Friday after missing a critical meeting of a synod group focused on women’s roles in the Church. The absence, confirmed to the National Catholic Reporter by multiple sources, triggered frustration among some delegates. Fernandez absence sparks discontent Fernandez was notably absent on Read more
As the second session of the Synod begins, it’s striking how little attention is given to the issue of women—not only within the Synod itself but also in church policy and in the behavior of women themselves. The exclusion of women from synodal debate is a papal decision, reaffirming their exclusion from “holy orders,” meaning Read more
Listening to diverse perspectives is the only way Catholics can understand the biggest issues impacting the Church, says US Bishop Daniel Flores (pictured). He explains that this way they’ll hear different world views from Catholics who come from different countries and cultures or have different life experiences from theirs. “Perspective is not the enemy of Read more
As this year’s session of the Synod on Synodality gets underway in Rome, South African women and women religious have reached new levels of frustration with the church and Pope Francis himself. Theologian and spiritual director Annemarie Paulin-Campbell said Pope Francis has been a superb leader in many respects. “However,” she said, “when it comes Read more
Pope Francis has encountered criticism throughout his visit to Belgium, with the country’s king and prime minister urging him to take stronger steps to support survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy. Additionally, a rector at another Catholic university called on him to reconsider the Church’s prohibition on ordaining women as priests. The visit underscored the Read more
I was struck by the gospel reading on Sunday (Aug. 25) in which John, speaking about Jesus’ followers, wrote that “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” The image made me sad, because it seemed to reflect what is going on in the Catholic Church and Read more
I will be 80 years old in June. As a young child in the Methodist Church, I was certain I was called to ordained ministry. At Duke University, I majored in religious studies and then served as pastoral assistant and director of religious education in a small church in upstate New York. Then, in the Read more
Women with Catholic employers are well-supported financially, with a smaller gender pay gap than their peers. Released on 27 February, the first national Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) report also notes some say their employers could do more to uphold all their employees’ dignity. The WGEA investigated about 5,000 companies, each employing more than 100 Read more