Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality, which will take place in October 2023, is the greatest gamble of this papacy. It may succeed in bringing greater unity to the church, or it could result in greater conflict and division. Synods under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI were stage-managed affairs, where the agenda and debate Read more
The two-day meeting of all the world’s cardinals, which Pope Francis held on August 29-30, was something truly extraordinary for this pontificate — and not just because it was held, contrary to custom, in the sweltering heat of the late Roman summer. This was only the second time that Francis has convened the entire College Read more
New Zealand climate experts’ advice is almost identical to the Pope’s. We have to modify our lifestyles. The earth is suffering. Excessive consumption of the earth’s resources has to stop. Or at the very least, change. Modify, says Pope Francis. A major new international report shows 2021 record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions. Despite that, international travel Read more
Synodal feedback calls for reworking the current Roman Missal to provide better, more straightforward and accessible liturgical language. Sadly, this request reads as if this change were not already possible. It has been available to the New Zealand Church since September 3, 2017, when Pope Francis published Magnum Principium (The Great Principle). In Magnum Principium, Read more
Closed-door meetings Pope Francis had with about 180 cardinals this week focused on how the Catholic Church’s governance could be made more inclusive. So far little has officially emerged from the meetings. According to the accounts of those interviewed however, the pope encouraged all participants to speak from the heart. One topic on the agenda Read more
Myanmar’s military junta has burned nearly 30,000 homes, churches and villages during the past 19 months. That’s how long it is since the junta overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government. Domestic research group Data for Myanmar says troops had torched 28,434 houses since the military seized power on 1 February 2021. This year in May and Read more
To the delight of many, and perhaps the consternation of a few, the wheelchair-bound Pope Francis defied persistent rumours on Sunday by not announcing his resignation during a visit to the tomb of the last pontiff before Benedict XVI to voluntarily step down, instead offering locals a message of mercy and consolation amid suffering. L’Aquila, Read more
The end of summer means the end of a mainstay of American Catholic life — the summer Catholic conference season, in which Catholic universities aim to fill their dorms, proclaim the Gospel, and build some brand awareness by hosting days-long catechetical and evangelical events for Catholic young people and adults. While the Franciscan University of Read more
The Roman Curia looks likely to be reformed when the world’s cardinals meet in Rome tomorrow. Vatican commentator Thomas Reece says after Pope Francis creates 17 new cardinals, he wants to discuss his plans for reforming the Curia. The Curia is the bureaucracy the pope uses to help him exercise his pastoral office and universal Read more
Disabled Catholics are praising Pope Francis’s use of a wheelchair in public. “To see Pope Francis having relationships, doing his papal duties” using a wheelchair or a cane, “it just reminds me of the goodness of a weak body like mine, because this is one of the holiest people in the world able to love Read more