16/10/2015 17:06
(Vatican Radio) For a meeting entitled ‘The vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world’, it may come as a surprise to hear that Friday, at the end of the second week, was the first opportunity for the protagonists themselves to address the full assembly from the coalface of family life.
Continue reading Women at Synod of Bishops call for their voices to be heard
16/10/2015 16:55 (Vatican Radio)
Two fraternal delegates were guests at the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family on Friday. Bishop Tim Thornton of the Anglican Communion is representing the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Patriarch Stephanos of Estonia is representing the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 11
Posted on September 22, 2015
The UN will carry out a review of Ireland in 2016. Read our submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council:
This submission outlines the torture, and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, perpetrated on three generations of women in Ireland by doctors who carried out destructive and non-consensual childbirth operations (‘symphysiotomy’) in the absence of medical necessity; and shows why Ireland’s failure to protect these women then, and to vindicate their rights now, constitutes a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,the UN Convention Against Torture, the European Convention of Human Rights, and the UN General Assembly Body of Basic Principles. Continue reading Survivors of Symphysiotomy Submission to UN Human Rights Council
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. 2 Oct 2015
On the eve of the Vatican synod on marriage and the family, progressive German Cardinal Walter Kasper has come out publicly against doctrinal “fundamentalism” in the Church, while expressing his hope that the synod will open a “dialogue” on contraception for Catholics and reconsider the situation of homosexuals. Continue reading Cardinal Kasper Gears Up: ‘You Are Born Gay’
2015-10-15 Vatican Radio
“The Polish Episcopal Conference does not support the notion of admitting divorced and remarried Catholics to the Eucharist,” said Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki at the daily Synod briefing. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 10
2015-10-15 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) ‘Mission impossible’ was how Fr Federico Lombardi on Thursday described the task of trying to sum up the dozens of daily interventions by participants in the Synod of Bishops on the Family, currently coming to the close of its second week in the Vatican’s Synod Hall.
Continue reading Synod: Bishops must welcome families as teachers and pastors
2015-10-15 Vatican Radio
The 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops taking place in the Vatican, Oct. 4-25, is discussing the theme, ”The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world”. Continue reading Ishwarlal and Penelope Bajaj of India at Vatican’s synod on family
The language groups have published their second summaries of their discussions about the second part of the Instrumentum laboris. The German group gets decidedly more theological in theirs, as they discuss the false opposition between mercy and truth, grace and justice, graduality, and the practical consequences of understanding sacramental marriage in a historical and biographical way.
In today’s press conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols recommended the German contribution as the most theologically sound.
This is my translation of the German original that was, once again, composed by Archbishop Heiner Koch:
“We have extensively discussed the concepts of mercy and truth, grace and justice, which are constantly treated as being in opposition to one another, and their theological relationships. In God they are certainly not in opposition: as God is love, justice and mercy come together in Him. The mercy of God is the fundamental truth of revelation, which is not opposed to…
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14/10/2015 17:28 (Vatican Radio)
At the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family an African Cardinal said that polygamy was much more of a problem in Africa than divorce and remarriage. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 9
2015-10-14 16:30 (Vatican Radio)
At the Synod on the Family on Wednesday, bishops presented the results of their second round of small group work, dedicated to the second theme of ‘discerning the family vocation’.
Continue reading Synod’s small groups conclude second session on family vocation
13/10/2015 16:55 (Vatican Radio)
On Tuesday the Synod delegates spent the whole day working in “circuli minores,” director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, told the daily press briefing. He also read statements from Cardinals George Pell and Wilfrid Napier. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 8
13/10/2015 11:45 (Vatican Radio)
Continue reading Archbishop Coleridge on challenges facing Synod on Family
“I came across a quote from someone who knew him (Pope Francis) in Argentina. ‘Apparently, he loves to be loved by all and please everyone, so one day he could make a speech on TV against abortion, and the next day, on the same television show, bless the pro-abortion feminists in the Plaza de Mayo; He can give a wonderful speech against the Masons and, a few hours later, be dining and drinking with them in the Rotary Club.’ So, how can you make a decision about a man like this, who is everybody’s friend?”
Source: The WILD VOICE
By Michael O’Loughlin National reporter October 9, 2015
ROME – As bishops wrap up the first week of deliberations about family life, hints are emerging that complex pastoral challenges could ultimately be addressed not with sweeping changes in Rome, but at the local level. Could national bishops’ conferences come up with their own rules about annulments, Communion, and how to minister to gays and lesbians? Maybe. Continue reading Synod bishops may punt the tough issues to the local level
By Inés San Martín, Vatican correspondent October 12, 2015
ROME — An Italian journalist banned from the Vatican press office for publishing the pope’s encyclical on the environment too early has dropped another bombshell: A letter to the pope allegedly signed by 13 cardinals raising concerns about left-wing manipulation of the process at the bishops’ synod. There’s just one problem: Four of the cardinals deny they signed it. And a source says that although such a letter exists, the report of its content isn’t accurate. Continue reading Uncertainty surrounds cardinals’ letter voicing doubts about the synod
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. 12 Oct 2015
On Friday, an unprecedented letter written to Pope Francis by thirteen cardinals taking part in the Vatican synod on marriage and the family was published online, revealing contention regarding the revamped synodal process as well as the suitability of the draft document being used to guide the bishops’ discussions. Continue reading Cardinals’ Letter to Pope Reveals Rift in Vatican Synod
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. 25 Oct 2014
Rome provides a “neutral brokerage” where religious leaders can work together for peace, says Jerry White, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. In an interview with Vatican Radio, White spoke of the need for faith leaders to work harder to prevent religiously motivated violence. Islamic state extremists have brought the question of faith and violence to the fore, and the world religions must be in the forefront of the peace process. Continue reading US Representative in Rome to Push for ‘Global Covenant of World Religions’
But Francis has rejected their requests en bloc. And meanwhile, the “Relatio finalis” has disappeared from the program of the synod
by Sandro Magister
[POST SCRIPTUM]
A spokesperson for Cardinal George Pell said that a private letter should remain private but it seems that there are errors in both the content and the list of signatories. Continue reading Thirteen Cardinals Have Written to the Pope. Here’s the Letter
Edward Pentin’s “The Rigging of a Vatican Synod” is well worth reading. It is subtitled “An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family.” One commentator suggested that Ignatius Press must have insisted on the question mark in the main title and the “alleged” in the subtitle. I’m not sure this is fair. Edward Pentin does present a studiously balanced account, giving quotations and arguments from both sides. The evidence that is presented is clear enough, but it is not forced on the reader. Continue reading Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried but not for those who refuse the Church tax?
12/10/2015 17:50 (Vatican Radio)
Monday 12 Oct. Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, spokesman for the Holy See, was accompanied by Fr. Thomas Rosica CSB and two couples – Pedro & Ketty De Rezende from Brazil and Ishwar & Penny Bajaj from India – at the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 7
Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship – RV
12/10/2015 11:36
Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship has said that the people of Africa need to keep themselves informed about what is happening at the Synod on the Family because, “love of the Church includes our readiness to know what the Church is doing. However, knowledge alone is not enough. We should also pray for the Synod fathers,” he said. Continue reading Cardinal Arinze to Africa: Be informed and pray for Synod
Arid climate in Chad – AFP
11/10/2015 13:13
Big meetings in Rome such as the current Synod on the family are always an opportunity for convergence. In a way, they bring out in a very vivid manner the diversity of the Catholic Church or its various ecclesial realities. For example, the current Synod on the family in Rome is shining light on Catholic family situations and communities that don’t often make headlines. Continue reading Chad: A “frontier Church” at the Synod in Rome
2015-10-10 (Vatican Radio) On Friday, the small groups of the Synod on the Family released their observations on the first part of the Instrumentum laboris, (the working document) that is the basis for the Synod’s discussions. Continue reading SYNOD – working PDF document [ALL] language small groups
2015-10-09 (Vatican Radio) At the Synod of Bishops on the Family on Friday morning, participants presented the results of their small language group work that has been going on behind closed doors for the past couple of days. Each group has been discussing the first section of the Synod’s working document, or Instrumentum Laboris, focused on the challenges facing family life today. Continue reading Synod bishops looking for more autonomy, new insight, fresh language
2015-10-09
(Vatican Radio) On Friday, the small groups of the Synod on the Family released their observations on the first part of the Instrumentum laboris, (the working document) that is the basis for the Synod’s discussions.
The Synod Fathers have been working in small groups, based on language, in order to respond to the the challenges facing the family today.
Continue reading Small group observations from the Synod on the Family -English Full Texts
2015-10-09
(Vatican Radio) The first round of small language group work at the Synod of Bishops on the Family concluded on Thursday evening. Bishops, religious and lay men and women, together with delegates from other Christian Churches, spent two and a half days behind closed doors discussing the challenges facing families in different countries around the world today. Continue reading Synod: Journeying together with very different perspectives – Bishop Tim Thornton
The Loud Cry 
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