2015-10-20 (Vatican Radio) Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of South Africa cautioned against using “politically correct language” at the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family on Tuesday. Napier was a guest together with Cardinals Luis Martinez Sistach of Spain and Alberto Suarez Inda of Mexico. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 13
20/10/2015 10:59 (Vatican Radio)
The Synod of Bishops on the family winds up its small language group work on Tuesday, with participants discussing further changes they’d like to see reflected in the concluding document. Continue reading Synod: long term effects of sexual abuse on family life
Vatican City, 19 October 2015 (VIS) – On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, the Holy Father addressed the Synod Fathers in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. An introduction was given by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, and the president of the Episcopal Conference of Austria and cardinal archbishop of Vienna Christoph Schonborn pronounced a commemorative discourse.
Continue reading The Synod: walking together
Bishops arriving for the morning session of the Synod on the Family – AFP
19/10/2015 16:40 (Vatican Radio)
Archbishops Enrico Solmi of Italy, Mark Coleridge of Australia and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Beatitude Fouad Twal, answered questions from the media at the daily press briefing on the Synod of the Family. Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, explained that the delegates were meeting in small groups on Monday and Tuesday so there will be no report until Wednesday of the discussions that were underway. The three prelates answered a number of questions – mainly focussed on the admission of the divorced and civilly remarried to Communion. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 12
Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton – RV
19/10/2015 12:46 (Vatican Radio)
The Synod of Bishops on the family moves into its third and final week on Monday with participants meeting in small language groups to discuss further changes they’d like to see in the concluding document. Continue reading Synod Bishops building bridges between truth and mercy
Pope Francis marks the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops as a permanent body, Oct 17th, 2015 – AFP
17/10/2015 12:49 (Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis on Saturday morning marked the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops as a permanent body. Continue reading Pope Francis marks 50th anniversary of Synod’s institution
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
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
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
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
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
The Loud Cry 
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