Pope Francis prays alongside 12 Christian leaders at an ecumenical prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square days before the Synod on Synodality that 'the Holy Spirit will purify the church from gossip, ideologies, and polarization.
Preparations for the upcoming Synod have prompted an important question: How might the local church of the United States become a powerful witness of the good news amid cries for racial healing and justice?
In an interview with La Civiltà Cattolica, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández reflected on his mandate from Pope Francis to “promot[e] theological knowledge” rather than to correct “doctrinal errors.”
“This is what the pope is asking of us,” Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre said. “We are not only defenders of ideas, because if I defend only one idea, whoever disagrees with me becomes my enemy.”
The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Ukrainians were shocked when Pope Francis told Russian Catholic youths to be proud of their heritage and cited two historic Russian leaders that, the archbishop said, are “the worst example of imperialism and extreme Russian nationalism.”
Henri Nouwen’s observations in 'Ukraine Diary' are even more relevant today than they were at the time of his writing, offering valuable insight into the ongoing tragedy of the war in Ukraine.