After meeting with Pope Francis and other Vatican official, the president of the bishops’ conference said claim that German church is moving toward schism are ‘meant to intimidate us.’

Homosexuals have a right to church support and blessing, said Bishop Helmut Dieser, who is the spokesman on abuse issues for the German bishops’ conference.

In their first private one-on-one conversation, the president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., told Pope Francis, “The church in Australia is alive!”

“The quality of homilies is almost unanimously reported as a problem.”

Following the listening phase of the Synod on Synodality, a mix of religious, clergy and lay people gathered in Frascati, Italy, to synthesize reports from around the world. Austen Ivereigh took part and gives this insider’s account.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle explain the pope’s reasoning behind his decision to extend the synod.