As the synod on the family reached the midway stage on a positive note Pope Francis took the unprecedented and highly significant decision to add six highly qualified synod fathers to the team that will write its Final Report nbsp That decision could prove to be a game changer At almost all of th

One of the Vatican rsquo s top canon lawyers at the Synod of Bishops on the Family says the current process for the annulment of marriages in the Catholic Church could be streamlined and expanded to the benefit of very many people whose marriages have broken down This could be one of the positive f

Not since the Second Vatican Council has a gathering of representatives of the world’s Catholic bishops sparked such interest and controversy as the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, which opened in the Vatican on Oct. 5. While the agenda is very wide,

House arrest of former nuncio sends tremors through the Vatican establishment.

Tensions between student demonstrators and authorities in Beijing rose as protests continued for broader democratic rights in Hong Kong in October. On Oct. 3 protesters accused police of allowing pro-government “thugs” to assault them in the city’s Mong Kok district.“Nothing

The synod has just begun but there are already early signs that many aspects of church teaching and praxis are coming under scrutiny with demands for change including a change in the language it uses Seventy synod fathers spoke in the first 24 hours raising many issues including the need for the

In a major break with past praxis almost 50 years after Paul VI first established the synod of bishops Pope Francis has given the synod fathers the key elements for synodality something akin to a bill of rights that creates a climate of freedom He did so at the start of the synod rsquo s first pl

ldquo Synod Assemblies are not meant to discuss beautiful and clever ideas or to see who is more intelligent rdquo Pope Francis told the 191 synod fathers from all continents gathered with him in St Peter rsquo s Basilica as they concelebrated mass on Sunday morning October 5 for the opening o

Speaking at a candlelight prayer vigil in St Peter rsquo s Square on the eve of the opening of the synod of bishops on the family Pope Francis made clear that he wants lsquo the synod fathers rsquo to listen attentively to God and to the cry of the people and to keep their sights fixed firmly on

ldquo A broad freedom of expression rdquo in ldquo a climate of respect for every position mutual charity and an authentic constructive sense rdquo will be the hallmarks of the extraordinary synod of bishops on the family that opens on October 5 nbsp Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri the Secretary