While a Synod of Bishops is not a parliament and its preparatory process is not “an opinion poll,” Pope Francis insisted that involving as many people as possible in the process and prayerfully listening to all of them is the only way to recognize the call of the Holy Spirit.
Women religious have an essential role in the process of creating a more synodal church and in preparations for the Synod of Bishops, not just through their prayers and participation, but also by listening to people not usually part of such church activities, Pope Francis said.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the 75-year-old apostolic nuncio to the United States, said when he met Pope Francis at the Vatican Sept. 6, the pope asked him to remain in his post instead of retiring.
After months of anticipation, the White House announced Friday afternoon that President Joe Biden will nominate former U.S. Senator Joseph Donnelly as the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
Though probably unbeknownst to most Catholics around the world, on Saturday Pope Francis officially opened a two-year global consultation process, all part of a Synod of Bishops on Synodality, which participants hope will help radically change the way the Catholic Church takes decisions.
Pope Francis will not be going to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, as he had hoped.
Standing in front of Rome’s Colosseum, Pope Francis called on members of all the world’s religions to be courageous enough to set aside self-centeredness and instead live with true and active compassion for the victims of war and poverty and for the earth.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, nuncio to the United States, has urged Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson to respect “the humanity” of death-row inmate Ernest Lee Johnson and “the sacredness of all human life” and stop his Oct. 5 execution.
Pope Francis learned “with sorrow” of the contents of a report that came at the end of a four-year investigation into abuse in the church in France
All Christians are called to be missionaries, which at its most basic level involves living in such a way that other people ask what motivates their love and concern, Pope Francis said.
